The History of Dragon's Lair: The Laserdiscs, The Games & The Saturday Morning Cartoon?
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- With a little help from our friend GameDave ( / gamedave ) Dan tackles the history of Dragon's Lair.
From it's inception as a "playable" cartoon on Laserdisc through it's numerous sequels and releases on consoles and the little seen Saturday morning cartoon.
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Don Bluth is one of my all time favrite animation directors. He is the one who inspired me to get my animation degree.
Always been curious how modern animation works. Just seems like hard, tedious work.
As a child my fav movies were Bluth films: American Tail, Rock-a-doodle & All Dogs Go to Heaven. There was a time when Disney wasn’t the end all be all of animation.
me too, I love don bluth's movies, my all time favorite was all dogs go to heaven.
Same, love his work
the challenge of this game was to not be distracted whenever Daphne popped up on screen. the first time I made it to the end scene I got killed for getting doughy eyed when she was talking to me.
In 1983 I was working for 7-11 on the 3rd shift. This, like all retail stores open 24/7 third shift was mainly a cleaning and stocking shift. My store had Dragon's Lair arcade machine. I would hurry to get my work done so that I could play the game. It was the greatest thing ever, and I loved it. I became quite good at it. Somehow being an adult I missed every other iteration of the game. I often look back on those days, well nights really, as probably the best time of my life. Dragon's Lair was a major part of my fondness of that period of my life. Just Saying.
We had Captain Commando at the video store I worked at. Right next store to a Sleven...good fucking times
My Dragon's Lair Experience:
1. See cool game.
2. Put 50 cent in game.
3. Game starts.
4. Stare at joystick in confusion.
5. Die.
6.Repeat 3 times.
7.Never play again.
That was my experience on Space Ace as well.
Yeah I'd rather watch someone else flawlessly run thru it than play thru it myself.
Ditto when i first played it as a kid in the 80's.Still as an adult animated games that use fmv are not that difficult now.Really it's all trail&error to beat the likes of dragons lair,well expect part two the timing on that is brutal O_o
I had the same exact experience. I think I experienced this game back in the late 80's or very early 90's on Ocean One (now a snooty luxury mall called Playground Pier) in Atlantic City, NJ during a day trip with family. They also had that Sega hologram game Time Traveler in the same arcade as well as a primitive (by today's standards) VR setup with two circular platforms where you could pay something like $15-20 to play the very basic games and have the gameplay displayed on monitors nearby.
Exactly Chad I played this several times myself. Could never get past one of the first challenges. I could not get past the 'rope swing over the pit of lava at the beginning. Regardless of how many times I tried and with whatever timing I used I would always fall and die. It was like the first real obstacle in the game and what made it galling was it SEEMED simple since I repeatedly failed at the first obstacle I thought to myself 'well what are the chances I'll get to the end?' I concluded that the odds were zero and reluctantly quit the game forever.. Yea there are no nostalgia goggles for this game that's for sure.
The video game version of the Choose Your Own Adventure books of the era. I feel very lucky to have spent my formative years in the 1980s.
Truly ahead of its time. Anyone under 35- imagine walking into an arcade filled with PAC Man and Galaga machines and seeing this. It was mind blowing.
The thing was when I saw it I my then 8-year-old brain thought "How do you control a "cartoon"?
Exactly, my young mind couldn't understand it at all. I remember trying it multiple times but always dying immediately!!!
Add to that pocket blowing. Like you, I think I played it once, lasted about twenty seconds then never went back.
I mastered this game in the arcade.
I was lucky I guess- one of the older kids at the arcade taught me to look for the cues to press in the right direction. Never beat it but remember it as fun to play.
Standing at the far edge of everyone packed together, we all watched in awe at the secondary display up top, as each person tried their hand at trying to get through. There was nothing like it, and we were all blown away.
Don Bluth: the man, the myth, the legend!
When you cut away to GameDave, I was half expecting it to just be Pixel Dan talking about Mosquitor again.
Dragon's Lair is so amazing. Don Bluth did so much with it
The best thing about this channel is it reminds me how awesome my childhood was! The worst thing about this channel is that it reminds me how terrible adulthood is! Happy/sad!
👍
Opposite childhood was terrible but adulthood is the bee's knees.
