Gauntlet Legends
Encyclopedia
Gauntlet Legends is an arcade game
released in 1998 by Atari Games
. It is a fantasy
themed hack and slash
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 of time.
the player's character(s) as the game is played, increasing their abilities through experience
earned by slaying enemies and acquiring treasure, similar to the character progression methods in many role-playing video game
s. The four primary attributes are:
Attributes increase with each level attained; increases can also be purchased from the Items menu with gold acquired in gameplay.
The stock fantasy characters from the original Gauntlet return for Legends; as before, each has greater starting ability in a single attribute than their fellows.
Character progression is saved through a password system; a player can progress all four characters to a maximum level of 99, and each of their attributes to a maximum of 999.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
released in 1998 by Atari Games
Atari Games
Atari Games Corporation was an American producer of arcade games, and originally part of Atari, Inc..-History:When, in 1984, Warner Communications sold the Atari Consumer division of Atari Inc...
. It is a fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
themed hack and slash
Hack and slash
Hack and slash or hack and slay, abbreviated H&S or HnS, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat. "Hack and slash" was originally used to describe an aspect of pen-and-paper role-playing games , carrying over from there to MUDs, MMORPGs, and video games in general...
game, a sequel to 1985's popular Gauntlet and 1986's Gauntlet II
Gauntlet II
Gauntlet II is a 1986 arcade game, the first sequel to the game Gauntlet, released the previous year. Gauntlet II, like its predecessor, is a fantasy-themed hack and slash.-Overview:...
and marks the final game in the series to be produced by Atari Games. Its unusual features for an arcade game included passwords
Password (video games)
In many video games of the 8-bit and, to a lesser extent, 16-bit eras , after a level was beaten and/or when all continues were used, the game would display a password, that when entered in the game would allow the player to return to this part in the game...
and characters that could be saved, enabling players to play over the course of a long period of time.
Storyline
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 glass shards which allow access to the desecrated temple via a window in the starting tower and be able to banish Skorne to the Underworld. While traveling through each realm, he/she/they must also collect the Thirteen Runestones from where they have been scattered. The complete set of Runestones allows him/her/them to pursue Skorne to the Underworld in order to finally destroy him. The players must find 3 rune stones on each kingdom in order to defeat Skorne in the Underworld (in the arcades only), and of course 1 from the battle grounds (home versions only).Characters
A new aspect of the Gauntlet series is established in Legends: the ability to level upLevel Up
Level Up was a UK children's TV programme that was broadcast on CBBC. It was launched on the 3rd April 2006, replacing Xchange. The show was an hour long and during the school year broadcasting from 7:30am until 8:30am...
the player's character(s) as the game is played, increasing their abilities through experience
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
earned by slaying enemies and acquiring treasure, similar to the character progression methods in many role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
s. The four primary attributes are:
- Strength - Determines damage dealt by physical attacks.
- Speed - Determines character movement and attack rates.
- Armor - Determines amount of damage character takes from enemy attacks.
- Magic - Determines the range and effectiveness of magic potion attacks (see Items below).
Attributes increase with each level attained; increases can also be purchased from the Items menu with gold acquired in gameplay.
The stock fantasy characters from the original Gauntlet return for Legends; as before, each has greater starting ability in a single attribute than their fellows.
- Warrior/Dwarf/Minotaur - Strength
- Wizard/Sorceress/Jackal/Sumner - Magic
- Archer/Jester/Tigress - Speed
- Valkyrie/Knight/Falconess - Armor
Character progression is saved through a password system; a player can progress all four characters to a maximum level of 99, and each of their attributes to a maximum of 999.
Items
There are many categories of items in Gauntlet Legends, as well as some unique ones. Most are contained in treasure chests and barrels scattered throughout the game, but some can be found lying in the open; most can also be purchased from the Items menu between levels. You can also disable the items and save them for later use. Gold is distributed through the game in a similar manner.- Amulets: Amulets add power to each standard attack, but can only last up to 90 seconds. Various types are fire, acid, electric, and light, and there is no apparent difference in attack power. The only catch is that the character cannot equip multiple amulets simultaneously.
- Breaths: Breaths allow the character to damage all enemies within a small semicircle in front of him/her, and come in increments of five, but cannot exceed 15. Like amulets, they come in fire, electric and acid breaths, however there is no light breath.
- Shields: Shields form an indestructible wall in front of the character. In addition to preserving the character's health, it also damages any enemies that come in contact to it. They come in two varieties, fire and electric.
- Shot Multipliers: There are only two types (3 way and 5 way) and they allow the character to shoot 3 or 5 shots at once, as opposed to the standard 1 shot.
- Potions: Potions exist for one main reason, but can serve several others. The primary function of potions when one's character is at an early level is to kill Death, a character who is hidden in various chests and barrels and drains 100 health from any character he comes in contact with. They can also be used to attack several enemies at once within a certain radius, increasing in range and potency as the player character's skill with magic increases. Potions can be used three different ways: thrown, dropped at one's feet, or used as a momentary shield (similar to the Shield items, but only a few seconds in duration).
- Keys: They open chests and certain doors, and appear in chests, barrels, and on the ground.
Ports
- In 1999, the game was portedPortingIn computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to several video game consoleVideo game consoleA video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
s including PlayStation, Nintendo 64Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
and Dreamcast. - In 2001, the game was given a sequel. It was released for the arcade, as well as on Nintendo GameCubeNintendo GameCubeThe , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, and XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and was called Gauntlet: Dark LegacyGauntlet: Dark LegacyGauntlet Dark Legacy, released in arcades in 2000 and in 2001 for PlayStation 2 and in 2002 for Game Boy Advance, GameCube and Xbox, is an expansion of the previous title in the series, Gauntlet Legends...
. It featured new characters to play and new levels. The Dreamcast version of Gauntlet Legends had many of the features of Dark Legacy as unlockable game features.