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[A Black Falcon]

(Bah, didn't mean to submit this yet, it's not quite done... oh well, too late now)


As an aside before I begin, in fact the first Gauntlet game with some of the hallmarks of Gauntlet Legends -- saving your character, character levels, a quest with an ending, themed areas to play through with bosses at the end of each area, a home base area with a shop in it and access to the five worlds (which you can do the first four of in any order) -- actually debuted in Gauntlet IV for the Genesis. It's a very good game that I would say was a transitional title between the classic style of Gauntlets I and II and the style of Legends and Dark Legacy. It also, sadly, has its saving done by 30-plus-character passwords... oh well, it is great anyway.

Note -- NES Gauntlet I also has saving and an ending, but because the game doesn't have most any of the features listed above, the password only saves equipment and the game level you are at (there are no character levels), and only at five or six points in the game. It should be mentioned, but it is quite different from the full RPG mode of Gauntlet IV's Story mode. No bosses, the areas aren't themed, just broken up into worlds, no hub area, shops, experience system or levelling up, no game time clock (that is saved), etc. But still, it is saving, so it should be mentioned. But now on to the main topic, Gauntlet Legends and Dark Legacy.

Gauntlet: Legends, by Midway, was a great, great game, and it's surprising that the Gauntlet series hasn't really had a good thread here before, I believe. These two games are my favorites ever of their type; I've beaten Legends twice (on N64) and Dark Legacy once (on Gamecube), and have played it a lot more than that, in arcades (Legends only) as well as consoles, and I think that they're fantastic. These games seem to be love-or-hate games with not too much ground in between; I have always loved them, but critics, like GameSpot's reviewers for instance, trashed them all. But just because a game is relatively simple does not mean it can't be great!

Essentially, Gauntlet Legends and Dark Legacy (and Gauntlet IV) are simple action-RPGs. The core concept is, as in all Gauntlet games, defeating enemies that are infinitely spawned from monster generators by destroying those generators, and then going and finding the exit to the level. You hack and slash your way through dungeons and fields and castles and forests and more with your character or with other players in a party of heroes, choosing one of a variety of character types that each have their own strengths and weaknesses. You level up as you gain experience, and at each new level multiple of 10 (10, 20, 30, etc) you get a new title. You also get other bonuses as you level up, such as a permanent familiar and, finally, at level 99, a permanent anti-death halo (awesome item!). All characters have basic projectile and melee attacks, with bonuses, generally, for using more melee; strength determines your skill here of course. They also can use magic potions for an area-of-effect attack that varies in strength depending on your characters' magic skill, and have Turbo Attacks, charged shots that do extra damage and have larger areas of effect, and cool visuals too.

These games are spectacular multiplayer games designed for 4-player co-op play above all else. I have always also liked playing them in single player as well, but there's nothing quite like four player Legends or Dark Legacy. Hack, slash, hack some more, shoot at walls to find secret areas, collect gold and keys and potions, hit switches and figure out the sometimes clever puzzles, find even more secret areas... the level designs in Gauntlet Legends and Dark Legacy are fantastic and are some of of the best things about the games. I really, really love the levels, and find going through them endlessly fun. It's great that they aren't just straight linear paths, but are often branching levels with lots of secret areas and things to find, and I really like that they do actually make you search around some to find those switches; the game would be much more boring if the level designs were plain and straightforward, for sure. The designers did a great job in making the levels interesting and fun to explore.

The characters and design are generally great as well. The characters are all interesting and each of the base classes has four completely different designs based on which color you choose. Hidden characters often only change in color, but still, there are a lot of options here. You can build characters up to a maximum level of 99, and I find it hard to resist the desire to want to max out a character's level; you haven't really finished until you're level 99! The enemies are as varied and interesting as the characters, and the bosses are gigantic and hard. Indeed, boss levels (excepting Dark Legacy's oddly easy final boss battle) are often the hardest levels in the game, even though all you do in them is fight a boss and don't have to deal with a stage as well (except for the Skorne fights, which is part of why they are so tough). Thankfully, you can skip the boss levels for a while in all console ports of the games and play them later when you are better prepared. But from the generator-spawned enemies large and small to the single (preset and non-spawned) enemy types including archers, bomb-throwers, and suicide bombers, the enemies are varied, well designed, and fun to fight. There are also different enemy types in each realm. This helps keep up the game's variety, you're frequently fighting new foes.

Gauntlet: Dark Legacy is essentially just an enhanced, larger version of Legends. It has many new levels as well as the old ones, new characters as well as the old, more of the same great gameplay, slightly improved graphics, and more. As a result, the original game serves less purpose now; excepting only a couple of solitary levels, you can play all the rest of Legends' content in Dark Legacy. Most home ports of the game are of one version or the other. The exception to this is Dreamcast "Gauntlet Legends", which is mostly Legends, but has an odd mixture of elements from both titles in it, which gives it an odd feel. It's also missing several features that all other home ports have, such as fully renameable characters. It's an interesting game, but as a result of how it feels like half of the game is missing (having only four of Dark Legacy's eight main realms despite having some of its new characters and a couple of its levels, etc), it probably isn't the version to get unless you have no other choices, or if you want a stiffer challenge than many other versions, for reasons described below. Its oddity was what inspired this thread, though; I was playing it and thinking that it was a strange conglomerate, and had to go back and think about/look up the differences between all of the versions as a result... The Gamecube and Xbox versions of Dark Legacy are the best versions of the game, for sure, however, and are the most highly recommended, particularly the Xbox version because the GC one has more bugs in most versions. If you do want to play classic Gauntlet Legends, however, thanks to the exceptional inventory system, it is by far the best on the Nintendo 64. If you want to play Gauntlet Legends or Dark Legacy, ideally do it on the Xbox, Gamecube, and/or Nintendo 64.

(I might add more to this post in the future, including more on the gameplay and levels (about the gameplay that is, not just the listing of the next post. But this is pretty good now, I think...)

Gauntlet Series Game List
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----
Gauntlet (Arcade, Atari 2600, Apple II, BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Sega Master System, Game Boy Advance, Midway Arcade Treasures 1 (GC/Xbox/PS2/PC), Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play (PSP), X360 Live Arcade (digital download), cellphones), Midway Arcade Origins (PS3, X360), Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 2 (PS1), Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits Volume 2 (DC), Midway Arcade app addon (iOS)
--
Gauntlet (NES - it's quite different from the arcade game)
--
Gauntlet II (Arcade, NES, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Game Boy, Midway Arcade Treasures 2 (GC/Xbox/PS2), Midway Arcade Treasures: Deluxe Edition (PC), PS3 PlayStation Network (digital download)), Midway Arcade Origins (PS3, X360), Midway Arcade app addon (iOS)
--
Gauntlet: The Deeper Dungeons (Commodore 64) (third party game)
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Gauntlet III (Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC) (third party game)
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Gauntlet: The Third Encounter (Lynx) (third party game, originally not a Gauntlet game)
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Gauntlet IV (Genesis)
--
Gauntlet Legends (Arcade, N64, PSX, DC) - though each version is very different (see below)
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Gauntlet: Dark Legacy (Arcade, PS2, GC, Xbox)
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Gauntlet: Dark Legacy (GBA -- it's completely different from the other versions
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Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows (PS2, Xbox; generic and no good)
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Gauntlet (DS) -- Upcoming [2012 EDIT: later cancelled, tragically]
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2015 EDIT: Note: Errors in a couple of release listings in the section above were corrected by Leo A from Digital Press.


And now to the point, a description of the games and their differences.


Gauntlet Legends/Dark Legacy Version Comparison (Some of the differences are pretty interesting, I think!)
2012 EDIT: Originally (in '08) I thought that N64 Legends was a port of the arcade game, for whatever reason. This has at long last been corrected, along with some resulting errors.

For a complete table comparing all levels in each version, go here: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=42879144&postcount=24
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Levels
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Gauntlet Legends (Arcade) - 19 standard levels, 6 bosses/boss levels
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Mountain (6 levels): Valley, Peak, Cliff, Cave, Cavern, Dragon (Boss)
Castle (5 levels): Courtyard, Dungeon, Armory, Treasury, Chimera (Boss)
Forest Realm (5 levels): Swamps, Roots, Tree, Branches, Spider Queen (Boss
Desert Land (5 levels): Ruins, Temple, Pyramid, Tombs, Genie (Boss)
Skorne's Cathedral: Skorne's Cathedral, Skorne (Boss)
Underworld: Underworld, True Skorne (Final Boss)

--
Gauntlet Legends (N64/PSX) -- 22 (N64) or 26 (PSX) standard levels, 6 bosses/boss levels
--
Mountain (6 levels): Valley, Peak, Cliff, Cave, Cavern, Dragon (Boss)
Castle (5 levels): Courtyard, Dungeon, Armory, Treasury, Chimera (Boss)
Town (5 levels): Fields, Cemetary, Spire, Airship, Plague (Boss)
Frozen Plains (5 levels): Docks, Camp, Mine, Fissure, Yeti (Boss)
Skorne's Cathedral (1 level with boss at the end, no separate access or saving before boss): Skorne's Cathedral, Skorne (Boss)
Battlefield (3 levels): Trenches, Towers, Fortress
Underworld (1 level with boss at the end, no separate access or saving before boss): Underworld, True Skorne (Final Boss)
(PSX version has 4 additional hidden levels at the end: Mountain: Summit, Castle: Barracks, Desert: Tombs, Forest: Village. The latter two are from the Legends arcade game, but the first two were new. Castle Barracks was later included in the console Dark Legacy ports, but Mountain Summit is PS1 exclusive.)


