There were to some extent walk-throughs for certain games if you were lucky enough or had a friend with a Nintendo Power subscription. I remember copying my friends issue that had a ton of things about Super Mario Bros 3. Not all games had such an extensive issue though, sometimes it was just a random tip here and there. Although I do remember by the time I got a subscriptions, the SNES was already out and I ended up completely devoted walk-throughs like the ones for Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2, Final Fantasy 3 (VI), and a few others. I don't recall anything for Dragon's Lair at the time.
I can see how they tried to preserve the "hit the correct action at the correct time or die" philosophy of the arcade. But I'm not sure that was the right decision for a sidescroller.
Mike, you are crushing these NES games. Great job. When I was a kid, if an adult like you would've come over and beat these games in front of me, you would've been my hero. This is like revenge on these games.
Mike, Here's the answer to your question about the floating dragon guy. The Floating Lizard King (Mordroc) : comes sometimes flying on the levels to steal your gold (and energy), but can then be killed by 8 daggers. His appearance seems to be rather randomized, although I can't recall ever having met him on level 3 nor when I haven't had any goldbags left (that's a good reason for leaving them alone). You can also meet him in his treasury (read below for more info), although I strongly advice you not to go there, where he can't be killed and where you die instantly upon impact. (level 1, 2, 4 and the treasury) credit to Sullivan Bluth
It's weird that Mike would be the one to do this, too. He's so impatient with games he isn't accustomed to... but I guess he can be really diligent once he's used to a thing and has set his mind to it.
"Let's see, how should the power ups in our game look like? Should they look like weapons, coins, food and candles? Of course not, that is what they expect us to do, make them letters!"
Sharklops yeah it's a devious marketing ploy. make the games obscure in impossible to decipher for 9/10 kids and they'll beg their parents for Nintendo power or their hotline
No, they had the game manual that came with the game Sharklops. It tells you that making items appear out of thin air is precisely one of the purposes of the Candle. Now as for WHERE to use the candle, that's left for you to experiment and discover on your own.
Princess Daphne is one of my Don Bluth associated favourite characters ever aside from Kimberly from Space Ace. Please keep us updated when you do, would love to see it!
Soon as I saw this in my feed I thought you were crazy. But thank you, God knows I wasn't gonna to play this game to see whats past the 3rd screen myself.
Cinemassacre I can't remember if you did this already, but Adventure would be cool to see. other than that...I always wanted to see that super scope game, Metal Combat Falcons revenge played through. very underrated, very unknown.
He makes it look really easy, but he's dodging a lot of instant death pit falls and knows the correct path. He's had to have put several hours of practice to get through it like this.
DQuebed Definitely! But even with a lot of practice I imagine it to be pretty tough to pull off such an almost seamless run with only a couple of deaths. Since there are no cuts in the video he must have accomplished that. Or he edited it perfectly :-P
Damn...I can't imagine how much determination and calm Mike had on that video....because when you watch the AVGN episode of Dragon's Lair, you can't imagine further of the gameplay of Dragon's Lair. Pretty nice job !
I love watching these after the corresponding nerd videos. Mike beats these calmly like they're nothing, and the nerd freaks out and gets frustrated because he can't beat it. The contrast it's beautiful.
This is the best game ever. I freakin' love the music and after 14 years of eternal suffering I finally beat it. The day I beat it remains one of the best days of my life. It's right up there with the day I met my loving Argentine wife.
Mike I really love the way that you explained everything that you were going to do as you were doing it and I don't know why it was just oddly satisfying.
"Well you have to play the game over and over again, and memorize literally every movement. I think that's what turns people off to the game, but it's just that kind of game."
That's insane! I myself have never been a great fan of any platform games, I just never was very good with them. Now, this as a whole is just a massive "Remember everything exactly"-game and I don't get any joy out of that kind of games ;) I myself don't, frankly, understand why anyone would torture their self so much to learn these games inside out (with horrible controls to add to enjoyment)... But maybe that just makes me kinda appreciate the achievement even more :D
These latest videos of Mike completing these hard games few really beat is the epitomy of the true video game nerd. Each game has something to teach, each game is beatable, and in comparison the avgn is just a child who can't appreciate the games he plays, badly might I add. Keep these videos coming, I'll keep watching.
