| Escape from Singe's Castle | |
| Publisher: | Software Projects (8 bit, Europe), Electronic Arts (Commodore 64, USA), ReadySoft (16 bit) |
| Series: | Dragon's Lair |
| Platforms: | Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Mac OS, Apple IIGS |
| Released: | 1987 (8-bit) 1989 (16-bit) |
| Modes: | Single-player |
Escape from Singe's Castle, also known as Dragon's Lair Part II - Escape From Singe's Castle, is a 1987 video game from Software Projects. The game is sometimes referred to as Dragon's Lair II, but is not the official arcade sequel .
Players control Dirk the Daring, the player character from Dragon's Lair, who has returned to the lair of Singe the dragon in order to claim a pot of gold. Singe has laid traps throughout his lair, forcing players to guide Dirk across a number of differently themed screens in order to steal the gold and escape.[1] In the 8 bit versions, there are eight different levels.
In the 16-bit version, Dirk is supposed to rescue Daphne again, this time from the Shapeshifter. Unlike the earlier 8-bit version, this is a cartoon-based interactive movie, like its predecessor, where the player is supposed to choose the correct movement for Dirk in the right time.
Bethesda Softworks developed the MS-DOS version of the game in 1989.[2] [3]
An Apple IIGS version had reportedly been completed by ReadySoft and scheduled to be released in 1991 (manuals from other ports list detailed IIGS-specific loading instructions and features),[4] but was never publicly released. In 2022, decades later with the original ReadySoft port still missing or lost, Brutal Deluxe created and released a new Apple IIGS port based on the PC version.[5]
Allen L. Greenberg reviewed the ReadySoft game for Computer Gaming World, and stated that "Dragon's Lair II: Escape From Singe's Castle is an odd creature, an exceptional program which suffers from uninteresting game-play."[6]