
The Dormant Knight (called The Good Knight in the US manual[1]) is a character who appears exclusively in Dragon's Lair: The Legend, the side-scrolling platform video game developed by Elite Systems and released for the Nintendo Game Boy in 1991. Though the character's identity beneath is armor is unknown, the otherwise nameless knight appears to be a giant and equipped with correspondingly-sized shield and sword.
Once Dirk has collected all 194 Life Stones he is able awaken the Dormant Knight which immediately ends the game and displays the following text:
Well Done! You have succeeded in awakening the Dormant Knight. Together you can face the evil of Mordroc's power.
Another time. . . .
Another place. . .
The End.
Character Development[]
Presumably, the Dormant Knight, once awakened, would have aided Dirk the Daring in his mission to rescue Princess Daphne and defeat Mordroc, but the game's cliffhanger ending leaves the scenario to speculation, although a feature film pitch may reveal some clues as to the storyline's trajectory.
Dragon's Lair: The Legend was also an early working title for an unsuccessful attempt to adapt the franchise into a feature film, and the game shares a few elements with the pitch presentation, such as a legendary Knight whom Dirk must find in order to defeat Mordroc's dark magic, redeem his captured friend Strun and rescue Daphne from a forced marriage to the evil sorcerer-king. In the presentation pitch, a teenaged Dirk seeks out a legendary Knight who is said to be the only one capable of defeating the evil horned-king sorcerer "Mordrock." In Dirk's quest to find the warrior, he overcomes various trials and finds the Knight to be a mysterious and tired former mercenary dwelling in a deserted castle. Promising to help Dirk for a price to be named later, he adorns Dirk in the iconic orange tunic and chain mail armor. The Knight battles Mordrock on a mountain but only succeeds in mortally wounding the possessed body of Dirk's friend Strun. As Mordrock's soul transforms into a large and terrifying dragon, the Knight charges Dirk with the task of slaying the beast then collapses into a heap of empty armor.[2]