John gets a Dragon's Lair Arcade Game - Working original LaserDisc Player! - Cinematronics 1983 

I find it fascinating that there are guys like John who have the know-how to rehab and fix arcade games and they collect all the old machines.

The thing that is fascinating about laser disc games like Dragon's Lair is that it was done at a time that computers weren't powerful enough to display full-motion video, so all the game can do from the microprocessor side is control the laser disc player and validate the joystick moves. John talks about Daphnie, which I believe is an emulator that displays the video from a hard drive, and that couldn't be done until the 21st Century. The game was probably so fascinating to kids in the 80s because most games back then had computer graphics that were nothing like cartoon-quality video.

I literally felt the hype through out this entire video. I felt like I was with you all the way man. Dude, I so want this machine. Its on my top 3 list.

I actually drug that Slam Masters out of a warehouse in Mississippi with a friend of mine who sold it to the guy in your video. That bottom piece of metal was laying face down outside of the warehouse! It was absolutely random that we found that metal laying there! We spent probably an hour looking for the other metal piece with no luck. Glad to see it brought back to life and looking so nice!

Artist showing he’s skills very impressed and keeping the classics alive for this younger generation THANKS

Mike Haggar... thats the dude from Final Fight, was just playing that earlier tonight coincidentally. That wrestling game looks incredible, what a score for your buddy. Wow you got an original Dragons Lair, crazy.

Great review! I just got mine from Kickstarter and did an unboxing video, the unit is incredible! the details alone make this a must purchase if you love this game.

You are an artisan my friend. Thank goodness there are people like yourself who care enough to restore these classics.Played this with another friend until we completed it back in the day. One would play and the other would write the moves down on a scrap of paper. Nothing brought a crowd around more than this game. I have both this and Space Ace now on my mobile phone...who'd have thought that possible all those years ago?

Very cool and congrats on your purchase John! Enjoy!

That Tron game is making me crazy nostalgic.... well, the whole room is.... Star Wars, Tron, Moon Patrol, and Jungle Hunt were my goto games. I'd never leave your basement. Thanks!!!!

I just watched someone play the laserdisc game using an Amiga and a consumer laserdisc player. The seek times were SOOO slow it was hard to watch the guy play. This industrial player is incredible.

I rescued the princess from the clutches of the evil dragon repeatably back in the day. The first time I managed to do that was awesome.

My father's all time favorite arcade game! He always talked about playing it in his youth! So cool you found a working one!

Another great video and great find John... thanks for sharing your adventure!

1st time I played this we lived in Riverside California, played it at Castle Golf!

One of my favourite all time games :) and the coolest thing was being able to finish it, by the end there would be a large crowd around you watching. Looks like the one you have is set to easy or medium. Since when you die it skips to the next scene. On hard mode, it will not skip scenes until you pass that scene. In Medium it will skip scenes, but before the last scene with the dragon it will make you complete the ones you died in. So playability can be extended if you put it in hard mode.

Miss this channel! Always looked forward to John's content.

Remember how big boom boxes were at that time? That laser disc player is even bigger!!

great get john! this really completes your arcade. A truly iconic , and high end game. groundbreaking in so many ways: one of the first 50 cent games, first laserdisc game, helped revive the whole industry, and who knew an animated game would sell? but it did, thanks to don bluth.

Thanks for the video. This brings back memories. I remembered this as if it was yesterday.

Pretty sure that game was at least 50-75 cents to play once back in the 80s. If I recollect correctly.

Congrats on the new cabinet. There's just something so special about this cabinet, pretty basic game play, frustrating at times, but I can still remember what it felt like to see this game in an arcade for the first time, I was was just in awe as a kid, amazed by the graphics and how you could play a freakin' cartoon! Man, I'm ready to see the 720 down there, Dragon's Lair, where the Journey will be placed. You're arcade has just about all the classics. So awesome, it was always the impossible dream to have an arcade during the days of the arcade, especially thinking back to the 80's and trying to always get that arcade experience at home on console, now you have one in your basement. I'm amazed by this!

