Astronbelt (1983)
Sega’s Astronbelt is known for being the first laserdisc arcade game released commercially in Japan and Europe. Although developed before Dragon’s Lair, due to technical complications the game was released later in North America and therefore is the second laserdisc game released here.
In the game, players controlled a lone spacecraft locked in battle against a relentless enemy fleet. The action unfolded in two wave-based formats—either in open space or within narrow tunnels, the latter being significantly more challenging to navigate. Each wave culminated in a showdown with an enemy command ship, upping the stakes with every stage.
To keep the challenge escalating, enemy accuracy improved in the later levels, making it increasingly difficult to avoid being hit. A unique twist in gameplay was the timer system: each stage began with a 60-second countdown during which the player had unlimited lives. Once that minute expired, lives became limited—adding real pressure to survive. The game concluded when all remaining lives were lost.
This blend of high-intensity action and strategic pressure made the title a standout in its era. Want to relive classics like this in style? View all arcade machines and find the perfect setup to bring your retro gaming dreams to life.
The background videos of Astronbelt are a combination of both original artwork as well as footage from popular space-themed films. The films included Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, Battle Beyond the Stars and Message from Space.
The game was received well, however, did not perform as well in arcades as other laserdisc games such as Dragon’s Lair. However, the game gained enough popularity that a sequel was released called Starblazer (or Galaxy Ranger), although this is generally criticised for being too alike the original game.
Bega’s Battle (1983)
Bega’s Battle was Data East’s contribution of an early laserdisc videogame, using videos from the film Harmagedon. The game introduced full-motion videos between shooting stages, which acted as cut scenes. These were used to develop an ongoing plot throughout the game’s development. Later, this would be to become the standard approach to video game storytelling.
Within the gameplay, the player controlled a robot (Bega). The aim was to stop the alien Varga, who had invaded the planet and kidnapped three of the protagonist’s friends, who the player then went on to save in the later levels of the game.
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