@@Eldritch-1 Same lol
So, I'm 58 now, and I loved this game when I played it back in 83. It was completely different, and I had to beat it, it took me quite a few games and many quarters to do so. Was amazing game at the time. We all liked the idea of it being a laser disc game.
Your "I don't care for GOB" joke made me laugh harder than any joke before. Nice work.
I wasted a lot of money playing this and I loved every minute of it
omg that storyboard with "I don't care for Gob." on it was perfect. lol
We visited six flags over Georgia every few years when I was young and this and MadDog McCree and later Space Ace were the machines I made sure to play every time.
I loved Space Ace so much I actually own the laser disc right out of an arcade cabinet. I also own the Cliff Hanger disc but the price on Dragon's Lair discs keep them just out of my grasp.
When I’d go to Six Flags Magic Mountain i would always make a point to play the original Star Wars game (way up through the 90’s).
Don Bluth was a genius. Us older folk were influenced in one way or another by him.
The Boondock Saints... Cool.
Paul Joyner The cat scene is icoinic
@@d3ath8ybac0n4 Lol. Yes it is and the scene when the girlfriend comes home. "Bitch you can't tell me the name of that f$#!ing cat!!"
Paul Joyner fantastic movie. Got rid of my boomer DVD’s but this made the cut. Oh and this avatar 😜
You know, I come for Dan's oddly soothing voice and delivery, but I stay for the Arrested Development clips.
Dragons Lair is one of those things that made childhood special. Thanks for the recap!
Dragon's Lair was also released on DVD in the early 2000s. The player controlled Dirk with the direction buttons on the remote. I thought it was an interesting idea to translate the laserdisc to home theater play and would be obsolete as quickly as a console release.
Ahh, good old Dragon's Lair. Not a big fan of its lack of interactivity and the way room order was randomized so there didn't feel to be a cohesive progress, but its beauty mesmerized me enough to keep trying until finally beating it!
Of course, while it may have the dubious honor of creating quick time events, we would have never gotten the awesome Road Avenger if Dragon's Lair had not existed and I do so love me some Road Avenger!
Great to look at. I was 6 years old when Dragon's Lair came out. The designers forgot that excellcent gameplay controls was just as important as cutting edge graphics. Franchises like Super Mario Brothers, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat are old properties that are still popular today because of this simple concept.
Really interesting stuff! Also ... Screen Savers clip! Loved that show.
Twelve-year-old me would stand beside this game in the mall arcade, watching far more skilled players try to get through it, and mostly failing. Only rare players seemed to grasp what was happening inside the machine, and how little real control they had over the character, which helped them with the prompts, but even then your odds were practically 50/50 all the way through. Too many kids at the time, myself included, mistakenly thought you were actually ‘playing’ the entire animation, which is in part what lent Dragon’s Lair some of its mystique. Never truly played the game in its entirety until the DVD edition came out decades later, and then I used a cheat sheet just to make it a more seamless experience. 😀
I mastered the arcade version of this game and memorized all the moves. Towards the end could finish it usually using only one Dirk. Except there was one scene where I died once in a while because it was hard to tell apart original and mirror versions on the first move.
Older video, I know, but I wanted to say thanks for this video.. Just wanted to say that I was recently at an arcade in Myrtle Beach called Player’s Choice at Myrtle Beach Mall. I walked into the arcade, saw Dragon’s Lair to the immediate left, and new I had to play thanks to this video. I love the channel, it’s my favorite CZcams channel. Thank you for all the videos and laughs ♥️♥️♥️♥️
I use to sneak in to play this game. I told the staff at Show biz my family was there . Random family always did well. So many hours and money well spent . Rest in Peace Jessica Walters . Love so many of your performances .
Dragon’s Lair & Arrested Development references. This is one of your best videos so far 😄
I remember as a kid, in 1983, I was 11...I went to the mall and all these people were crowded around the front of the arcade, so my brother and I squeezed through the crowd and there it was...Dragon’s Lair....I loved that game ever since then.
I'm the same age as you and I remember Dragon's Lair was awesome. I never played it though. Then in 1986, Mario bros was huge.
Six words I want to see: Ryan Reynolds is Dirk the Daring!
That would be perfect casting.