Gauntlet: Dark Legacy (Arcade) -- 33 standard levels, 11 bosses/boss levels (note that two (sort of three) Gauntlet Legends (console versions) levels, Town: Airship, Mountain: Summit, and sort of Town/Province: Poison(ed) Fields, are not in any version of Dark Legacy. Poison Fields is "sort of" because the setting returns, but the level design in DL is almost entirely new. All other Gauntlet Legends (console and arcade) levels are in it, despite the Town realm being broken up between two new areas. Thus 8 standard levels are new in this version, plus 3 bosses.)
--
Mountain Kingdom (ex-Mountain) (6 levels): Valley, Peak, Cliff, Cave, Cavern, Dragon (Boss)
Sky World (4 levels): Spire, Docks, Shipyard, Plague Fiend (Boss)
Castle Stronghold (ex-Castle) (5 levels): Courtyard, Dungeon, Armory, Treasury, Chimera (Boss)
Forest Realm (5 levels): Swamps, Roots, Tree, Branches, Spider Queen (Boss)
Forsaken Province (5 levels): Fields (very different from the old "Fields" level), Town, Cemetary, Mausoleum, Lich (Boss)
Ice Kingdom (ex-Frozen Plains) (5 levels): Docks, Camp, Mine, Fissure, Yeti (Boss)
Dream World (4 levels) : Carnival, House, Illusion, Wraith (Boss)
Desert Land (5 levels): Ruins, Temple, Pyramid, Tombs, Genie (Boss)
Desecrated Temple (ex-Skorne's Cathedral) (1 level with boss at the end, no separate access or saving before boss): Desecrated Temple, Skorne (Boss)
Underworld (1 level with boss at the end, no separate access or saving before boss): Underworld, True Skorne (Boss)
Battlefield (4 levels): Trenches, Towers, Fortress, Garm (Final Boss)


Gauntlet Legends (Dreamcast) -- 23 standard levels, 6 bosses/boss levels (all levels are Dark Legacy level maps. Note how Fields was added to the Castle for some reason, too. The Forest and Desert worlds were reversed in play order versus the original arcade game. There's one semi-exclusive level, the hidden Castle: Mausoleum stage. It's a reversed version of the Dark Legacy Mausoleum level.)
--
Mountain Kingdom (6 levels): Valley, Peak, Cliff, Cave, Cavern, Dragon (Boss)
Castle Stronghold (7 levels): Fields (DL ver), Courtyard, Armory, Treasury, Mausoleum [Reverse] (Hidden Level), Dungeon, Chimera (Boss)
Desert Land (5 levels): Ruins, Temple, Pyramid, Tombs, Genie (Boss)
Forest Realm (5 levels): Swamps, Roots, Tree, Branches, Spider Queen (Boss)
Desecrated Temple (1 level with boss at the end, no separate access or saving before boss): Desecrated Temple, Skorne (Boss)
Battlefield (3 levels): Trenches, Towers, Fortress
Underworld (1 level with boss at the end, no separate access or saving before boss): Underworld, True Skorne (Final Boss)


Gauntlet: Dark Legacy (PS2/GC/Xbox) -- 37 standard levels, 11 bosses/boss levels (As with Legends, the home versions of Dark Legacy added levels and moved others around. There are three new levels plus one previously only seen in PS1 Legends, Castle: Barracks. The new stages are Sky: Mothership, Dream: Illusion, and Dream: Nightmare. Level order was shifted around again: the Forsaken Province was moved from being the 5th realm to the first. A couple of realms had slight name changes as well.)
--
Forsaken Province: Fields (very different from the old "Fields" level), Town, Cemetery, Mausoleum, Lich (Boss)
Mountain Kingdom (6 levels): Valley, Peak, Cliff, Cave, Cavern, Dragon (Boss)
Castle Stronghold (6 levels): Courtyard, Dungeon, Barracks, Armory, Treasury, Chimera (Boss)
Sky Dominion (5 levels): Spire, Docks, Shipyard, Mothership, Plague Fiend (Boss)
Forest Realm (5 levels): Swamps, Roots, Tree, Branches, Spider Queen (Boss)
Desert Land (5 levels): Ruins, Temple, Pyramid, Tombs, Genie (Boss)
Ice Domain (ex-Frozen Plains) (5 levels): Docks, Camp, Mine, Fissure, Yeti (Boss)
Dream World (6 levels) : Carnival, Grounds, House, Nightmare, Illusion, Wraith (Boss)
Desecrated Temple (1 level with boss at the end, no separate access or saving before boss): Desecrated Temple, Skorne (Boss)
Underworld (1 level with boss at the end, no separate access or saving before boss): Underworld, True Skorne (Boss)
Battlefield (4 levels): Trenches, Towers, Fortress, Garm (Final Boss)

Gauntlet: Dark Legacy (GBA) -- See explanation below for more on this version.

 

[A Black Falcon]

(2012 EDIT: Fixed various fact errors in this post.)


Characters
For a table comparing the characters in each version, go here: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=42879144&postcount=24
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Gauntlet Legends (hidden upgrade characters are in quotes)
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Warrior (Minotaur)
Valkyrie (Falconess)
Wizard (Jackal)
Archer (Tigress)
(Sumner) [modified Wizard]

Gauntlet Dark Legacy
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Warrior (Minotaur)
Valkyrie (Falconess)
Wizard (Jackal)
Archer (Tigress)
Dwarf (Ogre) [modified Warrior]
Knight (Unicorn) [modified Valkyrie]
Sorceress (Medusa) [modified Wizard]
Jester (Hyena) [modified Archer]
(Sumner) [modifed Wizard]

Note: the Dwarf, Knight, Sorceress, and Jester are also playable in Dreamcast Legends. Their upgrade forms are not, however.

Features and Differences
For a table comparing most of the features differentiating the versions, including most of the below things plus some more, go here: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=42879144&postcount=24
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Gauntlet Legends (Arcade) -- 1998
-For 4 players
-Includes levels as noted (Mountain, Castle, Forest, Desert, Temple, Underworld)
-Includes all Gauntlet Legends characters
-Level Unlocking: You simply play through them in order, there isn't a hub world. You can select a world, but once in it you play through all stages in that world in order.
-Item/Interface System: No Item Storage or Selling (once you collect an item, it is activated until it times out.), No Health Buying (you can buy items and stat-ups only in the shop you access between levels), No In-Game Stat Display (you can see stats only between levels), Can access the shop after you beat a level, Inventory Items Have No Visible Counter (cannot see how much time or uses are remaining)
-Controls: Attack, Magic, Turbo. Move via stick.
-Death: Black, steals 100 health
-Health slowly decreases over time. Put in more quarters or find health to increase it. Unlike the home versions of Gauntlets 1 and 2, no home versions of Legends or Dark Legacy have this feature, thankfully.
-Saving: Password (PIN number).
-Naming: Initials Only (for saving and identification)

The classic, and still great!

[Note -- keys and potions are stored in all versions. Keys are used automatically, potions by a button. "Item storing" refers to other inventory items, not keys and potions.]


Gauntlet Legends (N64) -- August 1999
-For 4 players
-Includes 11 arcade Legends levels plus 4 bosses (Mountain, Castle, Temple, Underworld), plus 11 new levels and 2 new bosses (three new worlds: Town, Ice, Battlefield).
-Includes all Gauntlet Legends characters
-Level Unlocking: In order to unlock realms, you need to find the hidden Obelisks, of which there are three per Realm. In order to play the Cathedral, you need to beat the four main bosses. In order to play the Underworld, you need to find all 13 Runestones, which are scattered through the game.
Controls: Attack, Magic, Turbo. Move via analog. The C-buttons navigate the inventory, stat display, and special item panels (boss-killer weapon and bonus-level crystal) that are shown in your character's box in the bottom bar. R enables/disables items; when you pick them up you switch to that item and it is enabled, so you will need to disable it to keep it.
-Bonus characters are unlocked by getting enough tokens in the Treasure Room bonus levels. The game saves the number of tokens you have, so if you fail and come back again you only need the remaining number from before.
-Item System: Full Item Storage and selling (because you can store items, now you can sell them as well as buy. You can sell everything you have, no restrictions.), Can Buy Health (in the store), In-Game Stat Display (with the C-buttons, navigate to the stat screens), Can access the store both after you finish a level and anytime from the tower by talking to Sumner, Can see exact count of item time/uses remaining
-Death: Black, steals 100 health
-Naming: Can name your character, ~7 letters.
-Can save between levels. Can access the shop at any time in the tower. Each save file includes one name and base character, but if you switch to a bonus character, you can then switch between any of the five bonus characters at any time in the tower (though once you have switched to a bonus character, you cannot return to your original base class form, you can only switch between the bonus characters), though your level is static. You can change your character name at any time in the tower. Can save to any memory card, controller paks 1-4.

