Episode Review
The Trogan Dragon
Monday, October 2, 2006, 8:00 PM - Thursday, October 5, 2006, 11:05 PM
Summary (8:10 PM - 8:11 PM)
Since Seasons 1 and 2 of the series will be coming out on DVD on
February 13, 2007, I will not be including summaries in these reviews
for the rest of Season 2. If you're reading this review before you get
the DVD set, you can read a short summary of the episode at
http://ldloveszh.tripod.com/cnepis.html#trojan
Misc. Tidbits (8:12 PM - 8:13 PM)
The episode was written by Matt Uitz.
The original air date of the episode is unknown at the time of this
writing. The original air dates for the Seasons 1 and 2 episodes will
be revealed in a booklet that's being packaged with the DVD set.
I probably first saw this episode on NBC, then possibly on The Family
Channel, and finally "Captain N & The Video Game Masters".
Interesting Notes (8:13 PM - 8:42 PM; Tuesday, October 3, 2006, 10:28
AM - 11:41 AM, 2:43 PM - 3:13 PM)
The title is white with no quotes.
The Palace of Power is powered by the Sun Stone.
Hyrule has a dragonwood forest.
Dragon's Den is "across the vastness of Videoland" from Hyrule.
Kevin's Zapper beams are blue in this episode.
Simon is claustrophobic.
Simon often waits until the last moment, so he can make a grand
entrance.
Kevin's weapons lose power in this episode, but there's no indication
of that on his meter.
Simon's mother always told him, "A good hero knows when to fight and
when to run."
Great Lines (Tuesday, October 3, 2006, 10:27 AM - 11:41 AM, 3:10 PM -
3:13 PM)
Kevin: "Now you're thinking, Simon."
Simon: "I am? Uh, I mean of course I was thinking what I was thinking.
Uh, what was I thinking?"
Simon: "It's a good thing the word 'fear' isn't in my vocabulary. But
the word 'terror' is."
Moblin: "You'll be my first catch of the day."
Simon: "Not if I have anything to say about it, and I do: Help!"
Link: "Leave or taste my sword, moblin. Which shall it be?"
Kevin: "Well, this is all the gold that we have."
Shopkeeper: "I have a special bargain rate for heroes."
Kevin: "Maybe he's out to lunch."
Lana: "I think he's trying to make lunch out of us."
Dragon: "State your name and territory."
Kid Icarus: "Uh, I'm, uh, Dragonicus from, uh, Mount Icaronius."
Dragon: "Not on my list. You got any identification?"
Kid Icarus: "Uh, I must've left it in my, um, other scales."
Lana: "Kid Icarus and Mega Man already have their hands and feet
full."
Lana: "Gameboy's power must be running out by now, Kevin. We can't
leave without the Sun Stone."
Kevin: "I hadn't planned to, Princess."
Dumb Lines (Thursday, October 5, 2006, 12:09 AM - 12:10 AM)
None.
Rant (Monday, October 2, 2006, 8:14 PM - 8:42 PM; Tuesday, October 3,
2006, 10:29 AM - 11:41 AM, 2:30 PM - 3:13 PM; Wednesday, October 4,
2006, 11:30 PM - Thursday, October 5, 2006, 12:58 AM, 7:00 PM - 7:59
PM, 10:22 PM - 11:05 PM)
This episode was written by Matt Uitz. This is the first episode of
his that I've reviewed so far. Let's see how well that he does.
It's nighttime (or close to it) at the Palace of Power. Why is the
Palace of Power golden, rather than white, at night in this episode?
When we first see Simon in this episode, his skin is paler than usual.
It's the same tone as Kevin's. It's back to normal in the next shot of
him. Then it's back to pale. Then it's back to normal.
Kevin and Simon stored their clothes in a safe place, after all (see
"The Big Game"). Either that, or the N Team used the Ultimate Warp
Zone to open a warp to Earth, and the kids threw the clothes into it.
Why is Gameboy plugged into an outlet? Do his batteries need
recharging?
How can a power overload cause Gameboy to create more monsters?
Mega Man can fly in this episode. This is the first time that we see
it. He didn't have flight capability in the games at this time.
We learn that the Palace of Power is powered by something called the
Sun Stone. It looks more like a Sun Rock to me, but that's not
alliterate. :P Anyway, that's different than the fusion reactor in the
comic book universe.
When Mega Man reports to Lana over his built-in communications device,
what is she receiving it on? For that matter, how is she receiving it?
All of the power went out in the Palace. Does she have a cell phone?
If so, then where does she keep it? Um, I better move on...
Lana says that the Palace has a "defense system". What exactly is it?
Gameboy can keep the defense system running for 12.2 hours. Kevin says
that gives them until sunrise. This means that it's currently around
early evening. It's also going to be important later on.