Seeing it played out like this, I totally understand the philosophy. The Arcade game was also about memorization and trial & error. It was a quarter guzzler because you had to remember which door to take when, and the only way you knew what to do is if you had gone the wrong way before. So they took that basic game design and put it into NES form, albeit way less forgiving. Almost making it a puzzle game to find the right solution, then a memory game after that.
This game is such a pile of trash, it hurts to watch. It's one of those games that's programmed so poorly that you need to follow a very specific set of inputs, and if you deviate in any way, you die. Just another example of poor programming and of porting a game that shouldn't have been ported.
IMO when your game needs you to seek information in a guide in order to complete it, it's badly designed. And I think there's a difference between hard and bullshit: - Hard is when the level design, puzzles and enemies aren't forgiving: They pose a challange, And in order to beat the game, you really need to practice and practice and practice. Megaman and Contra are hard games. - Bullshit is when you punish the player for things they had no control over, i.e: In Castlevania, you have basicly no way of knowing you have to wait in the cliff with the Red Crystal unless you read a guide, since the clues the game gives you are nonsense. Ergo: You're stuck. That's bullshit. Or when in order to even beat a boss in Dragon's Lair, you need to basicly guess that you needed to stay in that particular spot, press start and jump. The moment the player needs information in a guide just to complete the game, you fucked up.
It works on the arcade because it sucks up coins, you get cool cartoons and you get to be cool when you know the order, but on a home console it's just a waste of time, you are basically sitting at home trying to learn a really long pseudo-memory game.
Isn't that what the arcade game is though? A series of unforgivable challenges where you have to literally know the precise order to do things in with no leeway or time to take a breather? The NES game is a lot fairer than the arcade game but less interesting to look at.
Mike’s advice is:
1. Get the axe
2. Get the axe
3. GET THE AXE
2:21
It almost looks playable when Mike is playing.
I mean, it is playable. It's just the controls are extremely precise.
its like playing darksouls with your feet and you die in one hit...except to extremely tiny enemies
Na
He honestly makes the game look like cakewalk
I feel like James is just bad at games or playing it up for the videos
Dragons Lair: memorize literally every single frame the video game!
Ryan Dollenmayer Yup, pretty much. Mike is a video game saint for putting up with this un-fun game design.
It's like Groundhog Day, when he memorizes every single thing that happens.
*QTE* the video game. literally
So it's basically the arcade game but with bad animation.
In that way its kinda like the original version.
Wow. I've never seen anyone go through this all the way. I loved the arcade game, but the the NES version was brutal.
Without a doubt :D
Yeah it was. Getting past the bridge at the beginning was the biggest accomplishment back in the day. After that the lizard king would always get you.
Walkthroughs didn't exist back then, guy
There were to some extent walk-throughs for certain games if you were lucky enough or had a friend with a Nintendo Power subscription. I remember copying my friends issue that had a ton of things about Super Mario Bros 3. Not all games had such an extensive issue though, sometimes it was just a random tip here and there. Although I do remember by the time I got a subscriptions, the SNES was already out and I ended up completely devoted walk-throughs like the ones for Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2, Final Fantasy 3 (VI), and a few others.
I don't recall anything for Dragon's Lair at the time.
Which NES game wasn't brutal? :)
I can see how they tried to preserve the "hit the correct action at the correct time or die" philosophy of the arcade. But I'm not sure that was the right decision for a sidescroller.
Out of this World and Prince of Persia used the same mechanic as well!
@@trevorblue4531 And Flashback. But they aren't NEARLY as unforgiving as this game.
It was a terrible, horrible decision.
Nice job Mike. The fact that you have to memorize everything to get through it, makes it more of a TEST rather than a game. You aced it, though!
The Adequate Gamer would you say that he Space Aced it? ;^)
"Pause the game at this exact spot to get an important weapon powerup."
Jesus christ. Rote Memorization: The Game
All Hail Mike, The Dragon Slayer.
I thought I was the Dragon's Layer.
Dragon's Layer Productions more like the Lady Slayer
...ladies ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
79Dtrain He Slays Claire Every.. Single.. Night.
Shiny Kingdra Right..
From back when video games were just like, "fuck you".
Keith Fulkerson Isn't it the same as today?
Bitoy Skii Yeah, but this time they're saying it about our wallets instead of insane difficulty
Don't even remind me of those sierra games where those games were super notorious of cryptic shit and fucking the player over so easily.
+mjc0961 facts!!!!!
Keith Fulkerson Well, Atlus still creates games just like that.
This game turns your NES into a torture machine.