Great port! All the features of the arcade game, plus more, with the best-in-the-series inventory management system, the only game in the series with the feature to be able to look at your character's stats ingame (by using the C buttons to change what is displayed on the lower bar display), and more! Plus, it has four player support and improved graphics with the Expansion Pack. This is the console version of Gauntlet Legends to own.


Gauntlet Legends (PSX) -- February 2000
-For 2 players (!!)
-Includes all N64 Gauntlet Legends levels plus 4 postgame bonus DL levels as listed above (in Extra world)
-Includes all Gauntlet Legends characters
-Level Unlocking: In order to unlock realms, you need to find the hidden Obelisks, of which there are three per Realm. In order to play the Cathedral, you need to beat the four main bosses. In order to play the Underworld, you need to find all 13 Runestones, which are scattered through the game.
-Controls: Attack, Magic, Turbo. Move via d-pad or analog. Shoulder buttons disable items in your inventory and move through the menu screens.
-Item System: Full Item Storage and selling (because you can store items, now you can sell them as well as buy. You can sell everything you have, no restrictions.), Can Buy Health (in the store), In-Game Stat Display (with buttons, navigate to the stat screens), can access the store both after you finish a level and anytime from the tower by talking to Sumner, Can see exact count of item time/uses remaining
-Naming: Can name your character, ~7 letters.
-Saving: Between levels, can save at the tower.
-Bonus characters are unlocked by getting enough tokens in the Treasure Room bonus levels.
-Difficulty Levels: Unlike all other versions, there are NO difficulty level options in this version -- there's just one, somewhat easy, preset. Very unfortunate.
-Death: Black, steals 100 health

It's decent, but with only one difficulty level, only 2 players max, and inferior graphics, don't bother with this if you have an N64 unless you want to play its exclusive level. Indeed, that is its main positive feature, but it's only one level at the every end of an otherwise identical but not as good version of the game, versus the N64. It's nice, and it's also nice that it has those three other levels that do also show up in other versions but that the N64 version does not have, but even so, it's definitely not enough to put it over the N64 game.


Gauntlet: Dark Legacy (Arcade) -- 2000
-For 4 players
-Includes most Dark Legacy levels (home versions added three more than this has), except the order is different
-Includes all Dark Legacy characters except for Sumner. Additional hidden characters (available via a code): Pojo, Armored Warrior, Stick Figure Jester
-Level Unlocking: You simply play through them in order, there isn't a hub world. You can select a world, but once in it you play through all stages in that world in order.
-Item/Interface System: No Item Storage or Selling (once you collect an item, it is activated until it times out.), No Health Buying (you can buy items and stat-ups only in the shop you access between levels), No In-Game Stat Display (you can see stats only between levels), Can access the shop after you beat a level, Inventory Items Have No Visible Counter (cannot see how much time or uses are remaining)
-Controls: Attack, Magic, Turbo. Move via stick.
-Health slowly decreases over time. Put in more quarters or find health to increase it. Unlike the home versions of Gauntlets 1 and 2, no home versions of Legends or Dark Legacy have this feature, thankfully.
-Death: Black, Red? Unsure
-Bonus characters are unlocked by reaching level 10 with a class and then going to 'create new character' after loading that file. You can now choose your classes' alternate version (Wizard to Jackal, etc).
-Saving: Password (PIN number)
-Naming: Initials Only (for saving and identification)

I haven't played the Dark Legacy arcade machine, sadly, so I'm not certain on the specifics here...


Gauntlet Legends (Dreamcast) -- May 2000
-For 4 players
-Levels: Mountain Kingdom, Castle Stronghold (with DL Fields added to it), Forest Realm, Desert Land, Battlefield, Desecrated Temple, Underworld (note that these are all the Dark Legacy levels and world versions, not the Legends ones. They try to hide this by putting Mountain first as in Legends, but it's obvious once you see it. The layouts of some stages are not exactly the same as other versions of Legends.)
-Characters: Warrior/Minotaur, Valkyrie/Falconess, Wizard/Jackal, Elf/Tigress, Dwarf, Knight, Sorceress, Jester (that is not a typo: the 4 new Dark Legacy characters are there, but not their alternate forms, and Sumner is not playable in this version, unlike all other home versions.)
-Death: Black, steals a level
-Level Unlocking: In order to unlock realms, you need to find the hidden Obelisks, of which there are three per Realm. In order to play the Cathedral, you need to beat the four main bosses. In order to play the Underworld, you need to find all 13 Runestones, which are scattered through the game.
-Controls: Attack, Magic, Turbo. Move with d-pad or analog.
-Bonus characters are unlocked by reaching level 25 and then starting a new game while holding down Turbo. The four hidden characters are now selectable. (Treasure rooms just have money in them, unlike all other home versions.)
-Item/Interface System: No Item Storage or Selling (once you collect an item, it is activated until it times out.), No Health Buying (you can buy items and stat-ups only in the shop you access between levels), No In-Game Stat Display (you can see stats only between levels), Can access the shop after you beat a level (but not anytime from the tower!), Inventory Items Have No Visible Counter (cannot see how much time or uses are remaining)
-Naming: Initials Only (for saving and identification)
-Can save between levels. Each save file includes initials and a character. You cannot change your initials. Can save to any memory card, A1 to D4.

Note that this is actually essentially a mixture of Legends and Dark Legacy. Like Legends there are only four main worlds, but all of the levels in those four worlds are from Dark Legacy, and reflect the changes they underwent in the Dark Legacy arcade machine when compared to the original Legends. Two levels new to Dark Legacy were added to the game as well. However, Legends features like unlocking new realms by finding obelisks remain in this game, as opposed to the item-collection system of the "Dark Legacy" home ports. (full opinion)


Gauntlet: Dark Legacy (PS2) -- November 2001
-For 4 players (3-4 player requires multitap)
-Includes all Dark Legacy arcade levels plus three more
-Includes all Dark Legacy core characters
-Level Unlocking: In order to unlock Realms, you need to collect a certain number of crystals. Collect enough crystals in one realm and you unlock the next; each realm has its own crystal type, you you need to repeat this in each realm. To unlock wings of the building (the realms are divided into several areas), you need to collect items you get from major enemies in levels -- the giant enemies like gryphons, etc. These items are exclusive to the enemies in the realms in that wing; collect enough, and you unlock the next wing. Realm access within that wing still requires crystals, of course. To access the Desecrated Temple (Cathedral), get all 13 Runestones, which are scattered across the game.
-Item/Interface System: No Item Storage (items disappear when they time out and cannot be suspended in an inventory), No In-Game Stat Display (can see stats only when you level up and then finish a level, in the 'level up' screen between levels.), Can Buy Health (in the store), Inventory Items Have No Visible Counter (cannot see how much time or uses are remaining)
-Controls: Weak Attack, Strong Attack, Magic, Turbo. Move via analog. Alternate option to aim your shots with the right stick instead of only being able to fire in the direction you are facing, for true dual-stick firing. While the new addition of two Attack Types -- Weak Attack and Strong Attack, each on a button -- is a potentially interesting addition, overall it means little; you usually just use your standard ("weak" attacks).
-Experience: Enemies give you reduced experience once you are too high level compared to them, and this eventually reduces to zero. To get to level 99, you'll need to steal levels from death or gain XP on the hardest areas.
-Bonus characters are unlocked by getting enough tokens in treasure rooms. If you fail you lose the coins, so you must collect every coin in the room in order to unlock the hidden character.
-Death: Black, steals a level, and Red, steals 100 health
-You can save between levels. Unsure on details, but likely largely similar to the Gamecube version.
-Has Crash Bugs

Because it has no inventory (no item storage) management and requires a multitap for 3-4 player mode (and few people have them), don't get this if you have any way of playing the GC or Xbox versions. It's not bad, but the later versions are better.


