Gauntlet Legends (version 1.2) - MAME machine

Arcade Video game published 26 years ago:

Gauntlet Legends © 1998 Atari Games Corp.

Gauntlet Legends is a fantasy-themed scrolling, maze-based shoot-em-up for up to four players and is the sequel to 1985's "Gauntlet" and 1986's "Gauntlet II". In ages past, a corrupt mage named Garm used a set of thirteen Runestones to summon a powerful demon called 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.

Players must fight their way through four realms and defeat the powerful guardian that awaits at the end of each. Defeated guardians release a key, with all four needed to access the desecrated temple and banish Skorne to the Underworld. While travelling through each realm, the heroes must also collect the Thirteen scattered Runestones. Only with all thirteen stones can the heroes pursue Skorne to the Underworld in order to finally destroy him.

Gauntlet Legends introduced the ability to level-up the player-characters to the "Gauntlet" series. Slaying enemies and acquiring treasure, similar to the character progression methods used in many role-playing video games, earns valuable character upgrades. The four primary attributes are:

• Strength - Determines damage dealt by physical attacks.
• Speed - Determines character movement and attack rates.
• Armour - Determines amount of damage character takes from enemy attacks.
• Magic - Determines the range and effectiveness of magic potion attacks

Attributes increase with each level attained. Increases can also be purchased from the Items menu using gold acquired during gameplay. The stock fantasy characters from the original "Gauntlet" return for the sequel and as before, each possesses a primary skill:

• Warrior/Minotaur - Strength
• Wizard/Jackal/Sumner - Magic
• Archer/Tigress - Speed
• Valkyrie/Falconess - Armor

Character progression is saved via 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.

TECHNICAL
Runs on the "Atari Vegas" hardware.

Players: 4
Control: 8-way Joystick
Buttons: 3

TRIVIA
Released in October 1998.

Jeff Shears worked as a Senior Artist on this game for over 9 months. Like a number of people who worked on the game, Jeff was left off the final in-game credits.

A Gauntlet Legends unit appears in the sitcom 'Two and a Half Men'; Season 5, Episode 2 (People Who Love Peepholes).

TIPS AND TRICKS

• Alternate characters: Get a character to level 10. Then, hold Turbo while selecting your character to gain a more powerful version ('Jackal' instead of Wizard, 'Minotaur' instead of Warrior, 'Falconess' instead of Valkyrie, 'Tigress' instead of Archer).
• Passwords:

Play as a level 55 Wizard - Enter LBE as initials and 222 as password.
Play as a level 99 Valkyrie - Enter COP as initials and 012 as password.
Play as a Level 99 Warrior - Enter JOE as initials and 123 as password.
Play as a Level 99 Wizard - Enter MO_ as initials and 000 as password.
Play as Pojo the Chicken (from "Mace - The Dark Age") - Enter EGG as initials and 911 as password
Nude Valkyrie - Have player two enter NUD as initials and 069 as password (ONLY works on the Blue Valkyrie).

• Level Benefits: In Gauntlet, there are various rewards for gaining levels. Here they are, in order...

Level 10: Gain access to secret character (Hold turbo while selecting), get better weapon
Level 25: Gain Familiar (Little pet at your shoulder)
Level 50: Gain best possible weapon
Level 75: Gain Auto-Aiming Familiar
Level 99: Permanent Growth (Character can not be knocked down by a Golem's attack)

• Get a Bird/Dragon Familiar: To get a Bird/Dragon Familiar,(it varies on which of the 8 characters you are using) get up to level 25 and you will get a bird/dragon companion. When you attack, your bird/dragon also attacks.
• Another Familiar: To get a more powerful, permanent familiar after you reach level 25, get your character to level 75. Your familiar will be replaced by another familiar, the most powerful one you can get for your character. Your familiar attacks by shooting a small, but strong ball of energy when you attack.
• Punch Through Walls: If there are Golems on the other side of a wall, walk up to it and hit FIGHT and you can kill the Golem without getting hurt.
• Drain Death: When you get an Anti-Death item, use it to gain health points by draining death. All you have to do once you have the item is to find death and run into him.
• Drain Multiple Deaths: Once you get an Anti-Death power-up, you can take 100 life away from a Death. the trick is to take as much away from one Death without taking 100. You will still have the power-up, and you can get life this way until it wears off.
• Extended Invulnerability: In any level where there is a silver invulnerability you can use this cheat. Buy a Gold invulnerability before starting the level. It's recommended to buy 2 because it will last longer but it can be done with one. Go through the level and grab the silver invulnerability while you still have the gold one. Now quickly exit the level.