Love the artwork on the cab for the marquee. and the side art is pretty cawesome to once you get it of course

Let me tell you people when I first played it I was blown away. Like a window into the future and I really sucked on it but was more than happy to drop I think it was 50 cents or maybe a dollar per game. Was it the first game out to demand more money than a quarter? Well I really took note when it was released on the west coast. I played it at Castle Land. RIP Castle Land.

Thats a great find.....crazy with the original laserdisc.

Awesome 👏🏻 Enjoy this video so much. It takes me back to the days when I would play the arcades in the late 80s early 90s . I love your arcade room in your collection of machines… Dude you’re the man 🤘🤘🤘 I do remember back in the day that dragons lair was a very expensive game to play… As such , nobody I knew became good enough to beat it .

Great Video, John! Keep up the good work! Good thing you saw that the laser disc player was only shock mounted!

Learned to get through it on one Dirk when the game came out when I was 13. Brings back memories! Dragons Lair II: Time Warp was a pain in the ass but I finished it! Never again though!

I'm so jealous. I want to add this game to my collection. So many memories just by hearing the attract sequence.

There are some dipswitch settings (possibly alternate ROMs) to unlock the opening drawbridge scene. After testing, it was determined to be too difficult to be the first scene to be played. By default, most machines are set to skip it.

Great pickup. I still haven't seen a working Dragon's Lair. Congrats.

Made me a happy man.. geek and proud

you have inspired me in several ways, for example - purchased a bunch of longboards - took a paddle boat ride - loudly exclaim "hey guys" when I arrive at the office However, I will not be buying a DL! But I'm stoked for you, this iconic game will be an AWESOME addition to your arcade. Make sure you check out the online guides with the sequences.

What a crazy summer it's been at John's arcade!

Always wondered what happens if you put a regular movie disc in the player on these machines. I have several arcade game laserdiscs but not the actual game machines, I just watch them straight through.

Wow, congrats John...you now own my favorite arcade game! And my 2nd (Tron) & 3rd (for a short while longer, SW)! Congrats buddy

What you're seeing on the top edge are player control and time/frame codes, which are a series of seemingly random dots and lines that flash in the vertical blanking portion of the video. Normally, you don't see them; their visibility may be due to vertical foldover, which suggests a problem with the vertical deflection circuit in your video monitor, or adjustment of the viewable area of such where overscan has been reduced or eliminated.

Congrats, John. I've wanted one of these forever. I hope to find one someday to add to my collection. Great stuff bro!

Sweet. Look forward to the vids all week. Been watching the old ones in between.

I can play this in my sleep, the original arcade, no move guide, just memorization and skill.

My school has a working LaserDisc that is amazingly huge and a collection of discs :D

Can't believe you have a dragons lair! Wow I was playing on daphne today, but you have the original, good find john. Don't be scared to clean the laserdisc, I collect Ld's and I clean mine with soapy water and dry with microfibre cloth works great

Wow, I remember that Saturday Night SlamMasters game. I never saw the arcade cabinet, but it was one of the first few games I played after discovering emulators in the 90s. It's a fun game. Back then MAME was too slow and undeveloped to be good for much of anything. SlamMasters was one of my favorites on Callus, which ran a bunch of Capcom 16-bit era arcade games smoothly on the PCs people had back then.

Love it John. Now we definently know that Journey will not make it to the basement. ;) also, restore the screen on your Note 2.

Nice pick-up. I have a converted one, I will be deconverting and running Daphne in.

Haha, sweet! Congrats, I remember playing that in my local Laverdiers Drug Store arcade when I was a kid.

There was actually a Bill and Ted involved in this excellent adventure.

Wow sweet score,gotta love your passion for these cabs

Congrats on the pickup. Great score! It fits the basement well. Good luck figuring out where to put the Journey and R-Type! Looks like you're going to have to extend the gameroom into the storage area.