What is Simon saying when Kevin opens the closet? I never understood
it. The last word sounds like "hallway" to me.
Dragonlord says the golden egg will be hatched at sunrise. Again, this
will be important later on.
When the N Team (sans Gameboy) arrives on Dragon's Den, the music from
level 1 of "Marble Madness" is playing (or so I've been told).
There are slimes in the Dragon Warrior games, but they're easy to
defeat and don't do much harm there, not deadly as shown here.
I love Lana's half-closed-eyes look when she and Kevin are behind the
rock.
Why does Kevin tell Duke, "Good work, fella"? Kevin was right there
when the coins appeared. It's not like Duke helped.
It's nice to hear some mention of Earth. Specifically, Kevin talks
about the Greeks, Troy, and the wooden horse. He also uses the proper
word, "sneaked", rather than the made-up "snuck".
Simon saying "Vampires and dragons are my specialty" might be a
reference to the first Dragon Warrior episode, "Three Men and a
Dragon". Then again, it might not be.
Simon just offers the moblin's spear back to him?! Way to demonstrate
lousy fighting skills, Simon. Offer your enemy's weapon back to him.
Sheesh, Simon sure is unappreciative of Link and Zelda each saving his
life once.
This episode's featured song, which plays during the dragon-building
montage, is something that I call "Into the Mouth of the Dragon". I've
heard that it's a parody of "Working In a Coal Mine", but I've
listened to it, and I don't hear a resemblence. Does anyone know for
sure?
There's a major error during the dragon-building montage. Kevin and
Lana are there, working on the dragon! They're supposed to be on
Dragon's Den!
Simon again demonstrates his love of painting. See "Metroid Sweet
Metroid".
How can Simon survive a blast of fire?
I wonder if the shop and the shopkeeper are the same ones as in "Three
Men and a Dragon". His voice is different, though.
The axe knight is in the deserted and destroyed town of Hauksness and
in Castle Charlock in "Dragon Warrior", not in a cave.
Kevin now has 6 gold coins. That means that he picked up 4 more since
he got the 2 in the earlier scene.
Why does Kevin call out in the cave? That was stupid.
Kevin presses the A button on his Power Pad to pause. What?
Despite what Kevin says, we don't actually see the pause draining his
Power Pad. All of the units are lit.
Why is the flame on Lana's torch still moving during the pause? Then
again, it's been shown that she can talk during a pause, so this isn't
too odd.
It's cute how the axe knight scratches his head armor in confusion. :P
We can't tell from their appearances in this episode if this Link and
Zelda are the same Link and Zelda from the Zelda cartoon series or
not.
Simon running out of the wooden dragon, falling to his knees, and
kissing the ground is the same thing that he did in "Happy Birthday,
Megaman". It might be just a coincidence, though.
Why does Duke seemingly "laugh"? How does he know to find Simon's
behavior funny?
Lana knows about the legendary golden dragon. This is an indication
that Lana seems to be knowledgable about video worlds.
Kid Icarus' nickname for the wooden dragon is Dragonicus from Mount
Icaronius. :P
How could the dragon look into the wooden dragon's eyes and not see
the cockpit? Or did he figure out that the dragon's a fake and simply
not have an opportunity to tell Dragonlord? Or did he tell Dragonlord,
who ordered those training exercises to destroy the wooden dragon? Who
knows?
It's amazing that Kevin, Lana, and Duke can sneak out of the belly of
the wooden dragon without Dragonlord noticing.
Why does Duke nod? How can he understand Kevin's question?
It's convenient that the giant, metal dragon mouth (which isn't in the
games) slows down just long enough when Kevin, Lana, and Duke jump
through it.
When Kevin's Power Pad loses power, all of the units are lit, but the
one all the way on the right (Kevin's left) flashes. What?
Sheesh. I understand that Simon's claustrophobic, but he totally blew
their cover!
Simon claims that he doesn't wear neck jewelry, but this might just be
his way of expressing his displeasure of the cursed necklace.
The cursed necklace is in "Dragon Warrior". If you have it, you're
supposed to sell it and not equip it. I know nothing about it beyond
that. Can someone let me know what it does?
Why does Kevin tell Simon, Mega Man, and Kid Icarus to keep it down?
It's logical for them to scream for help.
I love how Simon yells "Oh, no!" when the door to the wooden dragon
closes. =) It's the same way that he exclaims it in "The Invasion of
the Paper Pedalers", which I mentioned in my review of that episode.
It's never explained where Lana got the bottle of fairy water, not
that it matters.
Fairy water is in "Dragon Warrior". You use it to avoid any enemies
for a time.
Simon says "Thank Heavens", a rare religious reference on this series.
