Dragon’s Lair x RepliCade Review: New Wave Toys creates another premium mini arcade cabinet [Video]

Dragon's Lair x RepliCade and LaserDisk player on desk

Continuing their quest for the ultimate collectible retro line-up, New Wave Toys’ latest miniature replica arcade cabinet is the Dragon’s Lair x RepliCade. Officially licensed by Digital Leisure and Dragon’s Lair LLC, this new premium cab has the same incredible attention to detail that we’ve seen on all of New Wave Toys’ earlier offerings. Head below to watch the video and see all of the details. 

Out of the box: more than just the cabinet

Coming in at $119.99, the Dragon’s Lair x RepliCade is right in line with the other RepliCade cabinets from New Wave Toys.

As a ⅙ replica, the Dragon’s Lair x RepliCade is a high quality, highly detailed masterpiece. Granted, I didn’t spend much time standing around an actual arcade cabinet playing Dragon’s Lair in its prime, but the details on here are impressive. 

Included with the cabinet are four mini tokens, a Daphne Kickplate decal, manual, USB charging cable, and even a replica LaserDisc Player with a LaserDisc and sleeve, and a remote. Tucked in the back of the cabinet in a special drawer to hold the LaserDisk player. Over the entire player are tiny details that are almost too small to see with the naked eye. The remote can be placed securely in a holder on top of the player or stored elsewhere.

Design

Standing just over 1-foot tall, the cabinet features a metal hinged stashbox on the front that also houses the add credits button and the menu button. 

In the menu are quite a few different controls like turning the marquee light on and off, difficulty settings, where to send the game audio, how many Dirks, or lives, per credit, and a few more options.

Above the sharp 4.2-inch 4:3 aspect ratio screen, which looks great, is another digital scoreboard that shows player 1 score and lives left, player 2 score and lives left, as well as credits left.

Dragon’s Lair x RepliCade: Video

All around the cabinet are high-quality hi-resolution decals that show off the Dragon’s Lair branding. 

On the back, the Dragon’s Lair x RepliCade cabinet has two speakers, a power switch, LED light, volume dial, and micro-USB charging port. Moving further down we have a USB-A port for an external controller, a full-size HDMI out, and another USB controller port, and near the bottom is the drawer that holds the LaserDisc player. 

Mini Controls

To control the cabinet and game, there are buttons for one player or two-player modes, two sword buttons, and the four-way control stick. They feel great in use, but don’t have the same sharp clicky feel as the Street Fighter II cabinet. Check out the video for a sound test if you want to hear what they sound like. I would imagine more emphasis was put on feel and performance for the Street Fighter controllers. 

Playing the Dragon’s Lair x RepliCade

Officially licensed, from what I can tell, the gameplay looks and feels great on the Dragon’s Lair x RepliCade. Timing is everything with this game and the controls respond quickly to inputs while navigating the Lair. And, because of this, I was pretty bad at it. You need to figure out movements for the different encounters and because of the speed at which they appear, they really need to be memorized. Needless to say, I didn’t get very far, even on easy mode.

gadgetnewsonline’ Take

New Wave Toys has nailed another retro remake with the Dragon’s Lair x RepliCade. Just like the change machine charge station and the Street Fighter II RepliCade, attention to detail is impeccable. If you’re a retro collector or love arcades, the Dragon’s Lair x RepliCade from New Wave Toys is a must-have piece.

Buy Dragon’s Lair x RepliCade

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