Gauntlet: Dark Legacy (GC) -- February 2002
-For 4 players
-Includes all PS2 Dark Legacy levels
-Includes all Dark Legacy core characters
-Bonus characters are unlocked by getting enough tokens in treasure rooms. If you fail you lose the coins, so you must collect every coin in the room in order to unlock the hidden character.
-Level Unlocking: In order to unlock Realms, you need to collect a certain number of crystals. Collect enough crystals in one realm and you unlock the next; each realm has its own crystal type, you you need to repeat this in each realm. To unlock wings of the building (the realms are divided into several areas), you need to collect items you get from major enemies in levels -- the giant enemies like gryphons, etc. These items are exclusive to the enemies in the realms in that wing; collect enough, and you unlock the next wing. Realm access within that wing still requires crystals, of course. To access the Desecrated Temple (Cathedral), get all 13 Runestones, which are scattered across the game.
-Controls: Weak Attack, Strong Attack, Magic, Turbo. Move via analog. Alternate option to aim your shots with the right stick instead of only being able to fire in the direction you are facing, for true dual-stick firing. While the new addition of two Attack Types -- Weak Attack and Strong Attack, each on a button -- is a potentially interesting addition, overall it means little; you usually just use your standard ("weak" attacks). The d-pad navigates the inventory -- left/right to select, up to enable/disable item. When you pick up an item it is disabled by default, so you will have to enable it to use it.
-Experience: Enemies give you reduced experience once you are too high level compared to them, and this eventually reduces to zero. To get to level 99, you'll need to steal levels from death or gain XP on the hardest areas.
-Item/Interface System: Full Item Storage (though items are used up at double speed against bosses), Limited Item Selling (for no apparent reason, you can only sell some items, some of the time, in the shop), Can Buy Health (in the shop), No In-Game Stat Display (can see stats only when you level up and then finish a level, in the 'level up' screen between levels.), Inventory Items Have No Visible Counter (cannot see how much time or uses are remaining)
-Death: Black, steals a level, and Red, steals 100 health
-Can save between levels. One save file includes eight save slots, each of which has each character as a completely separate file (each one has their own level, items, etc), with only the file name in common with the rest. You cannot change your name once chosen in file creation (very annoying!). Saves one large file, to slot A only.
-Has Crash Bugs
-1.0 Version Is Buggy (no boss health bars, your 11th inventory item disappears, items are invisible in your inventory upon loading a save game, and more; the 1.1 and 1.2 release fix some of the problems.)

A great game, but early releases are buggy. Hope you have a v.1.2 disc and not 1.0 or 1.1! Some of the bugs include crash bugs (on the pop-up note screens, for instance), that your items in your inventory are invisible when you boot the game up (every time) and you have to enable and then disable them all in order to make them appear, and more. But still, if you don't have an Xbox, the best home version.


Gauntlet: Dark Legacy (Xbox) -- April 2002
-For 4 players
-Includes all Dark Legacy core levels
-Includes all Dark Legacy core characters
-Bonus characters are unlocked by getting enough tokens in treasure rooms. If you fail you lose the coins, so you must collect every coin in the room in order to unlock the hidden character.
-Level Unlocking: In order to unlock Realms, you need to collect a certain number of crystals. Collect enough crystals in one realm and you unlock the next; each realm has its own crystal type, you you need to repeat this in each realm. To unlock wings of the building (the realms are divided into several areas), you need to collect items you get from major enemies in levels -- the giant enemies like gryphons, etc. These items are exclusive to the enemies in the realms in that wing; collect enough, and you unlock the next wing. Realm access within that wing still requires crystals, of course. To access the Desecrated Temple (Cathedral), get all 13 Runestones, which are scattered across the game.
-Controls: Weak Attack, Strong Attack, Magic, Turbo. Move via analog. Alternate option to aim your shots with the right stick instead of only being able to fire in the direction you are facing, for true dual-stick firing. While the new addition of two Attack Types -- Weak Attack and Strong Attack, each on a button -- is a potentially interesting addition, overall it means little; you usually just use your standard ("weak" attacks). The d-pad navigates the inventory -- left/right to select, up to enable/disable item. When you pick up an item it is disabled by default, so you will have to enable it to use it.
-Experience: Enemies give you reduced experience once you are too high level compared to them, and this eventually reduces to zero. To get to level 99, you'll need to steal levels from death or gain XP on the hardest areas.
-Death: Black, steals a level, and Red, steals 100 health
-Item/Interface System: Full Item Storage (though items are used up at double speed against bosses), Limited Item Selling (for no apparent reason, you can only sell some items, some of the time, in the shop), Can Buy Health (in the shop), No In-Game Stat Display (can see stats only when you level up and then finish a level, in the 'level up' screen between levels.), Inventory Items Have No Visible Counter (cannot see how much time or uses are remaining)
-Can save between levels. Unsure on details, but likely largely similar to the Gamecube version.
-Has Crash Bugs

I haven't played it, but everything I have heard about this game says that it's probably the best version of the game. Recommended. (However, are there any differences between this and the GC one aside from the removal of some of bugs? Here I have assumed that there are not, but not having played it I of course cannot be certain...)


Gauntlet: Dark Legacy (GBA) -- November 2002
-For 1 player only (!!!!!)
-Completely different graphics and level designs from any other version. This version was outsourced to Pocket Studios. The graphics are isometric 2d and the artwork is mediocre at best. Overall, the graphics are poor. The music is not very good. Levels are huge, overly long, and hard to navigate (the path is often hidden in a corner somewhere and can be tough to find until you tediously walk all around the area), and, as a result, boring.
-There is minimal voice acting, including almost no speech ingame; Gauntlet without the announcer is a far less fun game... and it's almost all gone here.
-No Turbo Attacks or Combination Attacks -- your only attacks in this game are the normal attack (ranged or melee) and magic potions, as well as the few items (which you can't save of course). Boring!
-You cannot name your character or file, only select which one you want.
-Levels: Either 27 (IGN) or 32 (Gamespot) total. I can't find a level list online and don't have the patience right now to play through this whole sad game... but the worlds are evidently Mountain, Castle, Desert, Ice, and Dream, based on five of Dark Legacy's eight realms, with at least some of the usual Skorne/Battlefield levels afterwards I imagine. Each realm of the main five has five levels (Mountain, for instance, has no Cave stage). But remember, the level designs are all different and incredibly boring to explore.
-Characters: Warrior, Wizard, Valkyrie, Archer. Each one has four colors as usual, but only one costume; only the colors change, not the costume. The art on the character select screen is the standard Legends/Dark Legacy art, but some ingame sprites bear no resemblance to those characters -- the Valkyrie is black and has some completely different costume, the Archer has pants and a wrap top instead of the usual Green Archer costume in the art you selected... the Warrior and Wizard look a bit more like their art, but still are noticeably different looking.
-Items/Interface: No Store (what is the money for?), No Item Storage (and there are very few items to pick up compared to other versions, and less variety as there are only a few item types in this game), Cannot talk to Sumner in the tower.
-Can save between levels (three save slots, each of which can hold a character)

Worst Gauntlet ever? Probably! Do not get this game! Awful, awful game...

 

[Zachack]

It kills me that Legends/Dark Legacy has not been added to any download service while Seven Sorrows somehow manages to be an XBO.

 

[60_gig_PS3]

i'll stick with regular Guantlett II

 

[GaryD]

Jeez, nice post. I do enjoy a bit of Gauntlet. Would love to get a new one on the 360.

 

[DeadTrees]

the first Gauntlet game with some of the hallmarks of Gauntlet Legends -- saving your character, a quest with an ending, themed areas to play through -- actually debuted in Gauntlet IV for the Genesis.

The NES remake/port of Gauntlet had all of these, though it looked like refried butt.

 

[A Black Falcon]

The NES remake/port of Gauntlet had all of these, though it looked like refried butt.

You're right, of course, it did... password save and five areas.

Still, Gauntlet IV did have many unique features compared to any of the previous Gauntlet games, including Gauntlet I NES, that make it more like Gauntlet Legends/Dark Legacy -- it saves your character stats (including level and experience) and equipment as well as progress and total game time in two separate passwords (one for your character, another for your progress in your current dungeon), the four main worlds (Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth) each have a boss at the end (had any previous Gauntlet game had a boss? This one has five!), you have to beat the four main worlds in order to unlock the fifth and final one (Castle Tower), there is a tower area like Sumner's Keep that you use to go to buy items from the shopkeepers and to go to the various dungeons, a story told by an intro and ending cutscene... far more RPG features than any previous Gauntlet game. And it still has classic Gauntlet I style gameplay.

There's also a basic Arcade mode in the game too, for people who want a simple, straightforward mission.

But yes, NES Gauntlet I does have saving for which levels you have reached, and does also save keys, bombs, powerups, and treasure. I'd forgotten that.

Personally, while I loved Gauntlet I when I played it in the arcades, I think that Legends and Dark Legacy are better games. Even in Gauntlet IV, I find myself annoyed by the constant life-drain (it was such a great idea to drop that in N64 Gauntlet Legends and keep it out in every future home version!), and like features like the melee attack too... in classic Gauntlet enemies that touch you drain some health, and this is still true in Gauntlet IV. Legends much improved on that, in my opinion. So yeah, I like classic Gauntlet a lot, but I like Legends and Dark Legacy even more.

It kills me that Legends/Dark Legacy has not been added to any download service while Seven Sorrows somehow manages to be an XBO.

Indeed... truly a tragedy. Seven Sorrows is so bland and boring and short and it's on Xbox Originals? Why.... why THAT one and not the great Xbox version of Dark Legacy, a much, much better game? Just because Seven Sorrows has nice graphics, while Dark Legacy looks decidedly outdated? That shouldn't matter.

 

[lordmrw]

loved, loved, loved the N64 version of Gauntlet Legends. When I beat it I had a level 99 barbarian, which shows how much I played it. My fricking nephew (who was about 6 at the time) deleted my character, son of a bitch.

