DRAGONS LAIR ARCADE GAME

Dragon's Lair was one of the first laserdisc video games, released in June 1983 by Cinematronics. It featured animation created by former Disney animator Don Bluth. Most other games of the era represented the character as a sprite, which consisted of a series of bitmaps animated by playing them in succession. However due to hardware limitations of the era, artists were greatly restricted in the detail they could achieve using that technique; the resolution, framerate and number of frames were severely constrained. Dragon's Lair overcame those limitations by tapping into the vast storage potential of laserdisc, but imposed other limitations on the actual gameplay.

Instead of controlling the character's actions directly, players control his reflexes, with different full motion video segments playing for correct or incorrect choices. Areas on the laserdisc are accessed according to which command is given. The game has 38 to 42 different episodes with over 1,000 life-and-death situations and over 200 different decisions to make.

The animation for this game took six years in the making. The animation staff used their own voices for their characters instead of hiring professional actors, in order to keep the costs down. In fact, the animation alone cost over a million dollars. They also used several Playboy magazines as a reference guide for drawing Daphne.

The game's enormous contrast with other arcade games of the time created a sensation when it appeared, and was played so heavily that many machines often broke due to the strain of overuse. It was also arguably the most successful game on this medium and is aggressively sought after by collectors.

This arcade machine is an original. If you're looking for a brand new machine in perfect condition this may not be for you. If you're looking for the real thing, an arcade machine that conjours up memories of when you used to have to beg for another 10p to just have one more go, then this will be the machine for you. We take time sourcing our machines to ensure they're in good condition for their age to provide you with a machine that lights up your memories.

Please note: Due to constantly changing stock the cabinet design may vary from the one shown.