Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp
| Industry | Video games |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1983 |
| Products | Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp |
Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp is a 1990 laserdisc video game created by Sullivan Bluth Interactive and distributed by the Leland Corporation. Serving as the first genuine follow-up to Dragon's Lair, it presents an animated short film that requires players to execute timely joystick or button commands to advance. Set several years after the original, the narrative centers on Dirk, who is now wed to Daphne and raising their children, as he embarks on a quest to save her from the malevolent wizard Mordroc.
Although home versions were planned for the Sega Saturn, Philips CD-i, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, and Atari Jaguar CD, only the CD-i edition reached release. Subsequently, the game was featured in the Dragon's Lair Trilogy collection for the Wii, with a dedicated port for the PlayStation 3 launching on June 1, 2011. A version for the Nintendo Switch trilogy compilation followed on January 17, 2019.
Plot
Dirk the Daring utilizes a time machine—controlled by Mordroc’s brother—to rescue Princess Daphne. His journey spans various dimensions and time periods inspired by classic tales such as Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty. His mission is to prevent Mordroc from enslaving Daphne through the power of the Death Ring. Michael Rye returns as narrator during the attract sequence, reprising his voice work from Dragon's Lair and Space Ace.
Gameplay
Unlike its predecessor’s randomized sequences, this sequel follows a linear progression of scenes. Upon death, players restart from designated checkpoints instead of random levels. To reach the conclusion, players must gather golden treasures scattered throughout; failure to collect any causes the game to loop back to that treasure’s location. Although brief prompts indicate required actions, some treasures demand moves beyond these hints. Certain scenes randomly flip horizontally on replays, compelling players to adapt their inputs rather than rely solely on memorization.
Development
Development commenced in 1983 following the original Dragon's Lair success, culminating in an arcade release eight years later. The animation process spanned three years with a budget of $2.3 million. Versions for the Amiga, Atari ST, and DOS were released in November 1990 priced at £44.95. An Apple IIGS version was completed but remained unreleased until Brutal Deluxe converted it in 2022 using DOS assets.
Home computer adaptations were produced by ReadySoft over roughly one year. Founder David Foster explained these versions required six floppy disks due to higher resolution graphics compared to earlier Bluth Group laserdisc titles like Space Ace. Without access to an arcade laserdisc unit, developers relied on VHS tapes for conversion—digitizing images and separating foregrounds from backgrounds so artists could restore details lost during resolution downscaling. The final output utilized a 16-color palette and underwent heavy compression, demanding thousands of computing hours distributed among several 25MHz processors for frame processing.
Stages
- Stage 1: Singe's Castle – Dirk must flee his furious mother-in-law after Princess Daphne’s abduction by Mordroc. He navigates Singe’s castle while avoiding creatures such as a ravenous snake donning a tam o' shanter to reach the time machine and pursue Mordroc.
- Stage 2: Land Before Time – Set in prehistory, Dirk confronts pterodactyls, a T-rex, and bat-winged centaurs who abduct Daphne as their island collapses into the ocean.
- Stage 3: Dirk in Wonderland – In 1865, Dirk enters Alice Liddell’s home, passes through the looking glass, and encounters characters including Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Queen of Hearts, her card soldiers, the Mad Hatter, March Hare, Jabberwock, and the Cheshire Cat.
- Stage 4: Garden of Eden – Dirk escapes guardian angels while evading two snakes—one hostile, one persuasive—and survives after Eve consumes the forbidden apple causing ruin.
- Stage 5: Beethoven's Creative Gust – Shrunk to mouse size within Ludwig van Beethoven’s study (1808), Dirk dodges Beethoven’s piano playing, a hungry cat, and surrounding creative chaos.
- Stage 6: Ancient Egypt – Dirk chases what appears to be Daphne (actually Mordroc disguised) through an ancient tomb filled with poison gas, spiders, bats, corrosive acid, scarabs, and a massive mummy.
- Stage 7: The Ring – Mordroc places the Death Ring on Daphne’s finger transforming her into a monstrous banshee. Dirk must remove it to restore her and defeat Mordroc simultaneously. In non-arcade versions, he also hurls the ring at Mordroc.
- Stage 8: Daphne Awakens – Following Mordroc’s defeat, Dirk fights remaining minions while escaping the collapsing castle with Daphne.
Throughout gameplay, players collect treasures essential for confronting Mordroc. The Director's Cut edition introduces an alternate penultimate stage if all treasures are obtained where Dirk retrieves and throws the Death Ring at Mordroc. This version also includes three additional death animations absent from the final release.
Home computer editions
Simultaneous with the arcade debut, ReadySoft released a condensed version for Amiga home computers that included only selected scenes, excluding the majority of the original stages. This edition contained the introduction, the prehistoric level, the Garden of Eden segment, and the concluding stage.
ReadySoft also produced Dragon's Lair III: The Curse of Mordread, which presented a new narrative centered around the villain Mordread. This title combined levels from Time Warp with fresh sequences, such as a pirate ship scenario and an exclusive ending.
In 1998, Dragon's Lair II became available on DVD. After Digital Leisure issued high-definition Blu-ray editions of both Dragon's Lair and Space Ace, they announced a Blu-ray release of Dragon's Lair II in 2008, which was launched on June 2, 2009. Additionally, the game was introduced to the PlayStation 3 platform on June 1, 2011.
A collection named Dragon's Lair Trilogy, comprising Dragon's Lair, Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp, and Space Ace, has been made available on Wii and Nintendo Switch.
Reception
In October 1991, Dragon's Lair II achieved the top position on RePlay’s arcade charts as the highest-earning new video game in the United States.
The CD-i version received a score of 7.25 out of 10 from Electronic Gaming Monthly, which commended its arcade-level graphics and gameplay alongside collectible elements; however, one reviewer remarked that FMV games’ appeal was beginning to wane. GamePro offered a very favorable critique, emphasizing sharp visuals, smooth gameplay performance, authentic sound effects, and responsive controls aided by the CD-i’s circular directional pad.
CD-i Magazine praised the animation quality comparable to Disney productions and noted enhanced action relative to its predecessor despite simplistic gameplay mechanics. Power Unlimited awarded an 81% rating for the CD-i edition, highlighting its fast-paced interactive cartoon style and improved control scheme over the original release.
Allgame ratings differed by platform: 2 out of 5 for Arcade, 3.5 out of 5 for PC, with lower evaluations for DVD Video and Xbox versions.