 

[Brandon F]

Loved these games. Only really played the DC and PS2 versions extensively, and while I adored Legends(DC), Dark Legacy on PS2 was just awesomely beefy with massive gameplay overhauls. Didn't realize the GC and Xbox versions are further enhanced, but Dark Legacy easilly remains one of the best gems of the era.

Also, they were FAR, FAR superior to anything Baldur's Gate console related...

 

[Man God]

I like Legends for 64 and DL for GCN and XBOX. I slightly prefer the GCN controller and I don't have the item bug, though the crashing I believe is in all versions. :lol

 

[A Black Falcon]

Here's my full Dreamcast Gauntlet Legends writeup, which I can't fit in the second post because it's too long for the always-annoying character limit. Bah.

This is actually essentially a half-and-half mixture of Legends and Dark Legacy. Like Legends there are only four main worlds, but all of the levels in those four worlds are from Dark Legacy, and two of those four worlds are new worlds added in Dark Legacy, while the other two, despite being worlds from Legends, reflect the changes they underwent in the Dark Legacy arcade machine when compared to the original Legends. However, Legends features like unlocking new realms by finding obelisks remain in this game, as opposed to the item-collection system of the "Dark Legacy" home ports. The graphics are great, better than the N64 or PSX games and easily as good as PS2/GC/Xbox Dark Legacy. It feels much more arcadey than the the N64/GC/Xbox games too because of how you can't store items, can't buy health in the shop, have no alternate 'second stick for aimed firing' option like console GDL, etc, so in a way it's a harder game than those versions, even if it is a lot shorter than GC/Xbox DL. Even so, unless you must have a 3/4 player mode, if you want the arcade experience it'd be best to play the PS2 version and not this incomplete one. It should have either been a complete version of Legends with better graphics and maybe a few added features from Dark Legacy like the new characters or a complete version of Dark Legacy, but it's not, not with two whole Legends worlds missing and replaced with Dark Legacy worlds and the other two changed to be just like their Dark Legacy incarnations but with none of the rest of Dark Legacy's additions! Apart from the uniqueness factor or if you really want to play Gauntlet on your Dreamcast, there sadly just isn't much reason to play this version.

I just think it's distinctly weird for a game calling itself "Gauntlet Legends" to actually essentially be about half of Gauntlet Dark Legacy, but with Legends' name. Strange. It should be "Gauntlet: Dark Legacy Part 1" or something, and then part 2 would have the other four worlds, the final fight against Garm, and the other four upgrade forms and Sumner (for the 4 new Dark Legacy characters) as playable characters or something like that... Because in many ways, as I described, it is a closer port of arcade Dark Legacy than the PS2 or GC/XBox versions are, and I like Legends' simpler Obelisk system than the annoying crystal and wing and stuff collection systems of the later Dark Legacy ports. It would be sort of nice to have that in a full version of Dark Legacy...

2012 EDIT: I was quite wrong here, as I describe below -- I'd entirely forgotten that the arcade version of Legends actually has Forest and Desert, instead of Ice and Town. So yeah, in world selection it's more arcadey, just like how it is in all the other ways I describe. Also, the DC version has four difficulty levels; all other home versions with difficulty selection (ie, everything other than the PS1 version) have only three. Still though, it IS bizarre how it's part Legends, part Dark Legacy, in level designs (as I said, the Castle and Mountain level maps are DL Arcade-derived, I believe), in the several Dark Legacy levels included in the game, how it has some of the Dark Legacy new characters in it (but not all), how it ends with part but not all of Dark Legacy's ending, etc. Even if it is the most arcade-accurate home release of Legends, it feels like an incomplete half of a game that should have been a home port of Dark Legacy, thanks to the Dark Legacy bits (characters, several levels, etc.) they tossed in the game on top of the arcade Legends core. Also, you can't name your character, which is REALLY lame; all you can do is type in initials, which aren't even displayed during play! All other home versions allow you to name your characters. But it does have home-version Legends elements like the Sumner's Tower hub world, the Obelisks to unlock levels, that your health does not drain away as you play but instead like all home versions of Legends you only lose health when you get hit, etc, so it's not a straight arcade port. It's just ... odd, and in many ways less worth playing than the other versions, unless you want a challenge. It does provide that, if not too many other things.

loved, loved, loved the N64 version of Gauntlet Legends. When I beat it I had a level 99 barbarian, which shows how much I played it. My fricking nephew (who was about 6 at the time) deleted my character, son of a bitch.

Because the game allows you to save over ANY file when you save, not just empty spaces or Gauntlet Legends files, you always need to be careful, particularly when playing in multiplayer... no one wants to see some 'friend' 'accidentally' overwrite some other important save file for some other game on that card...

Though, in my case, the only time that happened was when I did it to myself. I accidentally overwrote my level 99 Warrior with a level 1 Warrior... I was pretty unhappy when I realized what I'd done. That was part of why I then proceeded to play through a second time to level 99, with Sumner, because I had fortunately made a copy file for the bonus characters (which I had all five of), because I realized that once you switched to them you couldn't go back, and I wanted both...

Loved these games. Only really played the DC and PS2 versions extensively, and while I adored Legends(DC), Dark Legacy on PS2 was just awesomely beefy with massive gameplay overhauls. Didn't realize the GC and Xbox versions are further enhanced, but Dark Legacy easilly remains one of the best gems of the era.

Also, they were FAR, FAR superior to anything Baldur's Gate console related...

If you get the chance, absolutely get GC/Xbox Dark Legacy! It's hard to know what version of the GC game you have (the version number is on the disc if you look carefully, on the bottom in some of the text in the silver ring with that barcode and stuff, but you need to have the disc and know what you're looking for to find it...) so the Xbox version is preferred because of how many people would be annoyed by the bugs of the original GC version (I loved it enough to beat it anyway, but it was annoying sometimes), but yeah, ever since I got N64 Gauntlet Legends, I've never wanted to go back to the arcade style of not being able to save your inventory items. It limits you so, so much... I'm trying to play DC Legends right now, but it's definitely not as fun without inventory item saving.

(And even there GC Dark Legacy was a bit worse than N64 Legends because of how you can't sell every item so you have to keep some you want to sell for money for health or other items and because of the way you slowly get less XP for killing enemies so reaching level 99 takes longer (it becomes somewhat reliant on using halos to steal levels from Black Deaths by the end, really...)... but even so I liked it more overall because of all the fantastic new levels.)

... On that note, how do you quickly heal your health in the ones like DC Legends where you can't buy health? You just have to suffer along with low health or replay levels and collect health powerups repeatedly? How in the world would you ever beat a boss... seems annoying and tedious.

(Oh yeah, and once again... can you buy health in the store in PS2 Dark Legacy?)

I like Legends for 64 and DL for GCN and XBOX. I slightly prefer the GCN controller and I don't have the item bug, though the crashing I believe is in all versions. :lol

There are three versions, 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2. Maybe 1.1 fixes the item bug but not all the crashes? Or maybe you're right and all three have crashes. I'm not certain.

... Or do you mean that it crashes on Xbox too? That would prove that that bug at least is in all versions, wouldn't it.

 

[twinturbo2]

Is the Xbox version backwards compatible with the X360?

 

[Man God]

Yeah, I've had DL lock up on the original XBOX version. Could be the OXBOX's fault though.

I'm pretty sure DL has a few fatal errors in every version though, it's a Midway early 3D thing.

 

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, I've had DL lock up on the original XBOX version. Could be the OXBOX's fault though.

I'm pretty sure DL has a few fatal errors in every version though, it's a Midway early 3D thing.

Ah. With that game (GC/Xbox Dark Legacy), you mean... Legends never crashes on N64. I've never heard of the Dreamcast version crashing either, despite also being based off of Dark Legacy... no idea about the PSX/PS2 ones.

 

[Man God]

Naw, I've never had Legends freeze on the n64 either, I have fallen through the geometry before and become impossibly stuck though.

 

[Xiaoki]

I could have bought a freakin' car with the quarters I put into Gauntlet Legends.

Didnt play Dark Legends much. Beat it a few times.

 

[M3wThr33]

I maxed out L100 Tigresses on both Dark Legacy and Legends.

That took a lot of quarters.

 

[A Black Falcon]

I could have bought a freakin' car with the quarters I put into Gauntlet Legends.

Didnt play Dark Legends much. Beat it a few times.

:lol Yeah, you only beat it a few times...

I understand though, amazingly fun games. I didn't play arcade Legends enough to finish it, but I did get over halfway through at least... but I did mostly play the games on N64 and GC. Whatever platform it's on though, it's fantastic fun.

 

[twinturbo2]

A nearby arcade of mine has a Gauntlet Legends machine. I never played it, though, I was too busy playing Fast and the Furious Super Bikes and Daytona USA 2 to invest the time into doing so.

I looked at the BC list, and Dark Legacy isn't on there, though. Arctic Thunder is missing, too. :-(

 

[disappeared]

We have a couple copies of Dark Legacy at work for the PS2. I was tempted to pick it up after loving Legends.