He is too small.
Yes Ryan Reynolds would be PERFECT for that roll!
He's past the age for it, but Bruce Campbell would be my choice.
Bruce Campbell
Dragon’s lair does indeed sound like it would make a fantastic movie. I’m with you on Soul Caliber as well. I played that game several times growing up. I would love to see it on the big screen!
Interesting video.
I do remember this, but never found a player/machine working back in the day.
It was essentially a 'Choose your own adventure' book on laser-disc.
Truly a landmark moment...an indicator as to what direction the masses wanted gaming to move! 🏆💀⚔️
Seasons greetings from an English armour-maker in a French forest. 🇬🇧🌲🇺🇲
When I walked into the arcade and heard the overlapping sounds of Pac-Man, Star Wars, Galaga, Dragon's Lair, and the Skirball machine starting a new game I was transported to another dimension - One that does not exist today.
I practically lived at the arcade in the Albee Square Mall in Brooklyn back in 1984 & when I couldn't beat it on my own, I bought the book 'How To Beat Dragon's Lair'. I've memorized all the moves for every scene & I still remember all the moves with Singe to this day. Left, Left, Left, Left, Up, Down, Up, Right, Right, Sword, Left, Sword. I still have trouble on the last stage from time to time but I beat Space Ace on the 'Ace' level with no problem every time I play the games on my cell phone...
I remember the move sequence slightly differently. Too lazy to look up which is correct. L L L BACK FORWARD B F R F SWORD L SWORD SWORD.
"WOW LOOK AT THOSE GRAPHICS!"
me in 1983
I was too young to be able to play the original Dragon’s Lair, but I remember watching older kids play it at Showbiz Pizza and being completely fascinated. By the time Dragon’s Lair II was released, I was in middle school and it was perfect timing. It’s my favorite arcade/video game of all-time and the only one I’ve ever been really good at playing. I own all three games on Blu-ray now so I can play them at home.
I was a 12 year-old arcade junky when Dragon's Lair hit the public. I rode my sister's 10-speed 2 miles to caddy at a local golf course for under-the-table cash. Our Caddyshack also had a Dragon's Lair machine, so I didn't have to go far to play it. In reality, there were very few people in my metro area who actually beat the game when it came out. This video suggests that Dragon's Lair was some 'too easy' game that people got bored with and moved on. No, they got frustrated by their constant (and expensive) botched reactions and people eventually quit trying. Many stores and arcades had large TV monitors above their Dragon's Lair machine and drew big crowds around them. My cousin had a driver's license, so we travelled to arcades and big stores with Dragon's Lair machines and hustled games for cash. I put $5 on the screen and bet people that I could beat the game on two quarters. That first year, it wasn't uncommon for gamblers and spectators to also give a couple of dollars in tips for finally letting them see the end of the game. People were amazed by Dragon's Lair, but very few wanted to make stupid mistakes with people standing around watching them. My cousin and I made a lot of money and also made people happy that first year out. By today's standard, yes, the game is a simple on-rails pattern with a cool little cartoon behind it. Back then, Dragon's Lair was a beast that intimidated the hell out of people. Everybody wanted to see how that game ended and they paid a boat-load of cash to finally see it. It was like being a little rock-star at times and I'll never forget that experience.
Wow, this video popped up in my recommended list (Mar 2021), and it has all these Jessica Walter cut scenes in it. Nice tribute to her legacy, may she rest in peace.
i finally got it! DRAGON'S LAIR sounds like DRAGON SLAYER!!! I can't believe I never saw that in the last 40ish years.
🤯
Really? I had been calling it dragon slayer for years before I realised I was wrong lol
Hard to overstate the initial impact this game had! I remember seeing it for the first time at the bowling alley on the base we lived on. It was revolutionary.
*As a kid that basically lived in his local arcades the year this was released I can tell you that this was NOT a kids game*
Kid's could simply not afford it, not only was it the most expensive game in the entire arcade, but it took LOTS of money to get anywhere. Kid's also did not have the patience or the memory required to play it. I remember adults playing it and kids flocking around to ooh and ahh at it. This in a way made it very popular as it gave the player a real sense of prestige if they were any good at it!
Bruce Campbell as the Voice of Dirk...
