Dirk the Daring

Dirk the Daring
Dragon's Lair character

Dirk the Daring with Princess Daphne
First game Dragon's Lair (1983)
Created by Rick Dyer
Designed by Don Bluth
Voiced by Dan Molina (video game)
Bob Sarlatte (television series)

Dirk the Daring is the fictional lead character from the Dragon's Lair series of video games. He was created and designed by Rick Dyer and animator Don Bluth and introduced in the original Dragon's Lair in 1983.[1] In the game, the protagonist Dirk the Daring is a knight attempting to rescue Princess Daphne from the evil dragon Singe who has locked the princess in the foul wizard Mordroc's castle.

Voice

Dirk the Daring was voiced in the video game by Dan Molina and by actor Bob Sarlatte in the animated Dragon's Lair television series.

Appearances

In the games, Dirk the Daring is the knight on a quest to rescue Princess Daphne, the beautiful daughter of King Aethelred[2] and an unnamed queen. Princess Daphne serves as the series' damsel in distress, a beautiful maiden coveted by many princes and knights, her heart belongs to the kingdom's champion, Dirk the Daring.[3]

In the original Dragon's Lair game, Princess Daphne is taken by the dragon Singe and imprisoned in a large crystal orb. Singe commanded King Aethelred to surrender his kingdom before sunset or the princess would die. Daphne appears in the final level of the game, giving Dirk directions to use the magic sword and slay the dragon.[4][5][6] The story has been described by Crash as "a cross between an Arthurian romance and George and the Dragon."[7]

In Dragon's Lair: Escape from Singe's Castle, the just-rescued Daphne has been cursed and falls asleep but Dirk brings her back to life with a kiss, only to see her vanish. Then a figure known as the Shape Shifter[8] appears to tell him that Singe was only guarding the gold of the wizard they are serving and Daphne belongs to him. It vanishes among smoke, and Dirk sets off to save the princess.

In Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp, 10 years have passed after her adventure with Singe. Dirk and Daphne are married and have 13 children.[9] However, she is again abducted, this time by the evil wizard Mordroc, who moves her through time and wants to enslave her with the Ring of Death (the same ring as in Der Ring des Nibelungen).[10] At the end of the game, the Ring transforms her into a monster, but Dirk saves her by removing it from her finger and then revives her with a kiss. The game also features Daphne mother, who is shown as a fat and furious woman chasing Dirk at the start of the game.[11][12][13][14][15]

In Dragon's Lair III: The Curse of Mordread, Mordroc's evil witch sister Mordread captures Dirk's homestead into an orb on her staff. Dirk was not in the house, so he begins pursuing Mordread to restore his home, and Daphne inside it.[16][17]

Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair follows a similar story as the first two games, as Daphne is captured by Singe commanded by Mordroc and taken through a portal, but leaves behind an amulet that allows her to talk to and guide Dirk as he works his way through the castle withholding her. She is impersonated by Dirk's dark alter-ego and later it is revealed that the Daphne speaking to Dirk up to this point was Mordroc impersonating her. Dirk eventually defeats Mordroc and saves the princess.

In the cartoon series, Dirk the Daring is again the lead character.

Design

Dirk the Daring was originally created by Rick Dyer's Advanced Microcomputer Systems (AMS, later RDI Video Systems) team and by the ex-Disney artist and animator Don Bluth.

References

  1. ↑ "Dragon's Lair". The International Arcade Museum. Retrieved 5 Oct 2013.
  2. ↑ "Amtix Magazine Issue 17". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  3. ↑ "Computer Gamer - Issue 18 (1986-09) (Argus Press) (UK)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  4. ↑ "Video Games - Volume 2 Number 06 (1984-03) (Pumpkin Press) (US)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  5. ↑ "MicroKids - Issue 02 Volume 01 No 02 (1984-03) (Microkids Publishing) (US)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  6. ↑ "Mean Machines Magazine Issue 16". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  7. ↑ "Crash - No. 31 (1986-08) (Newsfield) (UK)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  8. ↑ "The Games Machine Magazine Issue 30". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  9. ↑ "Electronic Fun with Computer & Games - Vol 02 No 05 (1984-03) (Fun & Games Publishing) (US)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  10. ↑ "Sega Visions Issue 25". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  11. ↑ "TheOne Magazine Issue 28". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  12. ↑ "CU Amiga Magazine Issue 012". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  13. ↑ "Zero - Issue 17 (1991-03) (Dennis Publishing) (UK)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  14. ↑ "Raze Magazine Issue 05". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  15. ↑ "CD-i Magazine - Issue 12 (1995-06)(Haymarket Publishing) (UK)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  16. ↑ "The One Magazine Issue 53". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  17. ↑ "Amiga Format - Issue 044 (1993-03) (Future Publishing) (UK)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2014-06-13.

External links

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