[4][5] The game combines full-motion video (FMV) footage from the laserdisc with real-time 2D graphics.

[7][8] This marked the beginning of laserdisc fever in the video game industry,[4] and released in Japan during early 1983, with Sega projecting to ship 10,000 cabinets that year.

Some waves take place in open space, while others require the player to battle enemies while flying through narrow trenches and tunnels.

Each frame of the laserdisc footage is coded with a hit detection spot stored in ROM memory.

[10] In Japan, Game Machine listed Astron Belt as the top-grossing upright/cockpit arcade cabinet for four months in 1983.

"[8] Computer and Video Games gave it a positive review upon its European release, calling it a pioneering game and praising the realistic visuals and audio, the continue feature, the futuristic cockpit cabinet, and the vibrating seat, but criticizing "a few rough edges" in the gameplay, the high price of £0.40 (equivalent to £1.7 in 2023) per play, and for sometimes vibrating "more than is comfortable."

One of the two reviewers was game designer Eugene Jarvis, who criticized the collision detection and the lack of realistic gameplay or direction, but he praised the "sense of power" and "macho feel" it gives, particularly with the explosions.

[18] Astron Belt was responsible for starting the LaserDisc interactive movie craze when it was shown at the 1982 AMOA show.

It had the same controls and very similar gameplay to Astron Belt, and one machine could be converted to the other by simply changing the LaserDisc, game ROMs, and sound board.

[citation needed] In Japan, Game Machine listed Starblazer on their January 15, 1984 issue as being the third most-successful upright arcade unit of the month.