In the shop buy another gold invulnerability. When you enter the next level you will have the gold, but when it wears off you will have the silver from the last level!
WARNING! This code WILL NOT WORK if the silver invulnerability is wearing off before you exit the level.

• Rune Stone Locations: Each stage has 3 Rune Stones which are to be found, so that the game can be completed properly. Below are the locations of the 3 Rune Stones for each realm.

MOUNTAIN REALM. Difficulty: Easy
1st Rune Stone can be found on the peak, after climbing a few hills. You will come to a part where there are 2 generators, and in between them is a statue. Destroy the statue to uncover the Rune.
The 2nd stone can be found in the cliffs. Ignore the first EXIT that you come across. Instead continue along the path above the EXIT, breaking the wall, fighting the Golem, continuing along the path until you come across 2 bridges, and take the top bridge. Once across, hit the wall at the end of the bridge to uncover the Rune.
The 3rd is in the cavern. Ignore the first EXIT once again. When you're getting near the second EXIT, you will be at a T - Junction. Going right leads to the second EXIT and 2 Golems. Going left, fighting all the enemies, and then going to the wall at the far left and hitting it will uncover the final Rune for this realm.

CASTLE REALM. Difficulty: Medium
The 1st Rune Stone is in the dungeon. You should notice the Rune as soon as you start the level in a cage, but you have to get it down, somehow. Down the stairs, go south, cross the log bridge, and onto a kind of island place, fight the Golem. Press the trap release switch, located to the east. If you walk around and step on the FAR LEFT of the big leaf, that will lower the runestone enabling it to be grabbed.
The 2nd will be found in the armory. From the start, go right, down the stairs, pass the blades (notice red barrel and rat mound after blades), then go down and press the switch - you will notice walls come down and a Golem come to life, defeat the Golem and go to the wall under stairs, hit it to uncover the Rune.
The 3rd final rune stone for this level is in the treasury. Get to the room with a throne in it. From there go down the stairs and to the right(towards top of screen), keep walking until you come a room that has a box type thing in it. Destroy the box type thing to uncover the Rune.

FOREST REALM. Difficulty: Medium
The 1st rune is in roots. After the elevator, proceed up and to the left, you will come across a Golem, destroy it. You will come across a big tree stump in the middle of the screen, hit the tree stump a few times to break the outer wall, and it will reveal the Rune.
The 2nd is in the tree (2 PLAYERS NEEDED!) After coming across Death inside a barrel, proceed right, you will come across a switch that reveals a bridge, as soon as you try cross it, it disappears, that is why 2 players are needed. Based on the fact you had 2 players, you will come across a tree that has a circular cut. Inside the cut-out area will be another switch, activate it, then walk to the right, across the BIG green leaf, across the path. You will notice a branch that rises to the right. It will have a platform on it, which has the Rune on it.
The 3rd rune is in branches. After getting to the stump path (The path made of cut trees), you will continue onwards, until you come across a stump by itself, continue up to the right, until you come across a wall guarded by two archers, destroy them, the destroy the wall behind them to uncover the Rune.

