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Flash Dragon is a solid state pinball machine developed by Playmatic of Barcelona, Spain.
In 1986, being squeezed in the arcades by more technologically sophisticated games such as Space Shuttle and Pin*Bot, Playmatic needed a way to make their games stand out among players. Their solution was Flash Dragon, which at first blush looked like a nondescript table with a generic High Fantasy theme. However, when a player established the new high score on the game, a Polaroid instant camera embedded into the backbox would snap a picture, providing a memento of the occasion.
Although the gimmick wasn't enough to overcome Flash Dragon's simplistic gameplay, the photos👁 Image
did provide Spanish pinball players with some fond memories.
Flash Dragon demonstrates the following tropes:
- Evil Sorcerer: Seen on the backglass.
- Excuse Plot: What do dragons have to do with taking pictures, anyway?
- Our Dragons Are Different: And they take selfies!
- Retool: There were actually two versions👁 Image
of Flash Dragon released; they shared the same name, artwork, and camera gimmick, but have entirely different layouts and rules. - Scoring Points: As noted in the description, breaking the high score rewards players with a photograph.
- White Hair, Black Heart: The Evil Sorcerer has white hair.
- Winged Humanoid: A shirtless man with large feathered wings can be seen on the playfield.