Movie becomes Blockbuster
I remember when this game first hit the arcades I lived (and spent most of my money) in. You couldn't get anywhere near it since the line to play it was so long. It was the only game to cost fifty cents, while all the other games at the time cost one quarter. You could watch others play it, and no one ever made it very far, let alone to the very end. I was intimidated by it, so I never did play it. You can play it for free online, but I still have yet to try it.
My uncle owned an arcade when I was a kid and I remember the day that game showed up. It was so exciting and unlike anything else anyone had seen before. Whenever I would visit his arcade he'd open the coin door for whatever game I wanted to play and he'd hit a little lever inside the machine to give me a ton of credits to play. I always wanted to play Dragon's Lair and even with a million credits I still could never beat the game. I felt like the timing on the moves was so strict that it was near impossible to get through the game with three lives. Years later when I was in my teens, my Dad and I saw a Dragon's Lair machine and we started talking about it. He told me that my uncle said that that game could be rigged internally to have slightly random timings on the controls, making it near impossible to beat. This had to be true because I remember playing the game at other arcades and it was anywhere from supper easy to slightly challenging to beat the game. I have never seen this discussed anywhere online, so if you remember the game being extremely hard, then that might be why. I'm not sure if it was some after market mod or what, but it sure made people dump a ton of quarters into that machine.
This game conjures up memories of the Poconos arcade lobby. All the adults played as I watched in awe. I only gave one go since it cost $1 to play. Not even one minute and I was dead. That would be my last time I attempted to play this game.
Game Dave in thumbnail was the only reason I clicked play. I love that guy.
Oh my god Don Bluth 🙏🙏🙏 so much love for his work. Secret of NIHM and Robin Hood are my absolute favorite animated movies, not to mention All Dogs Go to Heaven, An American Tail and Land Before Time are absolute classics, that dealt with themes like death and getting separated from your family, things that would have been scary for a kid to deal with. His movies don't get enough credit.
This game was in our local convenient store we walked past on our way home from school. I remember us flipping out because it was 50 cent🤣 we were amazed at the graphics
Love these games. Like to see his take on the making and failure of Thayer's Quest
My dad owns all of the dvds for DVD players, the games are a bunch of fun.
There's always money in the banana stand
IN the banana stand!!! Do I have to spell it out?!?
Anyong!!!
Dragon's Lair paved the way for other laserdisc style games of that era like Astron Belt, Galaxy Ranger, Cliff Hanger, & Mach 3
9:36 - I also remember a short-lived game that had similar gameplay but was Mob Themed. I could never get past the first scene. All I can remember about the game is it kept saying "run...run...rn...JUMP!" and I never jumped at the right time.
Anybody else feel like Maverick in Top Gun, pointing and saying “YOU!” at Iceman every time a Toy Galaxy video uploads?
Awesome video!!! Game Dave cameo is fantastic!!! Big fan of him as well!!!!👍👍👍
Man. That Daphne figurine.
You may as well have replaced her with a lamp with that outfit.
Need a timestamp for the wank bank
Yikes.
All this comment makes me think about is: A Christmas Story
And we're still waiting for the Dragon's Lair movie that was promised.
I wish only the best for all those investors... but um...........
No, you're waiting for a sizzle reel. That is all Don Bluth promised. He HOPES it will attract someone to finance a feature length production, but that's an absolute crap shoot.
Great video Dan & Toy Galaxy. I remember seeing this when it came out in 1983 It was like seeing alien technology.
5:47
Holy crap that logo takes me back.
I was Junior in High School and we'd all pass around around the cheat codes on notebook paper. Other than Daphne, the other thing I was the sound design. That electric shock, the bats muffling Dirk's voice, the sound of the Knight's sword, etc.
I grew up in the '80s in a town with multiple arcades. When Dragon's Lair came out, we all knew that it was not going to be at The Alamo Batting Cages and Arcade. It would not be at Nickelodeon. It would not be at Earl's Meat Market and Arcade. It would only be at Aladdin's Castle, at the mall. And we lined up our stacks of quarters on top of the machine to reserve our turns on it.
