Gauntlet Legends

Gauntlet Legends is an arcade game released in 1998 by Atari Games. It is a fantasy themed hack and slash styled dungeon crawl game, a sequel to 1985's popular Gauntlet and 1986's Gauntlet II and marks the final game in the series to be produced by Atari Games. Its unusual features for an arcade game included passwords and characters that could be saved, enabling players to play over the course of a long period.

Released: 31 August 1999
Platforms: Arcade Dreamcast Nintendo 64 PlayStation
Genres: Beat 'em up Hack and slash Role-playing
Developers: Atari Games
Publishers: Atari Games
Modes: Co-op
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Action Fantasy
Country: United States
Age ratings: ESRB T
Languages: English
Composers: Barry Leitch

About

Gauntlet Legends is a 1998 hack and slash video game developed and published by Atari Games for arcades. It is a sequel to 1985's Gauntlet and 1986's Gauntlet II, and the final game in the Gauntlet series to be produced by Atari Games. It has many unusual features for an arcade game, including passwords and characters that can be saved, enabling players to play over the course of a long period.

The game was later ported to the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and Dreamcast. In 2000, it was followed by Gauntlet Dark Legacy, which featured new characters and levels.

Keywords

magic
death
brawler
boss fight
character select screen
bow and arrow
4 player co-op
treasure chest
potion
melee
temporary invincibility
invisibility

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

In ages past, a corrupt mage named Garm used a set of Runestones to summon a demon named Skorne. However, Skorne crushed Garm and imprisoned his soul in the Underworld. Skorne, fearing the power of the Runestones, scattered them throughout the four realms, so that they could never be used against him. The player(s) must defeat the end bosses of each of the four kingdoms to obtain the four keys which allow access to the desecrated temple and be able to banish Skorne to the Underworld.

While traveling through each realm, they must also collect the Thirteen Runestones from where they have been scattered. The complete set of Runestones allows them to pursue Skorne to the Underworld in order to finally destroy him. The players must find three rune stones on each kingdom in order to defeat Skorne in the Underworld (in the arcades only), and one from the battle grounds (home versions only). The initial arcade version had a contest by which the first 500 players to complete the game and send in the supplied validation code would win a free Gauntlet Legends shirt.

Reception

The arcade version received favorable reviews. Dan Elektro of GamePro said, "Overall, Gauntlet Legends takes advantage of the 3D space and uses it as much more than a gimmick. [...] Gauntlet deserved an update—and the legend has been treated with befitting respect." In Japan, Game Machine listed the game in their March 1, 1999 issue as the sixth most-successful dedicated arcade game of the previous year.

The PlayStation version received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Greg Orlando of NextGen said of the Dreamcast version, "Four controllers and one Legends make for party-game excitement of the highest order."