Astron Belt - HD

Astron Belt is an early laserdisc video game, released in 1983 by Sega in Japan and licensed to Bally Midway for production in the United States.

Astron Belt is basically an enhanced version of the simple space-shooters that were popular at the time. The player controls a lone spacecraft on a mission to singlehandedly take down the entire enemy armada. Enemy fighters and ships shoot at the player, and there are mines and other objects that must be shot or avoided.

The game is divided into waves. At the end of each wave is a command ship that must be destroyed. In later waves the enemy fighters move and shoot more aggressively, and their shots are more accurate. Some waves take place in open space, while others require the player to battle enemies while flying through narrow trenches and tunnels.

The player is on a timer at the beginning of the game, with an unlimited number of lives available. The length of the timer can be adjusted by the machine operator, but is normally 60 seconds. After the timer expires, the player is given a limited number of additional lives. When all of those lives are lost, the game ends.

Astron Belt came in both upright and cockpit cabinets. The cockpit version featured illuminated buttons on the control panel, a larger 25" monitor (the upright used a standard 19"), and a vibrating seat.

The background videos used in the game are a mixture of original artwork and borrowed material. In addition to the scenes created specifically for the game, the designers also incorporated footage from three science fiction movies: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Battle Beyond the Stars, and Message from Space.

A common complaint about laserdisc games is their linearity. Many, like Dragon's Lair, are glorified "rail" games where the player's path is predetermined by the program; to beat the game, the player only has to memorize the proper sequence of joystick and button movements for any given scene. In Astron Belt, however, the laserdisc only generates the images of the backgrounds and the enemy fighters. The hazards, including the enemy laser blasts and the space mines, are randomly generated by the game's main program in response to the player's actions. This makes Astron Belt much more player-driven than scene-driven, unlike the majority of laser disc titles.

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• Sega
• Astron
• Belt
• Laser
• disk
• arcade
• game
• Bally
• Midway

[martinharder]

A lot of the background footage seems to have been lifted directly from the film Message From Space.

[pcvideogamer]

@martinharder might be right there mate... at the time the people who made this game owned paramount.. so you never know :P

[bluegreenalgaeman]

From 1983-1985 I was a Marine stationed in Okinawa, Japan. I went to the arcades just off the base and found this gem of a game (the one with the cockpit) and played it extensively and got the highest scores around... I must have pumped 500 dollars worth of (100 Yen coins) money into this machine, because it was mesmorizing for back then... I was old enough to go out partying, which I did, but sometimes at 2am or 3am, a break in the action included a few Orion beers and an hour on this game!

[djdensan]

＼(^o^)／

[DOitTOtheCROWD]

I played this at Circus Circus in Reno, Nevada when I was a kid. It was the only arcade I knew of to have this game. I remember the gameplay, but couldn't remember the name. I wish I could play it again for old time's sake.

[Pentaro22]

I enjoy LD games!

I played Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, Johnny Rock, Mad Dog McCree, Time Gal, Ninja Hayate... I should add this gem to my collection!

[ken131]

Cinemassacre's Motherf--er Mike brought me here!

[trivia212005]

@pcvideogamer The following are the ones that I played:

M.A.C.H. 3

Interstellar Laser Fantasy

Bega's Battle

Galaxy Ranger

Esh's (I can't spell the title correctly)

Badlands

GP

And I forget the rest.

[pcvideogamer]

@trivia212005 indeed, have you tried some of my other laser-disk games (see main channel and play-lists for laser-disk-games) you may enjoy them also.

[trivia212005]

@pcvideogamer This game can be very easy if you get used to the controllers.

[pcvideogamer]

@trivia212005 first score i ever got on this game was in a London arcade in the 1980's so i cannot remember :) pretty low to be sure.

[trivia212005]

@pcvideogamer Thank you. What's the first score you've ever gotten in that game?