Released: 1984Genre: AdventureFormat reviewed: ArcadePublisher: CinematronicsDeveloper: Advanced Microcomputer SystemsSubmitted by:It was a wet summer holiday in 1984 and I was with my cousin in an arcade on Canvey Island in Essex. Frankie Goes to Hollywood was in the Top 10 with 'Two Tribes', and the fight scene between Reagan and Chernenko was blasting out of the video juke box. I looked up from the 2p falls at the voice emanating from a cabinet at the front of the arcade'Space Ace – Defender of justice, truth and the planet Earth!' I walked over to the crowd forming around the machine, and that was me set for the rest of the summer.In 1983 Cinematronics released the first Laserdisc based arcade game, Dragon's Lair. This was a milestone in arcade game technology, effectively allowing a player to direct the actions of a character in a full colour disney style cartoon.
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The use of a Laserdisk player hidden within the cabinet allowed a film to be 'played' on screen through the timing of joystick and key presses. Getting the timing or input wrong resulted in the film switching to a context sensitive death scene, effectively rendering the game to a test of memory.Whilst the gameplay was so-so, it was the quality of the animation, which was by Disney veteran Don Bluth, which kept players coming back for more.Hot on the heels of Dragon's Lair was 1984's Space Ace, which in contrast to the first game's medievel theme, was much more futuristic, and I felt much more fitting with the technology.You played hero Ace, who has to rescue his girlfriend Kimberley from the evil commander Borf. Borf has a secret weapon, the Infanto Ray, which he uses to zap Ace back to his childhood form, hampering his mission.Cue much timed jumping between floating platforms, dodging laser blasts and flying spacecraft through obstacles on a journey to save Kimberley and the earth from the evil blue alien (which was also voiced by Don Bluth).
Seeing the game through to the end rewarded the player with a feeling of real accomplishment, that they had mastered the machine and seen all the great animation had to offer.Although badly replicated on a number of platforms as a graphics only based game, it has recently been translated to DVD/CD-ROM and now Blu-Ray, allowing it to be played at home in an approximation of it's former glory. For traditionalists it is also possible to emulate on a PC if you have a copy of the original laserdisc or one of the recently released disc versions.The format was not long lived, but for me this was a great arcade game, a blockbuster summer movie that you could actually interact with, and whilst the technology now might seem clunky, and the gameplay limited, it was a experience that no-one who played it could forget.
Space Ace, the follow up to Don Bluth's legendary Dragon's Lair, can now be enjoyed from the comfort of your home. This fully arcade authentic version includes all of the original scenes you've come to enjoy, and even an all-new global high scores list so you can show how well you handle Ace's laser gun. Audio & Video files - Samples of the laserdisc content. Cabinet Images - Pictures of the arcade game. Flyer Images - Promotional material provided to game operators. Artwork - Model Sheets, Storyboards, Sketches, Cels, and Promotional material. Easter Eggs - See some of the things the programmers/animators left in the game. The Creators - Pictures and info of the men who created Space Ace.
Space Ace is a video game produced by Don Bluth Studios, Cinematronics and Advanced Microcomputer Systems (later renamed RDI Video Systems). It was unveiled in October 1983, just four months after the Dragon's Lair cabinet hit arcades, then released in Spring of 1984.
Space Age resembled Dragon's Lair's featured film-quality animation played back from a laserdisc. The gameplay is also similar, requiring the player to move the joystick or press the fire button at key moments in the animated sequences to govern the hero's actions. However, the game's action was more varied with the player occasionally given the temporary option to either have the character he is controlling transform back into his adult form, or remain as a boy with different styles of challenges. Don Bluth has announced during the crowdfunding for Dragon's Lair: The Movie that he is making a Space Ace short film. Check out this video to find out more.For more videos, including gameplay and interviews, visit the and YouTube channels.If you have a suggestion for a future episode of Shack's Arcade Corner, please let us know in the comments section or tweet & with #ArcadeCorner.
Next week is the 100th episode of Shack's Arcade Corner!We want to do something special for the 100th episode. Please reply in the comments section with questions for Greg. Questions about arcade games, the show, doing it for Shacknews, and even other video games. Greg wants to hear from you! Do it for Shacknews!
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