Like others have said. The point of failure with regard to the laser disc will be the player since the player has to keep that disc spinning the entire time the game is running. I have had 2 laser disc players fail with issues related to the motor and belts. The disc itself should be pretty durable and can even be cleaned.

Quickest quater I even spent at an arcade but I loved it

I drawed in crawds at the arcades,man brings back memories.

The places I used to play it at costed $1 per play. So I didn't get good at it until I got the home version on the Sega cd. The hd versions on PS3 and PS4 are great but the image is cropped to make it widescreen. Great video I enjoyed seeing the insides and the clean up and monitor ajustment.

Ah, really enjoyed this vid and congratulations on getting such a cool piece of gaming history! Let's hope Ted can find his missing parts to complete his rare double cab.

oh that's right when you die you don't get the same level again. so it's not just trial and error. unless you have a really good memory.

Love these road trip Arcade pick-ups...

click this 41:17 close ur eyes and be transported back to any old arcade as a kid with those famous racing sounds in the backround

40:16 That's the LD's vertical blanking interval. Congrats on getting this game! No offense, but I find it really weird how you said it was "like an old record player" because besides the disc being similar in size, the way it actually works is absolutely nothing like a record player (I know because I own over 100 Laserdisc movies). Also, the quality of a lot of Laserdisc's (mainly 90's era releases) are actually very close to DVD.

watching again, late night, drinking bud light, lovin me some DL

Another machine John lol, you are turning into a hoarder lol. Love this game tho, just love the art etc

Your videos rock! Dragon's Lair is so classic, Most of the replay value will be trying to get the max score (Get to end with max lives and do every move except the one that wins until your on your last life). This game drew a lot of spectators.

GOOD ADDITION TO THE GAMER ROOM BRO!

LD-V1000 is actually a tough, reliable unit ... provided that its parts are not worn out, particularly the gas tube laser and its power supply. But, if your Dragon's Lair LD is an old one, the Helium Neon gas tube laser used in this model will track it better than players with a semiconductor laser. If it still works good, I'd keep it and continue to use it until it quits. But, I'd keep a spare machine and, if necessary, an interface adapter as a backup. The LD-V8000 is a more modern player using a semiconductor laser and is definitely an excellent machine for picture quality. However, for Dragon's Lair, I would go for the LD-V2200 over the LD-V8000 and the LD-V4400. The LD-V2200 is just as durable, but doesn't have digital video memory like the LD-V8000 (which isn't necessary for the game), doesn't have digital audio capabilities (a Dragon's Lair disc probably doesn't have a PCM audio track, so digital audio support isn't necessary), random access is plenty fast enough, and an LD-V2200 in good shape is very easy to get cheaply while something like the LD-V8000 in good shape is hard to find at a reasonable price since you'll be competing with LaserDisc collectors for that model.

Awesome score on that game laser disc works crazy!!! Need to see run though

1000 dollars easy for that acrade..Rolling deep!

Sweet crane machine, I love when a random crane makes an appearance in a John's Arcade video! Makes the whole video worth it for me haha, Nice Dragon's Lair, looks like a very interesting game.

Looks awesome John! Don Bluth did the American tale movies and the Land Before Times movies

That is badass! I'm absolutely amazed at how clean it is inside! Looks brand new! Not even the labels are yellowed! Great find! I'm so jealous! I believe I mentioned this before, but back in it's hayday, my brother and I played the game to it's conclusion and we both ended up with the same score! We had the whole arcade gathered around watching! Well now I have to go fire up my son's 360 and play the version he downloaded. Damn it, I WANT ONE!!!! ;)

Dragon's Lair, Space Ace and SpyHunter... wow those were my favorite games. Spent so much money on them. I would love to have a building just for games like that and my stereo (I do have an incredible KEF 107 speaker system with an awesome stereo rack). Sigh....

When this arcade video game came out, it actually cost us $1 per play up in Canada (small town)

Dude. That's awesome! I'm coming over.

