Dragon's Lair (this year) is now 30 YEARS OLD! Can You Believe it?

[Sonic 1992]

     We're getting older   !!!!!!!!!!!!!


Yes!  I still remember that wonderful Summer day back in 1983 when I first saw the game and was awe-struck! ... and just saw Retun of the Jedi!   

Fun notes about me:

I was 14 when DL came out!

I just finished the 8th grade, then summertime...and a freshman in highschool that year!

LOL, my sister and I called our local arcade at our mall to see if they were still open and to see if Dragon's Lair survived the hurricane that hit that summer! 

Well, now it's 30 years later, I'm 44 years old... Still love Dragon's Lair, not for just the game, but so many good memories.... Way too many to list   

DL Fans...  Let's discuss your happy memories about Dragon's Lair when you saw it back in 1983.   

[DarthNuno]

Yeah... 30 years already!   Time flies...

It reminds me this topic   Dragon's Lair and other arcade games...the first time

Few personal anecdotes regarding Dragon's Lair :

- I've never seen so many people around a single cabinet!. When someone 'dared' to try that brand new game, an impressive crowd was forming to watch the brave player! The first day, nobody played it, because the time of a play was so short! We were all waiting for someone else to come and try it, just to figure out what to do and learn the scenes!   It was the first game at 20 BEF (0.5€), when all the other games cost 10 BEF... but l8ter, it was almost impossible to reach the cabinet... so many people wanted to 'experience' it

- When I started to be a good player, I remember I played without watching the screen... just to impress the crowd ( ) yeah yeah.. it was my 'John Travolta' moment!  

- At the time, I absolutely had no idea about laser game and other technical stuff! In fact I didn't care at all! All I wanted was to play something very impressive & entertaining... which Dragon's Lair were the most!

- I remember the game was 'out of order' one day... the game was stuck in the 'Blue Screen' boot sequence, waiting for the LD player signal (only those who know the Atari European version figure out what I mean  ) And I remember I asked the operator what's going one with that game? I don't remember what he said...juste something about 'laser'!   ... anyway, already 'troubles' in the 80's... the LD player was clearly the weak spot of that game!

- I discovered Xevious one year after Dragon's Lair. Both games were together side by side... It was my favorite area in the Luna Park. The next year, Xevious was located elsewhere in the room, but close the Dragon's Lair, a new game was there... it was ... SPACE ACE! Hell Yeah!  

- I've almost had an heart attack when I discovered the Amstrad Dragon's Lair port of the game! Because I haven't seen a DL cabinet since many years... just seeing the words "Dragon's Lair" on something I can buy... and play! Ok, that port wasn't terrific, but I liked it! Especially the stages with the same 'game play' than the original game!  

- I had to own an Amiga when a friend showed me the Dragon's Lair teaser of the game on that computer. S P E C T A C U L A R !!!

- I've never met "Dragon's Lair II : timewarp"  back in the days in any Arcade... I've partially discovered it on the amiga port... until owning the real size one, in 2005...  

- On the original box of the Dragon's Lair 2 : 'Escape From Singe's Castle' for Amiga, it was written that if you own also the original Dragon's Lair, you can install both games on an hard drive, and so play the game with random scenes coming from both games... like the original arcade game! I got an hard drive for my Amiga (very expensive at the time), but never be able to make both game working together  

... well, I have so many things in my mind regarding that game... oh yes, a last one... I was so 'in love' with that game than I created a dedicated website and later a board about it  

[level42]

..mmtmmmrrrrggghhhhhh....mmmmusttttt........resisssssst.......

[Belike]

To be honest, I've never heard about this game before I joined DLF, it didn't reach Hungary in those days.
The story started in 2010, when Paul (Swan) suggested me to visit this forum, we can say, without Dragon's Lair I wouldn't have to chance to meet all these nice fellas here.

[Tyrem]

I remember reading about DL in a german magazine. I was so blewn away from the pictures of the actuall gameplay.

We had an Arcade here close to the Porta Nigra and one day after school (I was still too young to get inside because they were for adults only) I wanted to fool two of my 18 year old friends. We met every day in a shopping center to play on the home computers there. So I told them that our arcade had the DL there. They were soooooo happy that they rushed outside to get there. I was smiling because it really was just a (bad and not very funny) joke from me.

Well... we arrived there and I had to stand in front of the entrance. To my surprise my two friends went inside (I could still see them because the door was open all the time). And what did I see there... a brand new DL-Cab!!! Fuuuuuu...... That "joke" turned back on me in a pretty bad way. You can not imagine how much I wanted to get in to at least see it run for real.

The first chance playing it for real was at the Schobermesse in Luxemburg that very same year. Good old times.

[scr33n]

I remember very well ... the end of 1983, a little cafè/bar in the square of my country, a dark and rainy day and a new game with two monitors  with great images and sound:

yes!!! this one 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DYDG1QfsaQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_KY4s8Bphs


Great memories!!!   

