DRAGONS LAIR 3 THE CURSE OF MORDREAD MOVIE

The game has been devouring kids’ coins at top speed since it appeared early in July.

DRAGONS LAIR 3 THE CURSE OF MORDREAD MOVIE

In a time when arcade video gaming was ruled by the likes of Frogger, Pac Man, Space Invaders and Pit Stop – Dragon’s Lair created gaming history, it was dare I say it, quite a video gaming phenomenon, as game players looked in astonishment at its amazing movie animated graphical display.Īs the first game at 50c per play it did not deter gamers, Newsweek captures the level of excitement displayed over the game stating “Dragon’s Lair is this summer’s hottest new toy: the first arcade game in the United States with a movie-quality image to go along with the action. In arcades across the United States, during 1983, Dragon’s Lair had people queuing up outside the door just to play it.

A pimply faced teen who was playing the latest arcade games the likes of Out Run, Yie Ar Kung Fu and Space Harrier (I was brought up on Konami, Sega and Atari arcade gaming), I was completely unaware that Dragon’s Lair had been a major arcade gaming success upon its release, even being hailed as the saviour to the now infamous and highly reported 1983 video gaming industry meltdown. This the story of Dragon’s Lair and the person behind its animation, Don Bluth, of how it all came to be.įor me it was strange to see an animated game in the arcades and stranger still that it was not put together by a known arcade coder, developer or distributor. Its graphical style ventured into uncharted waters in a video gaming era where no one had ever seen or attempted to make an animated cartoon arcade game before. Still to this very day, Dragon’s Lair and its animated movie gameplay by Don Bluth are highly regarded in the history of video gaming. Unlike every other pixelated sprite styled video game in the arcades, Dragon’s Lair has a most fascinating history to uncover, it became an instantly famous arcade game in America due to its unique cartoon animated graphics as well as its intriguing but frustrating gameplay. It was inherently different from every other arcade game in every possible way at the time of it’s release way back in 1983. As a young teenager playing arcade games, I only marvelled at its amazing graphics but also baulked at playing it because of the high price per game. Little did I know of the incredible story behind how Dragon’s Lair came to be. I remember that castle fantasy arcade game, the one that by 1986 when I first laid my eyes on it (in Australia), was always in the corner by itself and not many people playing it because it was more expensive than the 20c Galaga, Spy Hunter or Gyruss. When animator Don Bluth agreed to animate an obscure laserdisc videogame tentatively titled “The Dragon’s Lair”, little did he know it would become one of his biggest successes…ĭragon’s Lair… Dragon’s Lair… ah yes Dragon’s Lair.

Dragons Lair 3 The Curse of Mordread