DESERT REALM. Difficulty: Hard
The 1st Rune stone is in the ruins. Proceed down the stairs from the first EXIT, and you will now be in water. Go to the left and down until you come across a door, open it, and walk to the jutted edge of the walkway, and the Rune will come up, grab it.
The 2nd Rune Stone is in the temple. Proceed to the screen that has a statue in the middle that is lit by light beams from four corners. The light comes from four places around the edge of the screen. To stop the light step on the 4 large blue switches located around the screen, once this is done, the statue will be replaced by the Rune, grab it.
The last rune in the pyramid is a tricky one. Proceed to the first fighting screen after coming down the first platform. Go to the upper left corner of the screen. There is a slanted slope with sand on the bottom of it, walk up it and open both doors. Then you will see a switch and a yellow potion on a brick. Hit the switch and the potion will move up. Now come down and WALK ALL THE WAY AROUND the catwalk, walk down the slope when the catwalk ends, and then down the slope after that. You should now see a fence with a treasure chest, an archer and a switch behind it. Walk down towards the bottom of the screen, you will see a switch and enemy generators. Hit the switch and go back to where you saw the fence, it should have dropped. Go hit the switch. Walk down the left side, you should walk through a gate under a passageway. Continue down the left side. Kill enemies, but careful Death is in the middle of the room. When you reach the bottom left of the screen, there should be spikes from the ground, then a key, a slope, a yellow potion, a slope and then a platform with enemies to fight. The Rune will be located behind a wall near spikes on the far left of this platform.

• Defeating the Chimera: In the castle level, before you go to the boss, Chimera, buy 'reflective shield' in the shop. When level starts, run up the stairs and wake up the Chimera, and stand far enough back so that it can't breathe fire on you. Keep firing at it and it kills itself.

SERIES

• Gauntlet (1985, Arcade)
• Gauntlet II (1986, Arcade)
• Gauntlet - The Deeper Dungeons (1987, Level pack for 8-bit computers)
• Gauntlet [Model NES-GL-USA] (1988, NES)
• Gauntlet - The Third Encounter [Model PA2024] (1990, Lynx)
• Gauntlet III - The Final Quest (1991, Atari ST)
• Gauntlet 4 (1993, Mega Drive)
• Gauntlet Legends (1998, Arcade)
• Gauntlet Dark Legacy (2000, Arcade)
• Gauntlet Seven Sorrows (2006, PS2/XBOX)

STAFF
Lead programmer: Steven Bennetts
Programmers: Jun Amanai, Nathan Pooley (Acorn)
Art director: Steve Caterson (Scat)
Lead 3D artist: Don Livingston
3D artists: Terry Lloyd, Chris Sutton, Rhizaldi Bugawan, Kenneth Tan
3D animation: Takeshi Hasegawa
2D graphics: Rhizaldi Bugawan, Chris Sutton
Producer: Mike Hally
Executive producer: Mark Stephen Pierce
Music & sound design: John Paul
Technician: Dennis Nale
Additional programming: Bruce Rogers, Dave Shepperd, Mike Albaugh, Jack Miller
Marketing: Derryl DePriest, Mary Fujihara, Ray Bersabe, Randall Ng, Jackie Sherman, Richard Peltier
Sales staff: Mike Taylor, Elaine Shirley, Tom Keil, Masao Ohata, Alex Donnelly, Hiroko Koike
Hardware design: Steve Correll, Andrew Dyer, Ross Shaffer, Mike Place
Hardware support: Pete Mokris, Steve Norris, Gregg Piotrowski, Ray Gay, Betty Purcell, Jeff Peters
Cabinet design: Dave Cook
Harness design: Stevie Landaverde
Regulator testing: Rick Meyette
Prototype assembly: Mark Hoendervoogt, Tram Vu, Patrick Hubbell
Documentation control: Evelyn Perez
Motion capture technician: Greg Allen
Additional cleanup: Chris Thornton
Motion capture models: Loren Bryant, Rhizaldi Bugawan, Steve Caterson, Pele Gaoteote, Randall Ng, Nathan Pooley (Acorn), Karin Roettgering, Felix Robinos, Stephanie Serna, Chris Sutton, Kenneth Tan
Coin face model: Mark Stephen Pierce
High res. models: Viewpoint Data Labs
Full Motion Video: Mondo Media
Additional music: Michael Henry
Voice talent: Douglas Lawrence, Laura Amat, Ron Seawright, Patrice Crawford, Tox Gunn, Joe Lyford
Troubadours: Joe Lyford, Mickael Henry, Don Diekneite

PORTS

• CONSOLES:

Nintendo 64 (1999)
Sega Dreamcast (2000)
Sony PlayStation (2000)
Nintendo Game Boy Color (2000)

CONTRIBUTE
Edit this entry: https://www.arcade-history.com/?&page=detail&id=3336&o=2