[JamesSS]

I saw this on the newsagents shelf today here in the UK.

[Sonic 1992]

Hey Bruno... You really never played DL2 (arcade) untill 2005?   

I remember back in 1991 when it came out, my friend told me he saw a Dragon's Lair 2, and of course I called him a liar, as I never expected a sequel to that game!

To my amazement in the summer of '91... there it was!  Dragon's Lair II.... and a side note,  I saw a Space Ace also in the same style cabinet, and was confused... Why did they bring this game back, I thought to myself.  I didn't think anyone today ('91) would be interested.


Amazing that so many great memories (for me) surround both of these games...

1983:  Dragon's Lair,  Return Of The Jedi,  Dungeons And Dragons (cartoon),  Saturday Supercade, ColecoVision

1991:  Dragon's Lair II,   Sega Genesis,  Sonic The Hedgehog,   Terminator 2: Judgement Day,  Super Nintendo

Happy Happy, Joy Joy...  So many great memories! 

Thank You Dragon's Lair..... for continuing to create new memories.... and for finding me friends I never knew I had across the globe! 

[ARCADESAVER]

i was 12 years old as i play first time Dragon´s Lair. I remember me that no one take a look on the other machines around, like PHOENIX, MOON PATROL and so on. This are awesome games to, but all wanna se the magic what surrounds Dragon´s Lair.
Most of them stand in front of the DL cab and their mouths were hanging on the floor about the fantastic grafix.
Yet we know it was only a LD Player inside, but 1983 the most think , wow what a fantastic graphic, never seen before.
As come out the Dragon´s Lair Demo for the Amiga i run in a store and buy specially for this demo a 512kb ram-extension so that i can play this demo, i pay 399,- DM for it " this are 200,-€ for 512kb" 
I can´t say why, but DL is my all time favorite game, the gameplay is not the best, but this magic around the machine anno 1983, is never die for me.

[Giddygoon]

I remember in 1985 buying a copy of Dragon's Lair for my ZX Spectrum, and my mate at the time pointed out that cover picture on the inlay was a screen shot from the arcade, at first I didn't believe him but I then came across it in the wild at Butlins holiday camp in Minehead. I couldn't believe it was a real moving cartoon but a game too!!!

After that I was hooked and i went Dragon's lair mad... Some years later I was bought an Amiga 500 and I got Dragon's lair on the Amiga, it was close but not good enough so that's when I decided to track down an actual arcade machine... It took some time and lots of phone calls.... No Internet in those days. The year was 1991 and I found Atari version in working order for a fair sum.

My friends were blown away at the time. Unfortunalty the laser player died and I was looking around for parts and then came across a Dragons lair II cab... The two machines stayed at my dads for years, I went to university e.t.c and then I got back into arcades around 2003 and I finally repaired and restored my Atari Dragon's Lair and now i own ten arcades with the original two still in the collection..

I will never sell my Dragon's lair cabinet it's a part of my life

[DarthNuno]

Here's a very interesting Don Bluth interview done for the 30th Anniversary of Dragon’s Lair :

http://www.traditionalanimation.com/2013/30th-anniversary-of-dragons-lair-don-bluth-exclusive/

Hey Jason, Don Bluth mentions you in this interview  ! Wow 

[Sonic 1992]

Well, I can safely say around this week, give or take a few days, Was the first time I put some quarters in Dragon's Lair 30 Years Ago!

Happy Anniversary,  Dragon's Lair!  Thank You for so many great plays and memories, as well as meeting great folks many years into the future!   

[MacDLSA]

I heard around the World there were some meetings/reunions for the DL's 30th anniversary.
Well, I decided to plan such a meeting here in my little "Mac'sArcade" and...

-cleaned up the garage
-metal shelves covered with blue tarps to make the environment less austere
-some chips
-some popcorn
-beers
-... and few but good nerds fellows  !!!

[ Bruno surely recognizes Matteo/italiandoh... while I am the one on the top/left    ]

I worked 3 days (3 of my August holydays...) to build this little "present" for the anniversary :

It's a MINI Dragon's Lair cabinet, "built around" an Asus eeePC900 (my wife's computer...  ), and it's 1 : 2.4 scale ( I have fixed that way to make marquee and CP dimensions compatible with A4 format... for printing artworks by myself !!! ! )

It's running the Sidam romset, according to our italian memories of our "customized" version (I wanted to build a mini-Sidam cab, but I'm still without any kind of project &/or measurements...).

A clip  : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLeKV99FcLM&feature=share&list=UUhqt2ze5DGeZRn2ruRLhoCw

[Laszo]

Looks like anice party.... You needed only 3 days to build the min DL  well done.

[DarthNuno]

Awesome! Did you have other pictures from this celebration meeting?