Best Gauntlet Game?

[Sarge]

I think Bone pointing out Soul Blazer was rather prescient. It's got elements of Gauntlet for sure, but within an action-RPG framework. It's a great game, especially if you like the style but need to get beyond the arcade roots.

[nightrnr]

Yeah, Crystal Beans looks nice (it's basically a scaled down DE II with an SNES flair.
Seems a bit more accessible than DEII for Duo, even if it is more basic.

Back to DE for Sega CD, I just really like the look and feel of it. Never beat it, but I want to fire it up on an emulator on PSP sometime (solo challenge accepted). Or on Xbox if I find a worthy (bored enough) nephew to game with.

[Tanooki]

Hah yeah that one, Shining Soul on the GBA is kind of in the mold but equally so with the item grab/sell/leveling of Diablo as it's like a hybrid of the two and most excellent. There was a Gauntlet Dark Legacy GBA game, it basically should be said, that the game should go un-said it's that bad.

I didn't know there really was a Gauntlet 3 though, never seen it and always was confused why it jumped from 2 to 4. So bad it went out in the field and died, then got lost in the weeds I guess?

Soul Blazer is fantastic and it's more I guess like Shining Soul GBA (minus the item sell off) with similar Gauntlet mechanics I can see that.

[nightrnr]

Soul Blazer, I still consider a "Zelda" game, but I do see the likeness. It totally makes sense to throw in the mix.

I agree that Shining Soul is a hybrid, but in the best ways; I wholeheartedly recommend them to a Gauntlet fan.

The GBA game was indeed terrible. I found little enjoyment in it, but it is playable at least, just boring.
I heard there was another Gauntlet in the works for DS at one point. Too bad that never came about (unless it was turning terrible too).

--EDIT--
Ooh, and I call for an article on the lost Gauntlet III games.
I tried to play one of them on an Amiga emulator, but ran into trouble. Might try the C64 version sometime though.
I do have The Third Encounter for Lynx, just because.

[Sarge]

Yeah, Soul Blazer is very much a mix of Zelda (or Ys) and Gauntlet, in my mind.

[fastbilly1]

Main series games - Dark Legacy - oxbox version. It is best thought of Legends Directors cut. Many of the best parts of Dark Legacy were added to the Dreamcast release of the Legends. But Dark Legacy was ported to the ps2, then made better for the more powerful oxbox version, then made worse on the Gamecube and more worse on the GBA...

[BoneSnapDeez]

I gotta mention Dark Chambers again because it's basically a de facto Gauntlet game. In fact, it's the "sequel" (spiritual successor, whatever) to Dandy, which served as the inspiration for Gauntlet. That said, Dark Chambers is better than Dandy and much easier to find. It was released on a trio of Atari systems in 1988.

Gameplay is very close to Gauntlet, and there are 26 distinct levels, so you don't feel caught in the never-ending arcade limbo.

Dark Chambers is, in fact, so similar to Gauntlet that some guy on AtariAge hacked the game and turned it into an unofficial Gauntlet sequel.

[Tanooki]

You want a defacto Gauntlet sequel/game? And what's that you say, you love to kill Nazi's too? Gotcha covered.

Into the Eagles Nest. (First shot I played for DOS, prettier on Amiga/Atari ST)



Gauntlet, with Nazis -- same mechanics with special booty, lots of spawning crap to kill, keys, special items the whole works trying to survive to the exit. I got this free with my very first computer (Christmas 1990) thrown on a CD loaded with probably 50+ games on it from the late 80s on there. Damn I wish I still had it.


Bonus; Looks like someone is remaking it (or remade it already?) for the PC today, still top down view, just looks/sounds nicer is all from first glance.

[Anapan]

Wow great topic. Gotta reiterate Gauntlet 4's best soundtrack since IMO it hasn't been beat. He actually built a custom sound driver for maximum FM synth capabilities on the genesis so his music could be properly expressed without the default driver getting i the way - that's so badass - I'd always appreciated Masaharu Iwata's skills, but when I walked into my friend's apartment while he was playing G4's wind level, I actually found my new favorite musician, and I still haven't heard his whole soundtrack almost a year later. He's so cool!
Still, the original arcade Gauntlet 2 is my go-to for two-player goodness - one of the main reasons my brother and I built a bartop cabinet Co-op Gauntlet is some of the best arcade multiplayer you can get.. Probably nostalgia, but Legends was not the same feel even with my bro playing the 2nd player. Gotta be 2D overhead with hordes being decimated through a 1-block doorway...
Also +1 for Nemoide's story - that's total win in my book.

[Exhuminator]

I put an hour into Dungeon Explorer for TG16 last night. I had a good time, though it's pretty damned hard single player. Hopefully I'll have it beat in a day or two.

Dark Chambers looks great too, just gotta figure out what version I'm going to play.