If that tournament his friends were in took place in Edison NJ at Menlo Park mall, then they knocked me and my buddy out

I was breakdancing when this video game came out Dragon's Lair our group was called the floor City crew

dragons lair is almost like a video game of trial and error. every time you reach a new level you probably won't get it right the first time unless you are lucky.

i remember when dragons lair came out lines at the arcade like a hour wait just to play the damn thing lol

NO WAY! That rocks John..

Thanks John.. wait all week for your post... 11pm south africa..

wow...just WOW....awesome score!!

As an old laserdisc collector for about 20 years, I can safely say, that you don´t need to be THAT careful with the disc ;) LD is much more durable and resistance to dirt, smudges and scratches than DVD and Blu-Ray. Only VERY serious scratches and dirt affects the playback. The top of that disc was VERY dirty though. :D Don´t be afraid to touch the disc :) Congratulations to a great game and cabinet :)

His ‘friend’ seems annoyed. Lol

Good to see this in your collection. :)

You should totally get a hold of a Donkey Kong Jr. tabletop game and do a video about it!

hey john, i know it always gives you trouble - on a $.25 game to know how much it made just 1/2 the number of plays and then 1/2 it again. ex. 16000 plays 1/2 = 8000, 1/2 = 4000. game made $4000. and... sweeeet game!

Howdy Jon, It looked perfect when you got the fly back adjusted, but after you started messing with the color, it looks washed out, you should have stopped after adjusting the flyback..

Hi John great video :) Tomorrow im helping my dad clear out his garage and finally im getting my hands on the old Taito cocktail machine that im going to put a 60 in 1 inside :) I will put a VGA board inside because my dad has loads of old jamma boards that I just have to test out because we're not quite sure what they are yet so that will be fun :) I think he has an old street fighter but I have to wait and see what surprises the old boards have in store and I will post videos when I get a chance to because I don't want to use an old monitor in the machine, I want to use a flat screen because I think they take up to much room in the cocktail machines :) once I get the machine out it will take some time to get it ready because first off I want to take everything out of it and start fresh. I know you like old school but the only other cabinets he has are pokers and I just don't like them because they look to modern and I like having the two player sitting opposite the first player. Anyway John your videos have been very inspiring to me and thank you .

50 cents to play Dragon's Lair reminds me of when I was 17 in 1998 and it was 75 cents to play Cruis'n World - too expensive for me! lolol

Your should have a test pattern generator ore something to show it to adjust the monitor.

Very Cool, Good Work!

The raster looks a bit high. Looks like you can see the feint raster lines. Might want to turn down the fly back.

I never knew Mike Haggar (final fight) came from that game? That cab or cabs should I say are huge!

I use to use car wax to clean laserdiscs. Not sure if it was good for the discs but after buffing the disc they would be much smoother and dust resistant

Played Dragon's Lair as a kid a few times but could never get my timing right for each level

Good video, And your right, Your gonna need to get a better Laserdisc player, Considering these cabinets are usually on all day and those players will wear out over time and stop working properly.

That 1983 Dragon's Lair is a real find. I always thought the name was a little awkward and maybe Dragon Slayer would have been a better name, but that was already taken by a movie that came out in 1981. Pronounced almost the same. Kudos on your monitor adjustment. CRTs will soon be a lost art, but you know a lot about them. Keep it up. I hear your Pole Position in the background. Do you also have 1981's Turbo by Sega? I loved Pole Position, but I liked Turbo a little more. Probably because I was better at it. It was the first racing game I ever played that sort of simulated hills in the road. Too fun.

omg that laugh

What a piece of art enjoyed the watch !(:

I immediately went and checked all my laser disc players for you, sadly i did not find any LD players that have serial ports :( have about a dozen of them too.

I dropped so much $ into DL that I could finish on 1 life. I miss those days. And Space Ace was IMPOSSIBLE

This game always cost AT LEAST $1, usually $2, so made a ton of money.

i think the coin counters are just that, not play counters. So 17k is probably all that machine made.