 

[Mejilan]

Legends/Dark Legacy have sick, sick, sick music. Awesome stuff.

 

[ElectricThunder]

I'm trying to order Legacy GCN online but how can I find out if I'm looking at getting this v 1.2 versus winding up with and older and inferior copy?

 

[A Black Falcon]

First, I completely forgot one major issue with the GC and probably Xbox versions... not sure if it's in all versions of Dark Legacy, but it's definitely in those two: No boss health bars! You just have to keep attacking until they die... in Legends (Arcade, N64, etc) bosses have healthbars... but not in GC Dark Legacy. It is annoying. Just goes with the rest of the list of the bugs and flaws of Dark Legacy... it's really too bad that there isn't a flaw-free version of the game. Dark Legacy adds so much, but all the versions of it have very annoying problems, from crashes to missing features to more...

I'm trying to order Legacy GCN online but how can I find out if I'm looking at getting this v 1.2 versus winding up with and older and inferior copy?

Now that's a very good question... really, the only way I know of to tell is by looking at the number in the inner ring of the back of the disc... and you probably have no way of knowing that information if you buy online... or even in many stores really, I'd bet.

I remember reading before about exactly how the number is shown, but I can't find that at the moment...

Bah, where was that? Bah, can't find anything... I'm sure I remember reading something some time ago that listed the versions and what their differences are, but I can't find it right now. Um... *looks at disc*

It's probably the part where it says "DOL-GUNE-0-00 JPN S0"... the "00" is the number that should change based on the version, 00 for version 1.0, 01 for version 1.1, and 02 for version 1.2. I only have the original version so I can't directly compare them and don't know precisely which bugs were fixed in each version, but I'm pretty sure that is right.

Oh, and the original version IS playable -- there are no boss health bars (though I'm not sure if any version has them...), the special weapon that's supposed to hurt the Chimera (and perhaps one or two more of the special boss weapons?) doesn't work (this bug they may have fixed), the item display bug I described in the second post is annoying, and it crashes (though all versions of DL evidently do at least somewhat), but it's playable... I would like to know if the limits on which items you can sell in the store (which seems to be a random selection of "you can sell these but not those") is intentional or a bug, though. Is it like that in every version of GC and Xbox Dark Legacy, or not?

Oh, an additional note, PS2 Dark Legacy DOES have four player support, and I edited the second post a while back to reflect that. It requires a multitap to use of course, but the feature is there... though the GC/Xbox versions are still definitely better due to the PS2 version having no way to save your inventory items, and because you need that multitap, something most people don't have. It also crashes just like the GC and Xbox versions, evidently.

Legends/Dark Legacy have sick, sick, sick music. Awesome stuff.

Yeah, but as far as sound goes, it's the Gauntlet Voice that is the most notable thing... the awesome booming voice of the announcer is so great...

A nearby arcade of mine has a Gauntlet Legends machine. I never played it, though, I was too busy playing Fast and the Furious Super Bikes and Daytona USA 2 to invest the time into doing so.

I looked at the BC list, and Dark Legacy isn't on there, though. Arctic Thunder is missing, too. :-(

Yeah, it was much more important for them to get the awesome Seven Sorrows working than this, obviously...

 

[A Black Falcon]

Okay, so when I made this thread several years ago, I made a few important mistakes. Most notably, I somehow managed to forget which levels were actually in the original arcade version of Gauntlet Legends... yeah. :lol The arcade game actually DOES have Forest and Desert, like the DC port, not Ice and Town; those were new for the N64 (as was Battlefield as well). Still, the DC version is in many ways half of Dark Legacy, because it has Dark Legacy's fake ending (that is, the DL ending after you beat Skorne, and not the game's new, true ending) as its only ending, it has some of the new Dark Legacy characters but not all of them, and because it has one or two of the new DL stages but not the rest of them, and I would still recommend the N64 version above it... but it is true that that charge, that they changed the level layout, isn't entirely true; it's N64 Legends that did the first big changes. Despite its DL elements, the DC version is the home version closest to the original arcade game. Problem is, it's missing some of the key features that make the home games great, like being able to name your characters, buy food in the shop, keep items in an inventory, and more. It's one of my least favorite versions as a result.

Anyway, on that note, I severely under-estimated how much they changed the level layouts from game to game. After looking into it, I realized that a chart would be needed. This table was the result. It doesn't look quite as nice here as it does in a spreadsheet, but you should be able to figure it out. Each vertical column is a game. Sorry about the Underworld levels going so out of alignment; those ones are just too wide to fit, the way I did it here (in a Code box). It's quite interesting to see how they changed the level layouts and orders in every single release of Legends and Dark Legacy up to the PS2 version. Talk about not being able to make up your minds...

(Yes, this all took quite a while to put together, and then align for the forum. I wonder if anyone will care other than me...)

Levels Present In Each Version
NOTES: R = Realm, L = Level. Brackets [] mean that the level is not in that place in that version; it's somewhere else, at the point noted in the brackets (so yes, Poisoned Fields is in three or four different places and worlds, depending on which version you play). Asterisk * means a hidden level (that you reach via a secret level exit). Columns are ordered right to left in order of release - left is first, right is last. ALT marks mark points where that game does not have that level, but has a different level with a similar theme in them instead, such as Poison Field vs. Poisoned Field, or Toxic Air Ship vs. Mothership. See notes below this block for a list of the titles. a -V ending to a listing (R1 L1-V for instance) indicates a variant level. Specifically, it indicates Reverse Mausoleum.

Also, Underworld and Desecrated Temple are broken up into 1-1 and 1-2 instead of just stage 1 and stage 2 because in those two worlds, you do not go back to the tower between stages, and thus cannot save between the level and the boss in any console version. In the arcade version there is no tower, so you must play each world straight through each time, so in those versions the stages are simply called "1" and "2".

L-Arcade: Legends, Arcade version. L-N64: Legends, Nintendo 64 version. DL-Arcade: Dark Legacy, Arcade version. L-PS1: Legends, Playstation version. L-DC: Legends, Dreamcast version. DL-PS2: Dark Legacy, PS2 version. DL-GC: Dark Legacy, Gamecube version. DL-Xbox: Dark Legacy, Xbox version.

