Okay guys, Digital Leisure, http://www.digitalleisure.com (or is it www.digitaleisure.com ? whichever one works) has released several versions of Dragon's Lair.(posted 8471 days ago)The first one was on CD-ROM, which you can get it's called the "Deluxe Pack" was released some time ago. From what I've read the quality is crap, but it's cheap. This pack includes Dragon's Lair, DL II: Time Warp and Space Ace.
Then they released two versions of each of those titles for DVD.
For each title there is a "DVD-VIDEO" and a "DVD-ROM" version. The DVD-Video will work on a DVD player or a DVD-Rom on a PC (not Mac) running Win95/98, I believe you can download patches from the official site if it doesn't work in ME, 2000 or NT.
According to what I've read (I can't say too much because I haven't played the original arcade, but this is what hardcore fans tell me)
The DVD-VIDEO version leaves out many scenes from the arcade, and there are LONG pauses (almost a full second I think) and it doesnt' work on some DVD players. But then they say that if you play it on a DVD-ROM drive with a good machine the pauses are less noticeably. This version also has a "Watch" feature letting you watch the whole thing as a movie, which is cool, in addition to playing it. Also there is a bit of fluff on the disc with interviews with the people who made the game (or maybe it was fans talking about the game, not sure). So there is a DVD-Video version of all three, I haven't seen them in stores, but they aren't cheap (order from DL for like 30-40 bucks each).
The DVD-ROM versions dont' feature any of the interviews or "watch" feature, but you do get ALL Of the scenes from the arcades. However the scenes are still left out of the actual game, and they are just VOB files on the disc, so you can open them up in windows and watch them, they just don't flow with the game. The DVD-ROM version runs in a window, which is big, but it's not TRUE full screen. The pauses are much smaller than on the DVD-Video version supposedly. The DVD-ROM version of Dragon's Lair contains a LOCKED version of Space Ace, that you can pay Digital Leisure to UNLOCK for you, for a cheaper price than buying Space Ace seperately.
Now from what I've been told, the arcade version BEEPED when you made a decision, whereas all the DVD disc versions show icons on the screen etc, with arrows, swords, colors to show you did it right/wrong. Also in the original arcade you had coins, and you saw the "drawbridge" scene in the demo only. In the DVD home versions you can PLAY the drawbridge apparently.
The Mame team has stated that they probably WILL NOT release the driver for Dragon's Lair and Space Ace. Why? Because it only works with the DVD-ROM version in Win95/98. What is the point of playing it if you have the DVD? Because it lets you insert coins and it includes the missing scenes (form the VOB files on the disc) and it might also randomize the scenes like the arcade (in the DVD home versions they are always the same branching order, I'm told).
Now if you download the Mame source and compile your own version, perhaps you can enable this feature, good luck getting it to work ( you need the DVD-ROM version of Dragon's Lair). Also I think it doesn't work with the UNLOCKED space ace. Could be wrong about that though.
Now there is ANOTHER emulator that recently came out called Daphne (which has its own site.. check www.arcadeathome.com for links in their emulators section or news page). Daphne is complicated because it requires you to hook your laser disc player to your PC then to your TV, and use your keyboard/gamepad/mouse to control the onscreen action. So you need TV out I think, plus you need the ACTUAL laserdisc. So get on ebay....
Daphne can also be used with an encoded MPEG-1 video of the original laserdisc, which you will have to author yourself from the original disc, unlesss you can find a copy to download (probably over a gig) or know somebody that has it. Daphne will also run with the DVD-ROM version, supposedly, in much the same way the Mame driver would.
Now in addition to these already released versions there is a game called Dragon's Lair 3D coming out, which is NOTHING like the other games. Instead of a movie, it's a third person action adventure game like you'd expect from the likes of Tomb Raider or Heretic II. I saw this at E3. It looks cool because it has the same animation effect as you'd expect, like a 3D cartoon. It's not out yet....
Now let me reiterate, this is all information fans have posted that I've taken in, I have not played any of these games yet.
Also, if you want the best port available, I WOULD WAIT A BIT. DL recently announced they would release this month a NEW CD-ROM version that includes all the removed scenes, has arcade perfect gameplay, etc and has the watch features and interviews, etc. Sounds like it's perfect, although it would be neat to be able to play it on your DVD player.
But anyway, it's for the PC, and it was supposed to come out yesterday, but check your local stores, or wait for DL to put it on their order form.
Cheers!