...Back in the early '80s, Defender wasn't just a game for me—it was "the" game. It was practically a rite of passage.
A few years ago, I got my hands on my first Defender cabinet, and let me tell you, there was a sparkle in my eye and a warm,
nostalgic hum in my creaking bones as I brought it back to life. I even tackled a Robotron after that, going full preservationist
mode on both to keep them as original as possible — because some classics deserve nothing less than authenticity.
Then came "the fixer-upper of fixer-uppers". A Defender that had clearly lived a hard life: This Defender cabinet looked
like it had survived an alien invasion of its own — termites had snacked on it, water had tried to drown it, and... well, let's just
say it had seen better decades.
At first, I considered a classic restoration, but then, inspiration,
"Why not aim for something higher, maybe even Legendary?"
It was destined to become a tribute. It was then the "Golden Defender" project took on a life of its own.
A tribute to the 50,000th Defender, which strutted off the assembly line in late 1981 to commemorate the success it brought.
This wasn't just a restoration; it was a gleaming nod, a genuine tribute to the golden age of gaming, written in pixels and gold screws.
Thanks to Eugene Jarvis, Larry DeMar, Sam Dicker and the whole team for bringing a great game to the arcades.
So, I decided to put this project on google sites. You can trust the link below, If you don't, I added the URL as well. It is valid website from google.
There you will find more than just a restore project, I created songs, stories, a plaque and even a mini movie. Heck, the enemies have their own story too!!
Thanks to Jim Bowley for modifying the colors and letters of the game to a "Golden Theme".
The scanner, words, and enemies all have gold in them. Also the "Today's Greatest " & "All Time Greatest" scores default to 50,000 with gold coloring (photo below).
And many more details, too many to list here.
Really fun project and I hope you find it rewarding sifting through the photos & information.
A Unique Restoration
GOLDEN DEFENDER
sites.google.com

