Princess Daphne (character)

Princess Daphne
Dragon's Lair character
Princess Daphne with Dirk the Daring
First game	Dragon's Lair (1983)
Created by	Rick Dyer
Designed by	Don Bluth
Voiced by	Vera Lanpher (video game) Ellen Gerstell (television series)

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 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.

In the original Dragon's Lair game, Princess Daphne is taken 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. The story has been described by Crash as "a cross between an Arthurian romance and George and the Dragon."

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 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. 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). 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.