Level Name                      L-Arcade L-N64 DL-Arcade L-PS1  L-DC   DL-PS2   DL-GC   DL-Xbox   
Province Poison Field                   ALT	[R5 L1]	ALT		R1 L1	R1 L1	R1 L1
Province Ghost Town			      [R5 L2]			R1 L2	R1 L2	R1 L2
Province Haunted Cemetary              [R3 L2] [R5 L3] [R3 L2]		R1 L3	R1 L3	R1 L3
Province Mausoleum			      [R5 L4]	      [R2 L5-V]	L1 L4	L1 L4	L1 L4
Province Treasure Room			      *[R5 TR]			R1 TR	R1 TR	R1 TR
Province Boss - Lich			      [R5 L5]			R1 L5	R1 L5	R1 L5
Mountain Valley	                R1 L1	R1 L1	R1 L1	R1 L1	R1 L1	R2 L1	R2 L1	R2 L1
Mountain Peak	                R1 L2	R1 L2	R1 L2	R1 L2	R1 L2	R2 L2	R2 L2	R2 L2
Mountain Cliff                  R1 L3	R1 L3	R1 L3	R1 L3	R1 L3	R2 L3	R2 L3	R2 L3
Mountain Cave	                R1 L4	R1 L4	R1 L4	R1 L4	R1 L4	R2 L4	R2 L4	R2 L4
Mountain Cavern	                R1 L5	R1 L5	R1 L5	R1 L5	R1 L5	R2 L5	R2 L5	R2 L5
Mountain Treasure Room	        *R1 TR	*R1 TR	*R1 TR	*R1 TR	*R1 TR	*R2 TR	*R2 TR	*R2 TR
Mountain Boss - Dragon	        R1 L6	R1 L6	R1 L6	R1 L6	R1 L6	R2 L6	R2 L6	R2 L6
Sky Toxic Spire	                       	[R3 L3]	R2 L1	[R3 L3]		[R4 L1]	[R4 L1]	[R4 L1]
Sky Cloud Docks		                   	R2 L2			[R4 L2]	[R4 L2]	[R4 L2]
Sky Shipyard		                       	R2 L3			[R4 L3]	[R4 L3]	[R4 L3]
Sky Mothership		                ALT		ALT		[R4 L4]	[R4 L4]	[R4 L4]
Sky Treasure Room		        	*R2 TR			[R4 TR]	[R4 TR]	[R4 TR]
Sky Boss - Plague Fiend                 [R3 L5]	R2 L4	[R3 L5]		[R4 L5]	[R4 L5]	[R4 L5]
Castle Poison Field		        ALT	[R5 L1] ALT	R2 L1	[R5 L1]	[R5 L1]	[R5 L1]
Castle Courtyard                R2 L1	R2 L1	R3 L1	R2 L1	R2 L2	R3 L1	R3 L1	R3 L1
Castle Dungeon	                R2 L2	R2 L2	R3 L2	R2 L2	[R2 L6]	R3 L2	R3 L2	R3 L2
Castle Barracks		                        	[R8 L2]		R3 L3	R3 L3	R3 L3
Castle Armory	                R2 L3	R2 L3	R3 L3	R2 L3	R2 L3	R3 L4	R3 L4	R3 L4
Castle Treasury	                R2 L4	R2 L4	R3 L4	R2 L4	R2 L4	R3 L5	R3 L5	R3 L5
Castle Mausoleum		          	[R5 L4]	      *R2 L5-V [R1 L4]	[R1 L4] [R1 L4]
Castle Dungeon                 	[R2 L2]	[R2 L2]	[R3 L2]	[R2 L2]	R2 L6	[R3 L2]	[R3 L2]	[R3 L2]
Castle Treasure Room	       *R2 TR	*R2 TR	*R3 TR	*R2 TR	*R2 TR	*R3 TR	*R3 TR	*R3 TR
Castle Boss - Chimera	        R2 L5	R2 L5	R3 L5	R2 L5	R2 L7	R3 L6	R3 L6	R3 L6
Sky Toxic Spire		                [R3 L3]	[R2 L1]	[R3 L3]		R4 L1	R4 L1	R4 L1
Sky Cloud Docks	                                [R2 L2]			R4 L2	R4 L2	R4 L2
Sky Shipyard		                       	[R2 L3]			R4 L3	R4 L3	R4 L3
Sky Mothership	                           ALT		ALT		R4 L4	R4 L4	R4 L4
Sky Treasure Room	                        [*R2 TR]		*R4 TR	*R4 TR	*R4 TR
Sky Boss - Plague Fiend	        	[R3 L5]	[R2 L4]	[R3 L5]		R4 L5	R4 L5	R4 L5
Forest Swamp	                R3 L1		[R4 L1]		[R4 L1]	R5 L1	R5 L1	R5 L1
Forest Roots               	R3 L2		[R4 L2]		[R4 L2]	R5 L2	R5 L2	R5 L2
Forest Tree                	R3 L3		[R4 L3]	[R8 L4]	[R4 L3]	R5 L3	R5 L3	R5 L3
Forest Branches	                R3 L4		[R4 L4]		[R4 L4]	R5 L4	R5 L4	R5 L4
Forest Treasure Room	       *R3 TR		*[R4 TR]	*[R4 TR] *R5 TR	*R5 TR	*R5 TR
Forest Boss - Spider Queen	R3 L5		[R4 L5]		[R4 L5]	R5 L5	R5 L5	R5 L5
Desert Ruins	                R4 L1		[R8 L1]		[R3 L1]	R6 L1	R6 L1	R6 L1
Desert Temple	                R4 L2		[R6 L2]		R3 L2	R6 L2	R6 L2	R6 L2
Desert Pyramid	                R4 L3		[R6 L3]		R3 L3	R6 L3	R6 L3	R6 L3
Desert Tombs	                R4 L4		[R6 L4]	[R8 L3]	R3 L4	R6 L4	R6 L4	R6 L4
Desert Treasure Room	       *R4 TR		*[R6 TR]	*R3 TR	*R6 TR	*R6 TR	*R6 TR
Desert Boss - Genie	        R4 L5		[R6 L5]		R3 L5	R6 L5	R6 L5	R6 L5
Forest Swamp            	[R3 L1]		R4 L1		R4 L1	[R5 L1]	[R5 L1]	[R5 L1]
Forest Roots               	[R3 L2]		R4 L2		R4 L2	[R5 L2]	[R5 L2]	[R5 L2]
Forest Tree                	[R3 L3]		R4 L3	[R8 L4]	R4 L3	[R5 L3]	[R5 L3]	[R5 L3]
Forest Branches	                [R3 L4]		R4 L4		R4 L4	[R5 L4]	[R5 L4]	[R5 L4]
Forest Treasure Room	       *[R3 TR]		*R4 TR	      *R4 TR  *[R5 TR] *[R5 TR] *[R5 TR]
Forest Boss - Spider Queen	[R3 L5]		R4 L5		R4 L5	[R5 L5]	[R5 L5]	[R5 L5]
Province Poison Field		           ALT	R5 L1	ALT		[R1 L1]	[R1 L1]	[R1 L1]
Province Ghost Town		        	R5 L2			[R1 L2]	[R1 L2]	[R1 L2]
Province Haunted Cemetery		[R3 L2]	R5 L3	[R3 L2]		[R1 L3]	[R1 L3]	[R1 L3]
Province Mausoleum		        	R5 L4	      [R2 L5-V] [R1 L4] [R1 L4] [R1 L4]
Province Treasure Room		        	*R5 TR			*[R1 TR]	*[R1 TR]	*[R1 TR]
Province Boss - Lich		        	R5 L5			[R1 L5]	[R1 L5]	[R1 L5]
Town Poisoned Field		        R3 L1	ALT	R3 L1	ALT	ALT	ALT	ALT
Town Haunted Cemetery		        R3 L2	[R5 L3]	R3 L2		[R5 L3]	[R5 L3]	[R5 L3]
Town Venomous Spire		        R3 L3	[R2 L1]	R3 L3		[R4 L1]	[R4 L1]	[R4 L1]
Town Toxic Air Ship		        R3 L4		R3 L4		ALT	ALT	ALT
Town Treasure Room	        	*R3 TR		*R3 TR
Town Boss - Plague Fiend		R3 L5	[R2 L4]	R3 L5		[R1 L5]	[R1 L5]	[R1 L5]
Ice Docks		                R4 L1	R6 L1	R4 L1		R7 L1	R7 L1	R7 L1
Ice Camp		                R4 L2	R6 L2	R4 L2		R7 L2	R7 L2	R7 L2
Ice Mine		                R4 L3	R6 L3	R4 L3		R7 L3	R7 L3	R7 L3
Ice Fissure		                R4 L4	R6 L4	R4 L4		R7 L4	R7 L4	R7 L4
Ice Treasure Room		      *R4 TR	*R6 TR	*R4 TR		*R7 TR	*R7 TR	*R7 TR
Ice Boss - Yeti		                R4 L5	R6 L5	R4 L5		R7 L5	R7 L5	R7 L5
Dream Carnival		                	R7 L1			R8 L1	R8 L1	R8 L1
Dream Grounds			                			R8 L2	R8 L2	R8 L2
Dream Haunted House			        R7 L2			R8 L3	R8 L3	R8 L3
Dream Nightmare		        	        			R8 L4	R8 L4	R8 L4
Dream Illusion	        	        	R7 L3			R8 L5	R8 L5	R8 L5
Dream Treasure Room		        	*R7 TR			*R8 TR	*R8 TR	*R8 TR
Dream Boss - Wraith		        	R7 L4			R8 L6	R8 L6	R8 L6
Desert Ruins	              [R4 L1]		R8 L1		[R3 L1]	[R6 L1]	[R6 L1]	[R6 L1]
Desert Temple	              [R4 L2]		R8 L2		[R3 L2]	[R6 L2]	[R6 L2]	[R6 L2]
Desert Pyramid	              [R4 L3]		R8 L3		[R3 L3]	[R6 L3]	[R6 L3]	[R6 L3]
Desert Tombs                  [R4 L4]		R8 L4	[R8 L3]	[R3 L4]	[R6 L4]	[R6 L4]	[R6 L4]
Desert Treasure Room	      *[R4 TR]		*R8 TR	      *[R3 TR] *[R6 TR] *[R6 TR] *[R6 TR]
Desert Boss - Genie           [R4 L5]		R8 L5		[R3 L5]	[R6 L5]	[R6 L5]	[R6 L5]
Desecrated Temple	      R5 L1	R5 L1	R9 L1	R5 L1	R5 L1	R9 L1	R9 L1	R9 L1
Altar of Skorne Boss - Skorne R5 L2	R5 L2	R9 L2	R5 L2	R5 L2	R9 L2	R9 L2	R9 L2
Underworld Gates           [R6 L1] R10 L1-2 R10 L1-1 [R7 L1-1] [R7 L1-1] R10 L1-1 R10 L1-1 R10 L1-1
Throne of Skorne Boss - Skorne [R6 L2] [R7 L1-2] R10 L1-2 [R7 L1-2] [R7 L1-2] R10 L1-2 R10 L1-2 R10 L1-2
Battlefield Trenches	        	R6 L1	R11 L1	R6 L1	R6 L1	R11 L1	R11 L1	R11 L1
Battlefield Towers	        	R6 L2	R11 L2	R6 L2	R6 L2	R11 L2	R11 L2	R11 L2
Battlefield Fortress		        R6 L3	R11 L3	R6 L3	R6 L3	R11 L3	R11 L3	R11 L3
Battlefield Treasure Room		*R6 TR	*R11 TR	*R6 TR	*R6 TR	*R11 TR	*R11 TR	*R11 TR
Underworld Gates	   R6 L1 R7 L1-1 [R10 L1-1] R7 L1-1 R7 L1-1 [R10 L1-1] [R10 L1-1] [R10 L1-1]
Throne of Skorne Boss - Skorne R6 L2 R7 L1-2 [R10 L1-2] R7 L1-2 R7 L1-2 [R10 L1-2] [R10 L1-2] [R10 L1-2]
Battlefield Boss - Garm	        		R11 L4			R11 L4	R11 L4	R11 L4
Extra - Mountain Summit		        		*R8 L1
Extra - Castle Barracks	        			*R8 L2		[R3 L3]	[R3 L3]	[R3 L3]
Extra - Desert Tombs	      [R4 L4]		[R6 L4]	*R8 L3		[R6 L4]	[R6 L4]	[R6 L4]
Extra - Forest Village [Tree] [R3 L3]		[R4 L3]	*R8 L4	[R4 L3]	[R5 L3]	[R5 L3]  [R5 L3]
Extra - Treasure Room		        		*R8 TR
Level Name                      L-Arcade L-N64 DL-Arcade L-PS1  L-DC   DL-PS2   DL-GC   DL-Xbox