Mike, you are crushing these NES games. Great job. When I was a kid, if an adult like you would've come over and beat these games in front of me, you would've been my hero. This is like revenge on these games.
The avgn review of this game gets me everytime XD
Mike, how long did it take you to perfect this? This shit is absurd.
Mike,
Here's the answer to your question about the floating dragon guy.
The Floating Lizard King (Mordroc) : comes sometimes flying on the levels to steal your gold (and energy), but can then be killed by 8 daggers. His appearance seems to be rather randomized, although I can't recall ever having met him on level 3 nor when I haven't had any goldbags left (that's a good reason for leaving them alone). You can also meet him in his treasury (read below for more info), although I strongly advice you not to go there, where he can't be killed and where you die instantly upon impact. (level 1, 2, 4 and the treasury) credit to Sullivan Bluth
Oh, and when you go to the Treasury level, it's there that you can get back all the gold he's taken from you.
why you'd want to do this is beyond me.
Carlos Girardot the floating lizard is not Mordroc. "The Evil Wizard Mordroc" is the villain of Dragon's Lair 2. That lizard is "The Lizard King"
Damn, you deserve your own wall, nice gameplay!
That's a nice face you're making, Donald. LAWL!
and AVGN will pay for it.
I didn't know Donald was on UA-cam. Hi from Britain thanks for supporting us out of the eu. When it happens eventually
ok
I have never seen someone have so much patience with a piece of shit game like this.
It's weird that Mike would be the one to do this, too. He's so impatient with games he isn't accustomed to... but I guess he can be really diligent once he's used to a thing and has set his mind to it.
You're a piece of shit
Imagine if every time you died, you had to insert a quarter into the NES to keep playing.
That last D-icon is such a F U from the game creators.
Nobody wants the D.
"Let's see, how should the power ups in our game look like? Should they look like weapons, coins, food and candles? Of course not, that is what they expect us to do, make them letters!"
In 2020 this is still the most impressive run Mike has done. Well played sir.
Holy shot this requires even more precision and memorization than the arcade game😳
"This is gonna be hard" - Mike Matei, after finishing 90% of the game already.
I remember renting this from Power Video then taking right back
Watching these videos I can easily sense that Mike loves playing video games, which gives us a really good feeling.
good job mike. this was a tough one
Thanks, yes it was. Took days of practice before I could do this run. Thanks for watching -Mike
Sharklops yeah it's a devious marketing ploy. make the games obscure in impossible to decipher for 9/10 kids and they'll beg their parents for Nintendo power or their hotline
No, they had the game manual that came with the game Sharklops. It tells you that making items appear out of thin air is precisely one of the purposes of the Candle. Now as for WHERE to use the candle, that's left for you to experiment and discover on your own.
Danik Epta don't be a hater Dbag
They thought they'd make a killing, selling strategy guides.
Instead they just killed their own game.
Congrats on the clear. The patience you need for this game is unreal.
I'm planning to cosplay as the princess :)
still got to make the outfit!!! Going to buy it on Etsy!
tits
Princess Daphne is one of my Don Bluth associated favourite characters ever aside from Kimberly from Space Ace. Please keep us updated when you do, would love to see it!
SupaNintendoGirl Hey ya! Outkast
I'm gonna cosplay as Mike
Soon as I saw this in my feed I thought you were crazy. But thank you, God knows I wasn't gonna to play this game to see whats past the 3rd screen myself.
Did I just die by walking into the fucking door!?
Freaking awesome Mike! I had suggested you beat this game after you beat the balls off of Holy Diver 3 weeks ago! You got big stones bro!
If you have any other suggestions let me know. Thanks for watching -Mike
Cinemassacre I can't remember if you did this already, but Adventure would be cool to see. other than that...I always wanted to see that super scope game, Metal Combat Falcons revenge played through. very underrated, very unknown.
Cinemassacre oh oh oh!!! do sewer shark on Sega cd! or a video of a root canal..both equally entertaining.
Cinemassacre how about playthrough of werewolf on nes...
Cinemassacre how about playthrough of werewolf on nes...
What madness overtakes a man when he thinks "I'll play through Dragon's Lair on NES"?
The Dark Souls of video games
Dude that walk on the platform in the dark. Total pro.
"Did I just die by walking into a f**ing door!?" Lol! Well played Mike! Epic lucky moving platform in the dark there!
Goddamn it Mike is there a game you CAN'T beat?!
