Super Don Quix-ote
Also recorded as Super Don Quixote
Super Don Quix-ote
- Date
- 1984
- Genre
- action game
In this article
Key facts
• Title — Super Don Quix-ote
• Developer — Universal
• Publisher — Universal
• Platforms — Arcade
• Genre — Interactive film
• Arcade System — Universal System 1
Super Don Quix-ote (スーパードンキホーテ Sūpā Don Kihōte) is an arcade laserdisc video game released by Universal in 1984. In it, the player controls the knight Don as he attempts to rescue a princess from an evil witch named Leona.
Super Don Quix-ote is loosely based on the novel Don Quixote, while the laserdisc format is similar to other laserdisc games such as Dragon's Lair and Space Ace. The major difference that set Super Don Quix-ote apart is an overlaid icon indicating the time and direction of each correct quick time event input, whereas all other laserdisc games at the time gave no indication of correct moves, except an occasional "flash" incorporated into the animation itself.
Plot
The game is loosely inspired by its namesake, Don Quixote, and features a heroic young knight named Don on a quest to save his love, the fair princess Isabella, who has been kidnapped by Leona, a wicked witch, for human sacrifice to a demon. Don is accompanied on his travels by a donkey (based on Rocinante, the original Don Quixote's horse) and a fat little man named Sancho (based on Don Quixote's trusty sidekick, Sancho Panza).
The closest parallel to the original tale is a scene in which Don fights a giant at a windmill, but the rest of the game pits him against a mummy, a dragon, skeletons, demons, giant snakes, flying electric jellyfish, an animated totem pole, Leona's daughter, and other scenarios with no relation to the original story. The game ends when Don kills Leona and rescues Isabella, and they escape Leona's castle as it is destroyed.
Universal System 1
Super Don Quix-ote was the first and only game released for the Universal System 1, a standardized laserdisc video game system. Several other games were planned for this cabinet, but were never released: Adventure in Middle Earth, Adventure Mr. Do!, Time Slip, Circus Circus, Space Dracula, and Wilderness Kingdom.
Another laserdisc game from Universal following a similar flashing quick-time event format was Captain Zapp, which had a motorbike vehicular combat theme. It was the only laserdisc game to be demonstrated at London's Associated Leisure Preview '86 (Arcadia '86) show in October 1985.
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- Japan
Named but not plotted · 1
Super Don Quix-ote is associated with Japan.
Country
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Super Don Quix-ote, revision 1363074015 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record.
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Super Don Quix-ote on their December 15, 1984 issue as being the most-successful upright arcade unit of the month.
Computer and Video Games magazine gave it a generally positive review in December 1984, stating the "movements of all the characters are very smooth and beautifully depicted" with praise for the arrows and signs; though the reviewer didn't think the game "is as much fun" as Dragon's Lair, the review said Don Quix-ote is "a lot less frustrating" than the former game. Mike Roberts gave it a highly positive review in the April 1985 issue of Computer Gamer magazine, calling it the "latest masterpiece" laserdisc game and stating that it improves on Dragon's Lair and Space Ace in terms of the graphics and playability, with the flashing hints making the gameplay clearer and less confusing than earlier laserdisc games.
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Akagi, Masumi. アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005). Amusement News Agency. 15, 139. 13 October 2006. 978-4990251215.
- 2.Dragons-lair-project.com. Super Don Quix-ote.
- 3.Loneworlds.altervista.org. Dragon's Lair Italian Tribute - SUPER DON QUIX-OTE - Lasergames.
- 4.Edgeley, Clare. Arcade Action. Computer and Video Games. 51 (January 1986). 54–5. 16 December 1985.
- 5.Amusement Press, Inc. Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - アップライト, コックピット型TVゲーム機 (Upright/Cockpit Videos). Game Machine. 250. 29. 15 December 1984.
- 6.Arcade Action. Computer and Video Games. 39 (January 1985). 38–9. 16 December 1984.
- 7.Roberts, Mike. Coin-Op Connection. Computer Gamer. Argus Press. 1. 42–3. April 1985.
Citations
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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