Princess Daphne (Dragon's Lair)

* Original
* Time Warp
* Banshee

Please, Save Me! . . . To Slay the Dragon, Use the Magic Sword!—Daphne, *Dragon's Lair* (1983 arcade)

**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. Daphne is a recurring character and the deuteragonist of the *Dragon's Lair* franchise, regularly the damsel in distress for which the hero Dirk the Daring risks his life to save. Daphne is widely known for her captivating appearance and bubbly personality.

## Story

In the original arcade game, Daphne is taken captive by the dragon Singe and imprisoned in a crystal orb, locked by a magical key.
Daphne has brief appearances during the game, seen at the beginning of some sequences carried by a shadowy figure and yells "Save me!" She appears in the final level of the game at the center of Singe’s lair, informing Dirk that the key to her prison is around the dragon's neck and that he must use the magic sword and slay the dragon. Throughout the battle, Daphne reacts to the many actions Dirk takes until he finally rescues her, ending the game.

In the sequel arcade game *Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp*, several years have passed since the original game, revealing Daphne to have become the mother of many children together with Dirk the Daring. She is also shown to be the daughter of her an unnamed mother, who lives together with the family in a cottage in a forest. However Daphne is again captured, this time by the evil wizard Mordroc, who wants to enslave her in marriage with the Death Ring. Near the end of the game, the Death Ring may transform her from a beautiful princess into The Banshee, an ugly gargantuan monster with a ravenous appetite, depending on the version of the game and whether certain gameplay objectives are met. Regardless of whether her transformation is triggered, Dirk successfully rescues her from Mordroc's dark magic, ensuring her safe return to normal and reunion with their family.

## Appearance and Abilities

As the princess in need of rescuing, Princess Daphne is a very beautiful and voluptuous woman. In the video games, Daphne has long golden hair that reaches down to her thighs, circular purple earrings, and a headband with a miniature crown. She wears a dark but translucent sparkly sheer over a black one-piece swimsuit-like dress, open-toe high heels, and a necklace with a matching bracelet.

In *Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp*, Daphne wears a bathing suit-like garment similar to her original attire, but is covered by a blue-tinted sheer and wears a purple headband; her crown appears inconsistently throughout the game. Her earrings also appear much smaller. Throughout much of the game's darker environments, Daphne's skin appears to have a purple-tint and her hair appears pale white, a possible visualization of her suffering the effects of the evil wizard’s enchantment spell. In her transformed state as The Banshee, Daphne becomes a giant and obese monster, distinguished by purple skin covered in warts, white strands of matted hair, a pig-snout, sharp teeth, purple horns protruding over each ear, dark purple claws, a dragon-like tail, and a dark lizard fin running along her backbone and tail. The Banshee wears a black one-piece bathing suit similar to Daphne, and she also wears black pointy heels with ribbons that cover her toes completely, distinct from Daphne's traditional open-toed high-heels. At the game's conclusion, Daphne's mind and bright countenance are fully restored, and she joyfully runs into Dirk's arms.

In the 1984 Dragon's Lair animated series, Daphne wears more modest clothing than she does in the video games. She has a wider crown, golden braces around her biceps and a long dress in purple and pink colors.

Outside of the video games, Daphne has various although drastically limited abilities that she has shown throughout the series. In the comic book mini-series, Daphne is introducer as a warrior princess who adventures with Dirk, proving herself agile enough to avoid Singe's fiery breath and strong enough to incapacitate a small dragon by throwing a stone at its head. She is also said to have beheaded countless enemies while aiding Dirk in his prior battles.

With Dirkin Blue Sheer (Time Warp)Under Mordroc's SpellTransformation by Death RingFully Transformed into BansheeTelevision SeriesAdventurer (Comic Book)