Eventually, someone from school got a complete walk-through on how to complete the game. He printed them out and sold them for a dollar a piece. I still remember the first time my buddy and I completed it. It was a team event. Sure, I had studied that guide, but he had it in hand and called out each move as I made it to the end. High-fives, all around and then I took the guide and talked him through it.
The reimagining of CYOA books as QTE video games back in the day
Everyone that does the art besides Don, doesn't look exactly like Don's art. It blows me away that Don truly loved this part of his career. Maybe because he was super involved in the creative process. Inventing the universe of Dragons Lair
Dragon's Lair when it first arrived at the arcade there was a mob around it to play it. There was a line to play it. It was one of a kind and we had never seen anything like it. And it was incredibly hard.
One of my favorites of all time. The style is ripe with potential. Here is praying that Ryan Reynolds can pull this off.
I remember when me and my brother stood in a very long line to played his video game at an arcade in Columbus Ohio called the Pink Flamingos.
Retro gaming hippie approves! Great work as usual in this channel. Your personal insight is always welcome!
I loved the cartoon when we only had saturdays for them. The 3do version is the best retro version I have played.
Gamer Dave nailed the arcade game on the button!
Just when I thought this show couldn't get any better along comes Game Dave 🎉🎉.
What surprised me later on was someone developed similar type games using various Lupin films (Castle of Caglistilo mainly) and either an original anime or game directional based on a attack helicopter.
I had a 'acquired' VHS tape that had both games copied from LD at a time.
Interesting to watch.
There are actually a whole bunch of Japanese laserdisc games that simply repurpose animation made for TV or movies. Road Blaster and Time Gal also come to mind.
Excellent work here Dan. (And Dave too) Truly a visionary concept and arcade classic of the time. I love my Nintendo Wii version of the Dragon's Lair my wife got me for Christmas a few years back. It's like the console is right here in the Man Cave.
Fun fact : Mordrock the evil wizard from Dragons Lair II is played by Glomgolds voice actor from the 80s Ducktales !
Another note on the Saturday morning cartoon, which was quite inventive...one episode featured Puck as a character. As in, Robin Goodfellow...as in, figure-of-English-folklore-who-showed-up-in-A-Midsummer-Night's-Dream. And years later, when I read AMND for the first time, I thought "This is the elf who showed up in Dragon's Lair?!"
I liked it, but I wasn't great at it. My friend T though, this game was his jam. he played it in the arcade all the time, beat it so much, that when he bought the game for at home and played it at home he became so good that he bet someone, and successfully beat the game with his back to it, with only his brother giving him a prompt left or right for which way the character was facing on the screen. He loved them all, Space Ace, this one more horror themed one that no one remembers (Myself included, seriously if anyone remembers the name). But Dragon's Lair always was his fav... Sadly he's passed, but it's one of the many things I'll always remember about him.
Yes, I've got Dragon's Lair, Space Ace and Dragon's Lair 2 on my Iphone and Home Arcade Machine, play it all the time I can.
I'm waiting on anything Metal Slug. The visual design of that game is one of my all time favorites.
Thanks for the video and keep up the good work!
Proud to say the Dragon's Lair arcade game was developed here in my town of San Diego.
i first saw a clip of this game at a comic book convention while browsing the tables with my father in the 90s.
i asked him excitedly, "Daddy, what's THAT?!".
He calmly replied, "Oh, that's just some old video game."
i was awestruck as "A video game? But how??" echoed in my mind.
i was about 9 or 10 at the time.
Crusader: No Remorse. So close to being a movie in itself, it would really have shined as a cinematic experience.
Game Dave! The ultimate crossover.
Thanks so much for the mention on the comic series and great video!
I feel like Dragon’s Lair is one of those games that would be perfect for VR/AR. Since the motions to activate the scenes are fairly simple, they can be achieved with minimal, predictable movement from the player, and the idea of dropping into a Don Bluth landscape would be utterly insane.
I remember that machine, those grafics were awesome !
OMG! I remember this ad! I used to go to the Federal Way Showbiz Pizza!! 7:50-8:20
"KIRK!" "DAPHNE!" are the best and always "timeless" to keep safe from the cruel wizard and worst dragon. Stay safe everyone!
