Princess Daphne (character)
Princess Daphne | |
---|---|
Dragon's Lair character | |
![]() Princess Daphne with Dirk the Daring | |
First appearance | Dragon's Lair (1983) |
Created by | Rick Dyer |
Designed by | Don Bluth |
Voiced by | Vera Lanpher (Dragon's Lair, Dragon's Lair II) Ellen Gerstell (television series) Darcy Harvier (Dragon's Lair 3D) |
Princess Daphne is a fictional character from the Dragon's Lair series of video games. She was created and designed by Rick Dyer and Don Bluth and introduced in the original Dragon's Lair in 1983.
In the games, Princess Daphne is the beautiful daughter of King Aethelred[1] and an unnamed queen. She 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.[2]
Appearances[]
In the original Dragon's Lair game, Princess Daphne is kidnapped 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.[3][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. Daphne and Dirk 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]).[11] 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's mother, who is shown as a fat and furious woman chasing Dirk at the start of the game.[12][13][14][15][16]
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.[17][18][19]
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 holding her prisoner. She is impersonated by Dirk's dark alter-ego, later revealing that the "Daphne" Dirk was speaking to had been Mordroc all along. Dirk eventually defeats Mordroc and saves the princess.
In the cartoon series, her character and role are far more developed. She is an adventurous character, eagerly abandoning her regal persona to join Dirk and Timothy during their adventures.
Design and portrayal[]
Princess Daphne was originally created by Rick Dyer's Advanced Microcomputer Systems (AMS, later RDI Video Systems) team, then completely redesigned by the ex-Disney artist and animator Don Bluth. Bluth took his inspiration from photographs from the producer Gary Goldman's collection of old issues of Playboy magazine, ultimately putting Daphne "in a very-revealing one piece 'thong' bathing suit with a sheer veil that partially covered her".[20] Due to the limited budget's constraints, Daphne's in-game vocals were supplied by the head of AMS' Clean-up Department, Vera Lanpher.[21]
For Dragon's Lair II, where Daphne is after experiencing more than a dozen births, Bluth said "he thought it would be interesting if Daphne looked just as beautiful as ever; there's absolutely no sign she's been through anything".[10] Professional voice actress Ellen Gerstell voiced the character in the cartoon, wherein her attire is a less-revealing dress.
Reception[]
Princess Daphne was met with mostly positive reception and greatly contributed to the success of the game, which was then ported to various home platforms and followed by several sequels, remakes and spin-offs. She has been cited by multiple publications as one of the most attractive characters in video game history.[22][23][24][25][26][27] UGO included her on their 2010 list of top 50 "video game hotties": "When the game was released, Daphne was the best-looking video game heroine around, so we still have a bit of a soft spot for her today".[28] Including her at the 14th place on a similar list in 2012, Larry Hester of Complex opined Daphne "might be the finest damsel in distress ever. Sorry, Peach, Disney-style cel animation wins again".[29]
Gary Goldman watched with amusement as one player/performer in a Los Angeles arcade got the crowd excited when he made it all the way to the lair of the dragon. As Princess Daphne seductively urged the player to save her, he dropped to the ground, did a 360-degree Michael Jackson-style spin, jumped up and waved his arms like a magician before hitting the game button. "Look at that chick", he yelled as the audience clapped in approval. Such a response to the princess has earned Bluth some flak about the sexist nature of video games but he insists that the characters were developed with a tongue-in-cheek attitude and an eye for comic effect. He also points out that the princess has not kept female players away from Dragon's Lair and in one Denver tournament, three women tied with three men in competition on the game. While he makes no promises, Bluth hints that female characters may be more liberated in future games.[30]
Video Games, 1983
Back in 1983, JoyStik's Joe Mendsky wrote "Daphne may look like the closest thing to a porn star in the annals of the video game, but she's not dumb. She's seen the line of quarters across the floor at the Denver arcade".[6] Nearly three decades later, Complex said of her that there has "only ever really been one reason to play Dragon's Lair",[31] and stated: "Never mind that the gameplay was nothing more than a quarter-sucking game of trial-and-error and memorization. And, oh, God: Princess Daphne and her little sheer black dress. Jesus Christ. She was way too sexy. Our little brains exploded".[32] Ranking her as the 14th "hottest video game girl of all time" in 2013, Steve Jenkins of CheatCodes.com wrote: "Don Bluth's animated portrayal of Daphne, the princess who just can't seem to keep out of trouble, was the real attraction in this game… and attractive she was. (...) Princess Daphne's love of shear(sic!) clothing, plunging necklines, and her eternal 'damsel in distress' neediness made 50 cents a bargain to spend some quality time with her".[33] Writing about the reason Dragon's Lair became so popular, Nikola Suprak of Hardcore Gamer stated: "Years of playing video games has made me very familiar with the 'save the princess' motif, which makes me extremely suspicious about Daphne's princess credentials. There is a far greater chance that she is just a stripper with the stage name Princess than an actual princess, because if actual princesses dressed like she did the royal weddings wouldn't be so boring to watch".[34]
Jon M. Gibson of GameSpy called Daphne "the epitome of a damsel in distress".[35] Rob Mead of ST Format wrote "Daphne has to be the dippiest woman on the planet. She's gone and got herself kidnapped again. Can you believe it? The woman is a victim. She might as well walk around with the words 'Kidnap me' tattooed on her forehead".[17] Charlie Barratt of GamesRadar included her among the seven "damsels you DON'T want to save", arguing that "underneath the skimpy leotard and fluttering eyelashes, Daphne's no deeper than a cardboard cutout. No smarter than a blow-up doll bimbo. Nothing more than salacious and cynical bait for your hard-earned quarters (and Dragon's Lair swallowed a LOT of quarters)".[36] Glamour model Tara Babcock ranked the "beyond beautiful" Daphne as the 16th "hottest video game" and wrote that "her half-naked, yet regal appearance, flowing blonde hair, big eyes with batting lashes and cute, ditzy appearance ... has been the subject of much controversy over 'sexism' in gaming!"[37]
