Two games made over 20 years apart, but still bare a number of similarities.

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Why God of War is like Dragon’s Lair

April 7, 2007

As I was playing God of War II the other day, I came to an interesting realization. God of War reminds me a lot of what it was like to play Dragon’s Lair back in the 80’s.

I know, I know. You are probably thinking to yourself “This guy is crazy! God of War is so much better than Dragon’s Lair!” Hear me out before you jump to that conclusion and you’ll find there are more similarities here than you think.
Dragon’s Lair was a first on many fronts when it came out in 1983. It was the first game to use film quality animation with an interactive video game, and one of the first games to use laser disc technology. It was the first game that cost two quarters to play, and one of the first games ever to (sometimes) have a “spectator’s” monitor on top of the machine so people could just watch other people play.

Above: God of War II

God of War (and its recent sequel) is one of few games that hits you with a boss battle right near the beginning of the game. Instead of an “earned reward”, the boss battle is more of an enticing “if you think this is cool, just wait to see what happens next” kind of approach to game design. The finishing moves weren’t exactly new in God of War, but I challenge you to find a game that does it better.

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A closer look reveals more similarities between these titles than you might expect.

INTERESTING HISTORICAL SETTING

Dragon’s Lair is a true medieval experience. Dirk’s a knight with a cool sword. There’s a dragon, a princess, and treasure. There are mystical creatures and lots of tough enemies to defeat.

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God of War delves deep into Greek mythology. Kratos has some cool weapons and encounters amazing creatures and enemies like the Cyclops, Medusa, and many more.

LINEAR GAMEPLAY MOMENTS

Dragon’s Lair is all about timing, memorization and button presses. To advance in any of the game sequences, you need to push the joystick or sword button at the right time. Failure to do so results in a context sensitive death sequence. Many players will find themselves purposely making mistakes just to see the hilarious death sequences that follow.

Above: Images from 2006's Dragon's Lair HD

God of War lets you deliver the final blow to the particularly nasty enemies with a sequence that is usually linear and requires memorization if you’re not quick enough on the draw. Like Dragon’s Lair, if you fail at this sequence you often get pummeled against a wall in a somewhat amusing fashion (for those that find gratuitous violence humorous).

MULTIPLE ‘DUDE CHECK IT OUT’ MOMENTS

If you were gaming in the early 80’s at your local arcade, you probably pumped more than your allowance into Dragon’s Lair in an attempt to get further in the game. Whether it was the electrifying Knight or the final battle against Singe there were just those moments that you had to share with a friend.

I actually picked up on this expression from Cory Barlog (director of God of War II) in an interview he did. Both God of War games are filled with the ‘Dude check it out!’ moments from the Hydra battle to behind inside the Colossus of Rhodes . There are many other smaller moments too, some you will just accidentally fall into during the heat of a heavy battle.

SEX APPEAL

Don Bluth, the director of Dragon’s Lair has openly admitted that the inspiration for Daphne (the damsel in distress) was the multiple copies of Playboy magazine that were around the office. Daphne’s shrill voice may turn you off a little, but her on screen presence is enough to wake the dead.

The God of War gets more than his fair share with not one but two threesome’s in both games. The real action is off screen and even considering the threesome angle this one is much more socially acceptable than a hot cup of coffee. If you missed it in the second game, this scene is right near the beginning.

ONE LEVEL TO FLY AROUND IN

Dragon’s Lair gave us the mechanical horse. Sure, it was just a lot of left and right nonsense but I bet you that you burned on more than one occasion just watching the scenery go by.

In the second God of War, we get to fly around on Pegasus. This is one of those gameplay elements that was thought of in the first game but got chopped on the editing room floor. My only question is, can we have more of this please?

CONCLUSION

So there you have it, at least 5 ways in which Dragon’s Lair is like God of War. Are they the same game? No absolutely not. Do they play the same? In a major way, no … but after all, it’s over 20 years later. What did you think I was going to say? Dirk can kick Kratos’ ass? Probably not, but I bet you he could take him out if he slipped on the watery area in the Hydra level an accidentally got Kratos where it hurts most. I don’t know about you, but a game made in the “Kingdom Hearts” style with Dragon’s Lair and God of War characters would sure be a winner in my book.

Syd Bolton has been collecting game consoles for over 20 years and has dozens of systems and over 5,000 games. He is the newest addition to the Armchair Empire. Have any interesting stories about your Dragon’s Lair experience? Make sure you share with us here.


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