I love how Lana smiles at Simon when Kevin suggests what to do with
the cursed necklace. =)
Technically, both "Oh, no, you don't" and "Oh, no, I won't" work.
There's no need for Simon to correct himself. :P
Why does Dragonlord just stand there and let Simon put the cursed
necklace on him? And why doesn't he knock it off of his chest before
it expands and locks around his neck?
I wonder whose idea that it was to give Dragonlord the bottle of fairy
water. For that matter, did Simon drop it, or did someone else? I
can't tell, because RealPlayer offers limited frame scrolling.
Whoever did it must have been really confident that Dragonlord would
throw the cursed necklace at his own golden dragon, because the N Team
had no way to defeat it otherwise.
Why was the golden dragon holding onto the Sun Stone this whole time?
I thought it was supposed to be some legendary, bad-ass creature. Why
would it need the Sun Stone?
How can Simon, Lana, or anyone hold onto the Sun Stone? It's such a
powerful energy source. Shouldn't it harm them in some way?
The episode ends on a beautiful shot - with the wooden dragon flying
off into the sunrise.
Speaking of sunrise, Gameboy should be out of power by now, according
to Kevin's estimate. The N Team better get back to the Palace of Power
pronto.
Lesson: Control yourself during claustrophobia? Beats me.
This episode is above average. Matt Uitz wrote a pretty good episode.
This episode seems to be based primarily on the first "Dragon Warrior"
game, due to the flame sword, the silver shield, the cursed necklace,
the fairy water, and Dragonlord himself. The golden dragon seems to
come from the opening screen of "Dragon Warrior II", where a golden
dragon is clutching a red, Sun Stone-shaped object. I can't find any
other reference to a "golden dragon" in either game, though.
It's nice that Gameboy got left back at the Palace of Power. It makes
this episode seem almost like a Season 1 episode.
Mother Brain does not appear in this episode. That's not a complaint,
though, because keeping the main villain and her lackeys out increases
the intelligence of this episode immensely. The only reason that I'm
bringing up her lack of involvement is because Kevin was brought to
Videoland to defeat her, so it makes this episode a stand-alone side
story, which is fine, because Kevin can't defeat her until the final
episode, anyway.
As for what to cut out, I can't think of any filler in this episode.
Overall, "The Trojan Dragon" is a good episode.
Usefulness ratings:
Kevin: 10 (warning of the slime attack, defeating 1 slime, coming up
with the idea for the wooden dragon, getting the sword and shield,
helping to fly the wooden dragon, blocking Lana and Duke from falling
into the lava lake, telling Lana to sit on the shield, holding onto
Duke, suggesting using the cursed necklace on Dragonlord)
Lana: 4 (suggesting the dragonwood forest on Hyrule, lighting the
torch, spotting the treasure chest, removing the cursed necklace from
Simon)
Simon: 5 (giving Kevin the idea for the wooden dragon, helping to
build the wooden dragon, helping to fly the wooden dragon, putting the
cursed necklace on Dragonlord, catching the Sun Stone)
Mega Man: 3 (defeating 1 slime, helping to build the wooden dragon,
helping to fly the wooden dragon)
Kid Icarus: 3 (defeating 1 slime, helping to build the wooden dragon,
helping to fly the wooden dragon)
Duke: 0
Gameboy: 1 (keeping the Palace's defense system running)
Link: 2 (helping to build the wooden dragon, defeating the moblin)
Zelda: 2 (helping to build the wooden dragon, defeating the spider)
I don't count giving the bottle of fairy water to Dragonlord, because
I don't know who did it or whose idea that it was.
The running total usefulness ratings for this season so far are:
Kevin: 69 (9 episodes)
Lana: 18 (9 episodes)
Simon: 15 (9 episodes)
Mega Man: 19 (9 episodes)
Kid Icarus: 19 (9 episodes)
Duke: 7 (9 episodes)
Gameboy: 14 (9 episodes)
Link: 24 (3 episodes)
Zelda: 8 (3 episodes)
Lana is still ahead of Simon in this season's competition for the
moment.
The running total usefulness ratings for the series so far are:
Kevin: 116 (22 episodes)
Lana: 27 (22 episodes)
Simon: 36 (22 episodes)
Mega Man: 36 (22 episodes)
Kid Icarus: 42 (22 episodes)
Duke: 21 (22 episodes)
Gameboy: 14 (9 episodes)
Link: 155 (16 episodes)
Zelda: 71 (16 episodes)
Lana is still in 5th place. We'll see how long that she stays there.
That's the end of my review of "The Trojan Dragon". I have "The Lost
City of Kongoland" listed for Saturday, November 10, 1990 (though a
lot of my air dates might change when the DVD set comes out), so I'll
review that next. See you all in my next review!
Mark Moore
