Gauntlet Legends
Reviewed by Washuu108
All of us have gone to an arcade and at least seen Gauntlet Legends
there. Some of us would spare a few quarters, and some of us would
devote their life savings to the game. Now, you don't have to pay 25
cents every time you need 500 more health, you just have to pay 30
dollars for infinite. Of course, that is not the only benefit of going out
and buying the N64 version, there are many other new features. For
example, the ability to sell your items as well as buy them, and the
special items to help you defeat the bosses.
Graphics: A
Gauntlet Legends has great graphics, following in the footsteps of
its arcade cousin. When you get your familiar, as small as it may be,
it still has much detail. It has some great explosion effects, and
sometimes you just want to run straight over the level entrance,
just to see the visual effects.
Music and Sound: A+
Gauntlet Legends features a very large soundtrack, not losing quality
with its quantity. The graveyard music is bone-chilling, and the boss'
sounds are lifelike, considering that they probably didn't have access
to a Chimera or a Dragon to record. When a TNT barrel explodes, you
hear it. When you step on a switch you hear it. When a golem is roaring
at you, when Sumner is telling you that you are about to die, you hear
them all brilliantly.
Game Challenge: A-
The game is very challenging with some levels that are seemingly
mazes (the treasure rooms actually are). A very challenging element
is the enemy generators. Enemies will keep on coming until you destroy
the generator, which getting to can be very tough. The bosses are very
challenging, which is why the secret boss weapons were created. The
rune stones are very well hidden, and can sometimes require you to go
back and forth through the level hitting switches to get. The challenge
level goes up to an A+ if you are playing alone, because without as much
power, you are that much vulnerable. One thing that reduces the challenge
of the game is that if you are attacking an enemy it can't attack back
(bosses excluded of course), so the only way you can be damaged is death,
poison food, or if you were surrounded (which can all be easily avoided
with a potion).
Game Play-Fun: A+
Gauntlet Legends is a very fun game, in my opinion, because at first you
have to go through all of the levels killing all of the enemies, but then it
goes even deeper. You have to go back and search for Obelisks, Rune Stones,
to make the game a little easier Boss Weapons, and to unlock secret
characters Treasure Rooms. Gauntlet Legends goes with that saying, "The
more the merrier." It definitely gets more fun with more people. And with
the 4MB expansion pak, you can have four people playing at once. Something
great about playing multi player is that sometimes you will come across a
glowing yellow ball. It will try to touch the closest character and it will
not harm you... directly. Sumner will announce,"[color] [character] is it."
From that point on, you may notice that enemies seem to go for you. That
is what "it" does. The fun part is, you get to play tag, and the next character
you touch, (sorry, attacks won't work) will become it.
Rumble Pak: B+
One good thing about the rumble pak, is it tells you when you get hit,
like when you don't notice some archer repeatedly shooting at you. A
bad thing is that it tells you when you get hit, like when you are
surrounded by 50 zombies, all attacking you.
Frustration
Gauntlet Legends also gets an A+ in frustration, because when you go
into an area without something you need, and the entrance closes behind
you, and you can't find an exit or a switch, it gets very frustrating very
fast. Also, just some levels layout can confuse and frustrate you. Don't
go to the Icy Docks unless you have played this for a while and are used
to the frustration. The camera doesn't help. You can't change the angle at
all, and it tends to give you weird angles where you can't see some walls.
When playing multi player, if you get too far apart, it will go to an angle
where you can't see anything.
Replayability: A+
If you have played Legend of Mana for the Playstation, Gauntlet Legends
is sort of like that. When you beat the game, you can start over with your
high experience character, because you start the game with only the things
completed that all of the characters have completed, which can mean doing
things over and over again with your friends. That is yet another reason that
playing this single player is not quite so good.
Game Value: A+
Since Gauntlet Legends is an old N64 game (they already have an expansion
for the Dreamcast version) it can be found in the bargain bag. I would buy
it at full price, so right now it actually is a bargain (retailers telling the
truth? no way...). Gauntlet Legends is a great way to pass the day, or to
play with friends so Gauntlet Legends is quite a steal at 30-40 dollars.
Controller Pak: A+
Gauntlet Legends also supports the Controller Pak, so you can bring your
character to other players' houses for a mere 4 pages of your controller
pak! It also supports inter-controller pak saving/loading, which means
that Player 4 can save on Player 3's controller pak while Player 3 is
saving on Player 1's controller pak. So all you and your friends need is
one controller pak for all of your characters, although with the small
space per pak, you might not want them using up some of your 16 blocks
and 123 pages.
Overall: A+
Games as good as Gauntlet Legends is what Nintendo 64 should be all
about. Games like this bring together gamers from nearly all genres,
nearly because some of those racers or puzzlers may not be so interested.
But if you liked Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, or Donkey Kong 64, than Gauntlet
Legends is definitely for you. If you didn't, then try it anyway because there
is a good chance you won't care. Maybe some of those RPGists will stop
drooling at those Final Fantasy X pics and play it for a while, probably
spending the whole time wondering where the artists were when the game
was made. Probably drooling at Final Fantasy VIII pics. It's a good game
nonetheless, and you and all of your friends should definitely get.