Ever had the experience of revisiting something you were once amazed by and being completely unimpressed? Maybe somebody you had a crush on in high school that turned out to be a big loser... I wouldn't exactly call Digital Leisure's output a joke, but I think it's important to distinguish what they do from the rest of the games for PlayStation 2. Dragon's Lair 2: Timewarp is as 'un-PS2'ish' as you can get. It's like looking at what people will think about PS2 in 2025...

If you remember or have ever seen an arcade cabinet for Dragon's Lair, you know the distinctive look. Animation that you control. Don Bluth, the man behind the animation, is also behind movies like 'The Land Before Time' and most of the non-Disney animation to come out in America over the last 10 years. The Dragon's Lair games predate Bluth's major exposure as an animator, and came out in the 80's, a decade when we all thought it was cool to feather our hair and listen to Sade. Although laserdisk - the technology behind Bluth's games - was revolutionary at the time, it obviously led to some workarounds in the animation. Basically, you have a series of short scenes that are strung together to form a story. The total amount of animation is between 30-45 minutes, and for a generation weaned on superior anime, computer-aided animation and CG, Dragon's Lair II looks very tame...almost amateurish. The voice-overs are fairly poor, but I'm sure nobody thought we'd ever experience this stuff in the living room through tower speakers. It's important to have the right context for these games.

The whole idea behind these games was very simple. With the advent of laserdisk and the ability to 'drop the needle' quickly depending on computer input (basically what scene-access is for DVD), someone had the bright idea to build a series of animation clips that could be called based on player input through an arcade cabinet and controller. A stick and a button were as complicated as it got, and the animation was designed to give clues as to where you needed to move the stick or when to press the button. In Dragon's Lair II, we still have linear motion, and each scene shows you a flashing yellow object that corresponds to the action you'll need to take to pass the obstacle or move along. The story is that Dirk the Daring (our hero from the first Dragon's Lair) must chase down Princess Daphne through time after she's kidnapped by an evil wizard.

Since there are no complicated control issues, you'll see quickly why Dragon's Lair II and the other Digital Leisure games are billed as 'PlayStation 2 Compatible.' Nobody in their right mind would think this could stand up to a real PS or PS2 game, but the idea is that DVD makes a resurgence of these games possible, and as DVD gets cheaper... you know? However, like a B-side you wish you'd never heard, I found myself wishing Dragon's Lair II had remained in retirement so I could remember it fondly. The delay between scenes after you make a choice is shorter than for Dragon's Lair, but shorter doesn't mean you won't be irritated waiting for the next scene to load. There aren't many extras on the DVD, but a 'scratch' version of the animation that led to the final Dragon's Lair II is interesting for animation fans.

There is more difficulty in parallel parking than in playing Dragon's Lair II to completion. All the moves are flashed on the screen, so it's really just a twitch exercise. Sometimes, the action is fast enough that you'll make a wrong move and die, but this is one-sitting entertainment all the way.

Really, the mechanics of playing Dragon's Lair II aren't any different from the gameplay. The idea of controlling animation sequences is cool in theory, but the product feels way too rough around the edges to be taken seriously on DVD. With only 5 possible moves, there's no question that if you miss a scene once, you're 20% of the way to getting it right. In the old days, this took quarters, but we now have continues. Dragon's Lair II doesn't let you pick up in the middle of the action or save, but it's really not necessary given the short length of the whole experience.

In the videogame museum, Dragon's Lair II and its kind will always be represented as a great experiment with new technology that made gaming a more 'cinematic' experience. But, with as much quality gaming as is available right now, there's no way to recommend this as a game. For the nostalgic gamer who played Bluth's creations in the 80's, it's worth a rental if you have the chance. Otherwise, limited control, load time and short length make for a weak experience on all fronts.