Once upon a time in an arcade far, far away, there was a classic game franchise known as Dragon's Lair. It was the ultimate quarter muncher that tested dexterity, as well as commitment to learning patterns. It was also the best looking arcade game ever devised because it was entirely hand drawn animation from Don Bluth, the man behind The Secret of NIMH and Anastasia. Well, five years after the success of the first, Don Bluth made a true sequel in Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp. Looking just as good as the first, Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp improved upon the old classic while still making a beautifully animated experience for newcomers.

The music and soundtrack is wonderful even though it is brief. The entire experience is less than twenty minutes if you can perform the rhythm flawlessly. You will almost certainly replay sections over and over again and there are certain moments, like in the prehistoric age, where the music is bouncing and building and brilliant. But then there are some scenes, like "Through the Mirror," where it all feels scattered and loud. I know the animation took hundreds of hours to create and the color correction in high-def is remarkable, but I wish that the soundtrack and musical score would have had more attention the first time around.

Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp isn't so much a game as it is an interactive movie. You play as Dirk the Daring and you have to save his Princess Daphne who, like all princesses, has been kidnapped.

The movie plays with little input from you whatsoever. At regular intervals, you must guide Dirk in the right direction by telling him what action to take next. You choose correctly and the movie continues on, but if you choose wrong, Dirk dies and you have to start over. Dirk can only move in four directions or use his sword. Basically, a cinematic Simon Says, Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp is a classic experience that is a relic of the ancient days in videogames.

As I said earlier, Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp is more a movie than a game and it has a few bonus features that you would expect to see on your new DVD than a new game. There are production stills from a scene that was cut at the last minute. There are interviews with the people that helped make Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp including Don and his business partner. But the best feature and simultaneously the worst is the ability to play the entire movie with no input at all. That's right... the entire experience of guiding Dirk through the areas and learning where booby traps were is now entirely optional which changes the whole package. Now you either look at it as a game that costs 50 dollars that was remastered to take advantage of a new format, or you look at it as a 20 minute movie that is simply overpriced because it is on Blu-ray. Either way, Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp is not worth 50 dollars. Not now, not ever. The longevity isn't there. You can play and beat the entire thing in one sitting (if you are committed enough) and then there isn't a reason to go back unless you want to show off at parties.

Trial and error gameplay isn't fun for most current games, (and not entirely fun here), but Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp lives and dies by how much you want to master the pacing of the experience. It helps that lives can be manipulated freely, so that you can focus on getting through tough sections. Dying is guaranteed, but at least when Dirk dies, a very short clip plays showing the humorous way in which he bites the dust and some of those are just as entertaining as the main attraction. If you bought Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp as just a game and nothing else, the difficulty would be off the charts. Incredibly short time windows to get inputs in, coupled with long sections of complicated actions and patterns creates arguably one of the hardest games of all time, but it is all undone by the new movie feature. Difficulty and gameplay are taken away if you choose to watch the 19 minute tale of Dirk traveling through time to save Daphne. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but I think if it had to be in there, it should at least be an unlockable after beating it on your own once.

Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp is simple in its approach, yet tough in execution. At certain times, the direction or action Dirk needs to take flashes yellow on the screen for a brief moment and in that moment, you have to press the corresponding button. The four directions are linked to places Dirk can move and (X) is so he can use his sword. I tried it out on both my remote and my DualShock 3 and I have to say that I prefer the DualShock over a DVD remote because my hands are in two different places so I can concentrate less on making one hand faster. Speed is important to success is Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp, so you should pick the setup that is most comfortable for you.

Ultimately, Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp falls victim to its own reputation. It is indeed a piece of gaming history that I think every serious gamer should have in their collection, yet at the same time, I cannot possibly recommend this for the price asked. I know Blu-rays are expensive to produce, but there is no reason to charge 50 dollars each for both the Dragon's Lairs and Space Ace. Surely, 50 bucks for all of them is a great deal and that should be the standard. Alone, Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp is a great trip down memory lane, but a steep price point and a insane difficulty level make this a purchase for daring collectors or foolish archivists.