Daphne's voice was described by Earl Green of Classic Gamer Magazine as "a high pitched voice that could cause harm to small pets".[38] Green also wrote that "those of us who were entering adolescence at the time never quite forgave the TV show for covering Princess Daphne up, even though a vast improvement was made in giving her more personality and more intelligence, rather than the original game's helium-voiced ditzy blonde".[39] Reviewing Dragon's Lair 3D in 2002, GameSpot's Ryan Davis wrote Daphne "sounds just as squeaky and ditzy as she did in 1983".[40] Kristan Reed of Eurogamer wrote it "remains as simultaneously amusing and irritating as ever".[41]
See also[]
- DAPHNE, an emulator program to run the arcade version of Dragon's Lair and other LaserDisc games
References[]
- ^ "Amtix Magazine Issue 17". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Computer Gamer - Issue 18 (1986-09) (Argus Press) (UK)". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-09. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Video Games - Volume 2 Number 06 (1984-03) (Pumpkin Press) (US)". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-05-06. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "MicroKids - Issue 02 Volume 01 No 02 (1984-03) (Microkids Publishing) (US)". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-09. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Mean Machines Magazine Issue 16". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-17. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ a b "Joystik Magazine (November 1983) Volume 2 Number 2". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Crash - No. 31 (1986-08) (Newsfield) (UK)". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-09. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "The Games Machine Magazine Issue 30". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Electronic Fun with Computer & Games - Vol 02 No 05 (1984-03) (Fun & Games Publishing) (US)". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ a b "Computer Games - Vol 3 No 1 (1984-04) (Carnegie Publications) (US)". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-09-09. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Sega Visions Issue 25". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-16. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "TheOne Magazine Issue 28". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "CU Amiga Magazine Issue 012". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Zero - Issue 17 (1991-03) (Dennis Publishing) (UK)". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-09. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Raze Magazine Issue 05". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "CD-i Magazine - Issue 12 (1995-06)(Haymarket Publishing) (UK)". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ a b "ST Format - Issue 045 (1993-04) (Future Publishing) (UK)". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-20. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "TheOne Magazine Issue 53". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Amiga Format - Issue 044 (1993-03) (Future Publishing) (UK)". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "The making of... Dragon's Lair". Retro Gamer 24.
- ^ Langshaw, Mark (2014-08-30). "Dragon's Lair retrospective: How the quick time event was born - Gaming Feature". Digitalspy.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
- ^ "Top 20 Girls of Gaming - Gallery 1 - EN". Download.CHIP.eu. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
- ^ "Top 10 Sexiest Outfits". ScrewAttack's Top 10. ScrewAttack.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-25. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
- ^ "Babe of the Week: Out-of-Work Babes Gallery and Images - GameDaily". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
- ^ "40 Hot But Forgotten Female Video Game Characters". Complex. Archived from the original on 2012-12-29. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
- ^ "10 Old School Hotties That Still Got It - Cheat Code Central". Lists.cheatcc.com. Archived from the original on 2014-06-14. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
- ^ "25 nhân vật nữ khiến các game thủ nam "mất tập trung" nhất | Đánh giá - Phóng sự | Thanh Niên Game". Game.thanhnien.com.vn. Archived from the original on 2015-04-12. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
- ^ UGO Team (2011-10-27). "Princess Daphne - Hottest Girls in Games". UGO.com. Archived from the original on 2013-07-28. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "47. Princess Daphne The 50 Hottest Video Game Characters". Complex. 2012-06-27. Archived from the original on 2014-01-18. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Video Games - Volume 2 Number 03 (1983-12) (Pumpkin Press) (US)". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-27. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Arcade Classic "Dragon's Lair" Getting Kinect-ed On XBLA May 18". Complex. 2012-04-28. Archived from the original on 2012-06-23. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Dragon's Lair 10 Arcade Cabinets That Will Make You Miss Your Childhood". Complex. 2014-02-09. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Top 25 Hottest Video Game Girls of All Time | Page 13 of 26 | CheatCodes.com Extra". Cheatcodes.com. 2013-10-21. Archived from the original on 2014-06-27. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Never Forget: Dragons Lair ‹ Hardcore Gamer". Hardcoregamer.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "GameSpy: Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair - Page 1". Xbox.gamespy.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Page 7 - The Top 7... Damsels You DON'T Want to Save". GamesRadar. 2008-01-28. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Tara's G-Spot - Games that hit the spot, according to Tara Babcock - 20 HOTTEST VIDEO GAME BABES BY TARA BABCOCK". www.impulsegamer.com. 2008-08-02. Archived from the original on 2011-10-12. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
- ^ "Classic Gamer Magazine - Volume 1 Issue 5 (2000-09) (Classic Gamer) (US)". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-09. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ "Classic Gamer Magazine - Volume 1 Issue 4 (2000-06) (Classic Gamer) (US)". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-17. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ Davis, Ryan (2003-01-08). "Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ Reed, Kristan (2004-03-17). "Dragon's Lair 3D: Special Edition". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
External links[]
- Animated characters
- Fantasy video game characters
- Female characters in video games
- Princess characters in video games
- Video game characters introduced in 1983