Charlie's Angels
sonic ryse of lyric
desert bus
yeah like cheetahmen from action 52
one hard game after the other. Next will be dark castle? ;-)
Am surprised that you can beat this in 20 mInutes, thats NES for ya :D
He makes it look really easy, but he's dodging a lot of instant death pit falls and knows the correct path. He's had to have put several hours of practice to get through it like this.
Yeah at least 100 hours if he didn't use emulators
I'd love to see Mike complete Dark Castle. Such a hilariously bad game.
DQuebed Definitely! But even with a lot of practice I imagine it to be pretty tough to pull off such an almost seamless run with only a couple of deaths. Since there are no cuts in the video he must have accomplished that. Or he edited it perfectly :-P
PedzRR I always piss myself laughing with these "Nenenene" Goblins. You really wonder what they were thinking :-D
The pixel precision required in this game is making me pull my hair out even though I know you've practiced and will do alright.
Damn...I can't imagine how much determination and calm Mike had on that video....because when you watch the AVGN episode of Dragon's Lair, you can't imagine further of the gameplay of Dragon's Lair. Pretty nice job !
His calmness is amazing, I put my fist though a wall playing this POS back in the day.
1. Get the Axe
2. Get the Axe
3. Get the Axe
I love watching these after the corresponding nerd videos. Mike beats these calmly like they're nothing, and the nerd freaks out and gets frustrated because he can't beat it.
The contrast it's beautiful.
You can tell Mike was completely miserable, playing this game.
fking troll
Just want to say that I love watching your videos. You and James get me through the day. Thank you!
Impressive. Very very impressive. Kudos Mike.
We will never forget your brave heroic sacrifice, Mike.
This is the best game ever. I freakin' love the music and after 14 years of eternal suffering I finally beat it. The day I beat it remains one of the best days of my life. It's right up there with the day I met my loving Argentine wife.
The Tonberry's Lair "the best game ever"
😑
That walk of faith was kick ass Mike! XD It's times like that in gaming when i never have video proof...
I know he like likes to practice before hand so he can one shot these games but I'd like to see mike as he perfects his technique.
Basically you want to watch his childhood.
Mike has one hell of a memory if he can remember either a guide or every single death he has had in this game.
6:10 to 6:15 HOLY SHIT MIKE YOU RULE
Will never complain about battletoads anymore...
I can't believe how you make it look so easy.
Mike I really love the way that you explained everything that you were going to do as you were doing it and I don't know why it was just oddly satisfying.
Was this even fun to play? It seems like you were taking a test.
Seems like he had fun with his "Last Crusade"-style leap of faith, at least.
🤠〽️ ҉
Thanks for the play-through, Mike. You are a great guy.
You have floppy shoes, the reason the ghost king comes is because he is fruity, he's the fashion police.
This is one of those games we all knew well because of the nerd, but I doubt any of us saw any farther
Very impressive graphics and animation for an NES game... easily looks better than some Genesis games.
ronjon83 haha no.
ronjon83 No, but it looks almost as good as Master System games. I don't like the art style tho
haha... yes
Looks way better than shitty Master System games.
It's easier to actually slay a dragon than play through this game to the end. Well done Mike!
you have loads more patience then me.
"Well you have to play the game over and over again, and memorize literally every movement. I think that's what turns people off to the game, but it's just that kind of game."
Out of this World and Prince of Persia used the same mechanic as well!
There is a rom hack that makes this game manageable and not a total shitshow.
Great job, Mike. The platform in the dark was amazing!
I've always thought this game was asstastic. I'm still correct. I commend your patience in memorizing and completing this turd.
I thought this game was just two screens long because I never saw someone before with the patience to go beyond that, nice work Mike.
The Dark Souls of NES games
GreenSoap dark souls is skill based this game is trial and error based
@Ege Baysal Whoa kind of harsh there, aren't ya? Tone it down a bit, no point insulting each other.
not NEARLY as much as this game
I find only two trial shit things in Dragons Lair, more in Dark Souls. Both of these are hard.
Dark souls is WAY more forgiving than this game. Hell, even Gothic 2 was more forgiving.
That's insane! I myself have never been a great fan of any platform games, I just never was very good with them.
Now, this as a whole is just a massive "Remember everything exactly"-game and I don't get any joy out of that kind of games ;)
I myself don't, frankly, understand why anyone would torture their self so much to learn these games inside out (with horrible controls to add to enjoyment)... But maybe that just makes me kinda appreciate the achievement even more :D
At least the game is responsive and have good hitbox
Unlike Transformers: Mystery of Convoy
Respect for mastering this game!