Funfact: Dragon's Lair did not invent the QTE game. In the 1970s, Nintendo released a series of games based around 35mm film, including the original version of Wild Gunman. The basic design idea was the same as Dragon's Lair, just with a much more primitive (yet fascinatingly over-complicated) setup handling how the games switched between movie clips depending on the player's input.
Got love for those classic arcade games!
great classic.
The Arrested Development is just the chef's kiss.
Oh Dan, Dan, Dan...I got a short story. SO...your Captain N video brought back a flood of memories - and it was a HUGE influence on my future career as a full time artist. I was riding that wave of nostalgia when on one of the toy collecting forums I am on (and I"m not that big of a collector - but by virtue of my job at a Troll Doll museum, I try to keep my finger on the pulse) someone posted original cartoon cells from Captain N. I jumped on it, and acquired a premo Capt N with his Duck Hunt gun signed by the animator. I asked the guy selling it how he acquired so many cells. Turns out he works in the animation industry...specifically for....Don Bluth. As a bonus, he sent me a Don Bluth autographed postcard regarding the Dragon's Lair movie. That bloody video game was WAY beyond my comprehension when I tried to play it at the roller rink, and the 50 cent price was way more than I could afford - not to mention that virtually everyone I watched play it wound up in the 8-ball room getting sqashed over and over and over again - yet - I was mesmerized, and until it appeared on Stranger Things, I thought that that I might be the only person I knew who remembered this remarkable and important blip from 80's pop culture. This channel is one of the very best things on CZcams. If you are ever in the Northeast Ohio area, it would be a massive thrill to give you a tour, on the house, of the world's largest Troll doll collection (I promise, it's WAY more interesting than you would think). Keep at it Toy Galaxy, you're doing God's work
One does not simply decline an invitation to the world's largest troll collection.
You tell me when, I'll show you where, and we'll make it happen!
Tbh I wouldn't have click on this video if it weren't for GameDave in it.
I really miss you buddy
I am sorry, when "Game Dave" showed up, I thought I was watching a clip from the "Big Bang Theory", what charisma :)
I just hope nothing puts a stop to a Halo theatre release. There is plenty of established lore and a strong range of antagonists to give our film Spartans a compelling story to not only entertain long time Halo fans, but new comers to the "ring" that is the Halo fandom
Don Bluth was Awesome....
I use to love the Movies,Arcade games and use to wake up early on Saturday morning to watch the Dragons Lair cartoon....
I miss the 80's,what a fun revolutionary decade. They'll never be another time like it.
E V E R
AGAIN!
Over here in England, I think only saw a couple of Dragon's Lair machines and I'm sure one of them had a broken laser disc that was skipping. I played DL maybe a couple of times and was killed off within the first 20-30secs of playing - so with it being expensive, difficult and rare I only played it maybe a couple of times. Much more cost and playing time effective to spend my 10ps on Spy Hunter, Outrun and Track & Field.
My first experience with Dragon's Lair was on the Phillips CDi around 1994. I played the CDi console while on vacation at Center Parks which was included in all of the bungalows. I rented Dragon's Lair, Space Ace and one of the Zelda releases. It was fun playing it even tho I kept dying. I now own the Wii version which I have yet to play. If all fails it appears to have a mode to play through the game till the end without pressing buttons like a movie mode.
GAME DAVE! Awesome!
I know I'm about 5 minutes from yelling at the kids on my lawn by saying this, but Dragon's Lair was one of those things that you just had to be there. The first time I saw one as a kid, it absolutely blew my mind. I was so used to Atari 2600 and early arcade graphics, this was just on a totally different level. We look at it now with kind of a critical eye as a curiosity (let's be honest, the gameplay did totally suck), but at that time, holy god was it something special.
I used to play this at Westmoreland Mall in PA when it first came out. I was probably about 12 at the time? I was good too, I could beat the game on 50 cents and I remember having a crowd around me watching me play. It was pretty awesome!
I'm just glad to see the tech TV logo again
Truly unique in having the only tv show based on a video game that didn't look better than the video game.
Awesome Video Dan. One of my friends, John Celestri, actually worked on Dragon's Lair as well as any major animated project from 1970 to 2002. he has a really cool project going on at kick starter.
The swinging burning ropes level still quickens my pulse, especially if you do the extra points thing by waiting for the plank to disappear before swinging.