Cobra Command Ingame video footage (Part 3 of 3)

[Elvenking71]

I used to be able to end this on one quarter. I was challenged by the head of the local arcade. Said he would give me a ten dollar roll of quarteres if I did it...well I did...greatest moment.

[richintalent]

Sorry but I HAVE to do this out of sheer exhileration:

Yoooooooo JOE!!!!!!!!

you may make all the derogatory nerd remarks now

[TodayzTomSawyer]

WOW! I'd never thought to try and find this on YT until today! I was one of the few people to my knowledge that completed the game in the small town I lived in and I think I was #2. lol At first I used to watch other people play and learned most of the sequences. I then played it until one day...victory! The game did have issues, though. It used to get hot and I think dust caused issues, too.

Very cool!

[Datan0de]

Strangely, the CC machine in our local arcade *started* with the canyon scene at the beginning of this vid. Was that normal?

[hargosh37]

I know some of the arcade machines had some of the stages going at random. The way they went was: Stages 1-4: Random, Stage 5; Fortress, Stages 6-9 Random, Stage 10 Main Base.

The order the laserdisc runs these scenes is the standard stage order, and the iPhone version keeps that continuity.

[koldfuse]

thank you for posting all of u, only us that remember this great game which was well in advance of all others, save dragons lair maybe a few others but those stood out I would love to have a big convention with cobra command players lol, I play commache 4 now online but nothing compared to cob com. cheers all

[300bucks]

Ahhhhh COBRA COMMAND - never got past 4 missions, but I kept trying....that is until one day, Magically I might add, all arcades got rid of laser-disc games all together - I was heart broken. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

[leslielove]

the best laser disc game in the world

[hilarioph]

It Remind of captain power

vhs games a year ago

[sbmrunning]

you are right! because the animation was done by TOEI which did it for Cobra Command and Captain Power VHS training tapes! Those Interlockers were awesome in the VHS! Toei animation out of Japan did alot of contracting work from around the world. Toei did the Cobra Command animation for Data East, and the animation for the Captain Powers VHS training tapes for Landmark. And actually if you study Cobra Command, you can see the 1980's GiJoe,Voltron and Transformers style drawings in there! love it

[jettmanas]

All that work deserves a longer ending!

Flying all over the world- pretty amazing.

Someone get that chopper some backup, or at least some fuel. *.*

I must have taken a big crew & a lot of time to animate that, but crew in the credits (I expected them at the end...) seemed very small. I wonder what the story was of its making...?

Thanks!

[sbmrunning]

jettmanas, Toei animators can crank this stuff out in a minute! (well actually back in the 80's in about 3-6 months or less) the cobra command animation was just another contract for Toei,Data East was the lead contractor on the laser disc project, and was in a race to get the game out to the arcades as soon as the Laser Disc technology was perfected enough for use at the arcades. The Pioneer Laser disc player was the center of most of these games back then. Much history to this! miss the days!

[jettmanas]

Well said.  Amazing work.

[sbmrunning]

It would be interesting to point out, that many of the cobra command games built by Data East were challenging in the earlier stages of production. They had heat problems with the disc player sitting in the cabinets. Once they over came that problem, they were ready to get the units out to the arcades. The games were a bit pricey, but they did sell, and the arcade/machine owner vendors did see their investment back. But they didn't understand alot of the diagnosing of the player and consoles.

[jettmanas]

Interesting. You really know the history of this game.

[sbmrunning]

back in the days jettmanas, I was (still am) deep in electronics and programming by hobby. When laser disc came out, it was like digital television next year! it was a big step in video distribution. I wanted to know about it. Then it hit the arcades, and in a big way it got my attention! I got Byte magazine and it had an outstanding article about the laser disc units, pre 6800 Motorola, it was fascinating, and i called and made connection with a Data East Technician on the CC project.

[GarthanSaal444]

The 5th and 10th screens were always the same ones. The other 8 were always random. You had a neat joystick that was shaped like a real attack helicopter's joystick. You had target squared that guided you, and arrows when you turned.

[muzzfactor]

Thanks for posting!!! That game really takes me back to the good old days. I spent more money on that game than I care to mention....but it was worth every penny!!!!!

[Hndshks]

Is this like Dragonslair type gameplay?

[sbmrunning]

sure is Hndshks! Dragon's Lair was animated by don bluth, who quit walt disney back in the 80's and got with the Southern California techies and got the Dragon's Lair game launched onto Pioneer's Laser Disc concept, and just like Data East's Cobra Command, animation and real time action was now possible! Don Bluth had a successful animation house going for awhile in the 1980's And don't forget, Dragon's Lair 2 was more intense than the 1st one! Laser Disc tech was the start of the compact disc.

[classof77]

WHOA.  Never saw this one in the arcades. I would have remembered it. Freaking sweet.

[akronflakesout]

Please tell me this game, when played, started levels in random order! I remember parts all the way to Part 3 of 3. One shot kills and for a buck a play while mom was grocery shopping? If this footage shows the game in the only order it could be played, then that was a lotta dough I spent. Could of filled the tanks and paid for my parents oil changes...for both the Vega and the Econoline!!!

[pendell2]

You are correct. I played it as well, and the levels did indeed occur in random order.

[sbmrunning]

hahahahahaaaa! i spent so much money on cobra command alone, i could have bought that damn 1969 charger back in the 70's or 80's! darn it! but i love this game! and played it with ease! And when it was very new, i learned this game so well, that i was the center of attention! This is back in the days when families went to the arcades, and watched the players like in the movie Tron! or the last star fighter! playing video games yes that was real! and i miss those days! The animation was quality!

[kwreck0022]

This game was absolutely THE SH!T when I was about 8 or 9 years old, and I would pay good money now at 31 to have a decent port of it for Windows!!!

[leslielove]

i what this game now

[Shawnster65]

The visual destruction in this game was mind blowing, I loved this one when I was a young arcade goer in the early 80's. I'm 42 now and I STILL want to play this one! Definitely the coolest laser gamer ever!

[killersushi99]

OH THE DREDDED CAVE STAGE!! I NEVER GOT PAST THIS LEVEL!..I could have bought a house in the money I put into this game!! Thanks for posting this I was taken back to my childhood.

[nomuken1]

same here , i would get $20.00 aud a week and it would all go on this gmae when i was like 12 - 13 years old :(

and id do it all over again!

[Ironbadger]

Thank you so much for posting this.

I played the game in the arcades in the 80s, and never got to see the entire footage all he way through- ever.

I always wanted to see how it ended, and thanks to you, I finally have.

[nomuken1]

me too!

[leslielove]

the fucking kooolest laser disc game ever if your selling this game please email me at cospain@yahoo.com i buy it from you