In the 80s, I've spent over 5k quarters in this game.I used to have crowds watching me playing it all the way through over and over.

My favorite game of the time! In 1984 I played this at Golf n Things in Tucson, AZ. This gem was sitting not too far from Spy Hunter and cost a dollar just to play, which was crazy expensive. As a kid, all I had was five dollars to spend. Even though I was terrible at Dragons Lair, I walked away, totally blown away from what I witnessed. Today Dragons Lair is still my jam, and I own it on various platforms. The 80’s were the best!

Amazing the animators completed this in a year. I sunk all my paper route and landscaping money as a kid into this game. I credit it with increasing my memory and hand eye coordination. By the time I became adept with no deaths while playing, I had crowds of people watching me play at 12 years old.

The sound design of Dragon's Lair never gets the recognition it deserves, it's as good as Don's excellent animation.

I "played" this game once and realized I wasn't playing anything just watching a interactive movie. Never played ever again

The late Kathleen Quaife-Hodge who was one of my animation professors, and eventually went on to be a Disney animator on classic Disney films, worked at Don Bluth Studios as an effects animator. The Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace series were some of Mrs. Hodge’s first projects in the industry. She was part of a group of animators for all of the fire, smoke and water in these games. Mrs. Hodge was a wonderful person and an amazing talent. It’s awesome to see that her work is still appreciated!

The cage is locked... With a key... The dragon keeps it around his neck. To slay the dragon... use the magic sword!

This was a marvel for its time when it was released. Did you see that arcade1up has the Dragon's Lair and Space Ace coming out soon. You can choose which style of cabinet you want and both games come with it. I think they should be pretty good. Great video!!

If you weren’t around when this game came out, you may not get it but this game was revolutionary! Freaking huge that made arcades some serious $$$ back then. An absolute classic!

Dragon's Lair is such a classic. I mean, it kinda inspired QTEs and all among other things.

I got the mini Replicade cabinet last year for Christmas, and it's the best thing ever.

Tied with Space Ace for my all-time favorite arcade game, and I've played a LOT of arcade and console games. The humor in the game can't be overstated, Dirk's grunts and vocalizations are often HILARIOUS.

A favorite game of mine when it first came out, I had all the moves memorized practicing at my hometown favorite arcade. One day I went to a popular large arcade and they had Dragons Lair on a platform showcased in the middle of the arcade. They had mounted a large monitor on top and had the volume cranked. When it was my turn to play I chugged along and got to the finale without losing a Dirk. After I got to the point where there was no more interaction needed from me I stepped back and looked around. The staff and almost the entire room was gathered around me - parents with their little kids on their shoulders. Some of them started clapping. I was never more embarrassed in my life, I slithered out the door and left.

Dragons lair kicked my ass. I had no clue what to do hahahahah.

Fond memories of watching on the secondary monitor at my local bowling alley. There must have been 40 of us crowding around watching a pro breeze through the game and rescue the princess. Don Bluth's animation was inspired for sure. The Secret of Nimh was a revelation. Thanks for covering this classic!

This was before my time, but I still have a great admiration for this series! I'm glad the game gets ported constantly so everyone will always have the chance to play it!

Very thorough review of Dragon's Lair as a whole. This brings back memories. It was actually 75¢

I have a friend who did the game more or less blind. He'd keep his eyes open just long enough to see which screen/sequence was starting, then close his eyes and get through the challenge flawlessly.

I remember being blown away by this when I played it in the late 0s...tried a couple times, died very quickly, and realized it looked cool but there wasn't much actual gameplay. I think I would have been much more impressed had I seen it in 1983(1 year before I was born)

Dragon's Lair 3D seems like the logical evolution of the game to me. A playable cartoon where its not just quick time events.