Why didn't You hit that second "lava man" from behind? Do You have to attack him from the front?
I was wondering about this as well. Mike even started from behind it and seemed to have an "oh nevermind" moment.
Yup. :-)
He's probably just being a showoff. You know what, though? He deserves that much for managing to get through this.
No doubt about it. I mean...beating this is hell.
If im not mistaken you can shoot from the left you can only shoot when facing right
Holy Shit. I didn't think it were possible, but you did it Mike. Can't imagine the hours of frustration that it took to learn how to beat this game.
As much I love the graphics, the game looks just painful to play.
This is fucking CRAZY.
Props, Mike. Hell of a playthrough.
6:15 superrr lucky
These latest videos of Mike completing these hard games few really beat is the epitomy of the true video game nerd. Each game has something to teach, each game is beatable, and in comparison the avgn is just a child who can't appreciate the games he plays, badly might I add. Keep these videos coming, I'll keep watching.
I've never seen anyone get anywhere in this game. Looks tedious, just timing everything right. Rough.
This game is literally impossible. This dude is next level.
I love these playthroughs of shitty games. Keep it up Mike!
Just last week I was searching for a play through after rewatchng this episode! Perfect
Pff.. this game is easy.
..to watch :P
Seeing it played out like this, I totally understand the philosophy. The Arcade game was also about memorization and trial & error. It was a quarter guzzler because you had to remember which door to take when, and the only way you knew what to do is if you had gone the wrong way before. So they took that basic game design and put it into NES form, albeit way less forgiving. Almost making it a puzzle game to find the right solution, then a memory game after that.
How much have you played this in order to memorize everything?
Thanks for sharing Mike, I love these.
HA! Dark Souls? Bloodborne? pffff those are for kids! this is a real challenge
The Tactics, strategy, timing... What a wonderfully deep game! 10:51 Look the face of Mike: Pure FUN! LOL
Riveting. Can you do a playthrough of Pong next?
6:10 Mike walks blindly across a moving platform...wow
Good performance, bad game. Definitely not fun to do play, hence bad.
I totally enjoy watching mike only playthroughs
This game is such a pile of trash, it hurts to watch. It's one of those games that's programmed so poorly that you need to follow a very specific set of inputs, and if you deviate in any way, you die. Just another example of poor programming and of porting a game that shouldn't have been ported.
Shinobi Wolf More than poor programing, I would call it poorly designed.
IMO when your game needs you to seek information in a guide in order to complete it, it's badly designed.
And I think there's a difference between hard and bullshit:
- Hard is when the level design, puzzles and enemies aren't forgiving: They pose a challange, And in order to beat the game, you really need to practice and practice and practice. Megaman and Contra are hard games.
- Bullshit is when you punish the player for things they had no control over, i.e: In Castlevania, you have basicly no way of knowing you have to wait in the cliff with the Red Crystal unless you read a guide, since the clues the game gives you are nonsense. Ergo: You're stuck. That's bullshit. Or when in order to even beat a boss in Dragon's Lair, you need to basicly guess that you needed to stay in that particular spot, press start and jump.
The moment the player needs information in a guide just to complete the game, you fucked up.
Also, why does it seem to go in slow motion?
It works on the arcade because it sucks up coins, you get cool cartoons and you get to be cool when you know the order, but on a home console it's just a waste of time, you are basically sitting at home trying to learn a really long pseudo-memory game.
Isn't that what the arcade game is though? A series of unforgivable challenges where you have to literally know the precise order to do things in with no leeway or time to take a breather? The NES game is a lot fairer than the arcade game but less interesting to look at.
I had this game as a kid and def enjoyed seeing you beat it. People have no idea how tough that actually is. rock on Mike.
Is it just me or Mike keeps getting younger every year?
I literally did a spit take when I saw what game you were playing through. Brutal!
Castle my Asstle.
Games like these are the reason why I love movies like Groundhog Day or Edge of Tomorrow.
Whats the point of playing a game you have to completely memorize? I hate games like that.
I love how Dirk is looking up and not even paying attention to Daphne, who is looking like she's begging him for some attention
Oh Mike, if only you used your powers for good instead of for pointless
Thank you for conquering this monster from my childhood.
This looks like No Fun the Video Game.