Notes: Some stages, while similar, have enough differences that they can't be considered to be the same level. These stages are, as a result, not listed in brackets in eachothers' versions, because the levels are too different. Poisoned Field and Poison Field are in the same location, but the stages are different. They reused the location for a new stage. Also, the hidden Dreamcast version of Mausoleum plays in reverse -- you start at the DL version's end point, and go to its start point. It is the same level map though, so I count that as a variant, and not a completely different level.

Also, Mountain Summit is PS1-exclusive. It is also important to note that Mothership and Toxic Air Ship have similar themes but are entirely different levels. As a result, there are three levels not in GC/PS2/Xbox Dark Legacy: Mountain Summit, Toxic Air Ship, and Poisoned Field. Reverse Mausoleum is also not there, if you count it as a separate stage.


Characters Present In Each Version
Yes means the character is selectable from the beginning. No means the character is not in that game. Unlocks means that the character is unlockable in that game.

Characters            L-Arcade L-N64 DL-Arcade L-PS1   L-DC   DL-PS2   DL-GC   DL-Xbox   
Warrior	                Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Minotaur (Warrior base)	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks	No	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks
Dwarf (Warrior base)	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ogre (Warrior base)	No	No	Unlocks	No	No	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks
Archer               	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tigress (Archer base)	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks	No	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks
Jester (Archer base)	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hyena (Archer base)	No	No	Unlocks	No	No	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks
Wizard	                Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Jackal (Wizard base)	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks	No	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks
Sorceress (Wizard base)	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Medusa (Wizard base)	No	No	Unlocks	No	No	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks
Sumner (Wizard base)	No	Unlocks	No	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks
Valkyrie	        Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Falconess(Valkyrie base)Unlocks Unlocks	Unlocks	No	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks
Knight (Valkyrie base)	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Unicorn (Valkyrie base)	No	No	Unlocks	No	No	Unlocks	Unlocks	Unlocks
Characters            L-Arcade L-N64 DL-Arcade L-PS1   L-DC   DL-PS2   DL-GC   DL-Xbox

Version Comparison
This is all in a nice table on my computer, but lining it up in a Code box is impossible. So this will have to do.

FEATURE DIFFERENCES
Item Storage? NO: L-Arcade, DL-Arcade, L-DC, DL-PS2; YES: L-N64, L-PS1, DL-GC, DL-Xbox
Overworld? MENU (WORLDS ONLY - No Level Select Within Worlds, You Just Play Them All In Order): L-Arcade, DL-Arcade; SUMNER'S TOWER HUB WORLD: L-N64, L-PS1, L-DC; LARGE SUMNER'S TOWER HUB WORLD: DL-PS2, DL-GC, DL-Xbox
Ending? LEGENDS: L-Arcade, L-N64, L-PS1; DARK LEGACY FALSE ONLY: L-DC; DARK LEGACY FULL: DL-Arcade, DL-PS2, DL-GC, DL-Xbox
How to Unlock Realms? N/A: L-Arcade, DL-Arcade; OBELISKS: L-N64, L-PS1, L-DC; CRYSTALS AND MINIBOSS ITEMS: DL-PS2, DL-GC, DL-Xbox
Food at the Shop? NO: L-Arcade, DL-Arcade, L-DC; YES: L-N64, L-PS1, DL-PS2, DL-GC, DL-Xbox
Can Sell All Items? NO: L-Arcade, L-DC, DL-PS2, DL-GC, DL-Xbox; YES: L-N64, L-PS1
Crash Bugs? YES: DL-GC (more in 1.0, less in 1.2?), DL-PS2, DL-Xbox; NO: all others
Collision Detection Bugs? YES: DL-GC (in 1.0; fixed in 1.2); Don't Know: DL-Xbox; NO: all others
Invisible Inventory Upon Load Bug? YES: DL-GC (in 1.0); Don't Know: DL-Xbox; NO: L-N64, L-PS1; Doesn't Apply: L-Arcade, DL-Arcade, L-DC, DL-PS2
11th Item Vanishes Bug: YES: DL-GC (in 1.0); Don't Know: DL-Xbox; NO: all others
Can View Char. Stats Ingame? YES: L-N64, L-PS1; NO: all others
Exclusive Levels other than below? L-PS1: Extra Treasure Room; L-DC: Reverse Mausoleum
Poison(ed) Field version? N64 VER (Poisoned): L-N64, L-PS1; DL VER (Poison): DL-Arcade, L-DC, DL-PS2, DL-GC, DL-Xbox
Mountain Summit level present? YES: L-PS1; NO: All others
Battlefield World present? NO: L-Arcade; YES: all others (first in N64)
Toxic Air Ship level present? YES: L-N64, L-PS1; NO: all others
Mothership, Grounds, and Nightmare levels present: YES: DL-PS2, DL-GC, DL-Xbox; NO: all others
Get Less XP From Kills By Level? YES: All versions of Legends; NO: All versions of Dark Legacy
Saves Treasure Room Coins? YES: L-N64; NO: All others (This makes getting the unlockable characters MUCH easier!)
Strong Attack in addition to Weak? NO: All versions of Legends and DL-Arcade; YES: DL-PS2, DL-GC, DL-Xbox
Defend, Charge, and Strafe buttons? NO: All versions of Legends and DL-Arcade; YES: DL-PS2, DL-GC, DL-Xbox
Twin-Stick Firing Option? NO: All versions of Legends and DL-Arcade; YES: DL-PS2, DL-GC, DL-Xbox
Visible Boss Health Bars? NO: GC (version 1.0); YES: all others (inc. GC 1.2 I believe)
Death Types? All versions of Legends: Steals 100 Health (one type); All versions of Dark Legacy: Steals 100 Health, Steals a Level (two types)
Four player multiplayer support? NO: L-PS1 (two player only); YES: all other versions (requires a multitap on PS1)
Can View Actual XP Number? YES: L-N64, L-PS1; NO: all others
How to Unlock Hidden Characters? Reach Level 10 and your Alternate Unlocks: L-Arcade, DL-Arcade; Get All Coins in Treasure Rooms, can switch to character or start as new if you load file, choose "new game", and select the unlocked character: L-N64, L-PS1; Get All Coins in Treasure Rooms, will unlock as a lv.1 character selectable in your file: DL-PS2, DL-GC, DL-Xbox; Reach Level 25, load file, choose "new game", hold Turbo button, and you'll start a game as the four unlockable characters: L-DC
How Many Difficulty Level Options? Only One (and it's easy-ish): L-PS1; Three: L-N64, DL-PS2, DL-GC, DL-Xbox; Four: L-DC; Don't Know: L-Arcade, DL-Arcade
Does Unlocked Sumner Start At Level 1 or 99? Lv. 1: L-N64, L-PS1; Lv. 99: DL-PS2, DL-GC, DL-Xbox; No Playable Sumner: L-Arcade, DL-Arcade, L-DC
Custom Character Names? Yes (can rename your character upon creation, six-seven spaces): L-N64, L-PS1, DL-PS2, DL-GC, DL-Xbox; NO (three-letter initials only that may or may not be visible during gameplay): L-Arcade, DL-Arcade, L-DC
Health Drain? YES (health steadily decreases over time): L-Arcade, DL-Arcade; NO (health only decreases when you get hit): all console versions

 

[The Xtortionist]

The things I would do for Dark Legacy HD with online coop...

 

[A Black Falcon]

Oh, I should probably say what spurred me to do all that work -- I got the PS1 version of Legends recently, and have been playing it, and then also finally realized that the arcade Legends world set was different from the N64/PS1 games. So then I spent several days working on those tables. And as tedious as working on the

 alignment was, it was worth it to get a complete list of the levels like that...

[quote="The Xtortionist, post: 42879443"]The things I would do for Dark Legacy HD with online coop...[/QUOTE]
Yeah, Gauntlet Legends and Dark Legacy is one of the original 3d action-RPGs, and it's still one of the best!  They're such great, great games... still just as fun as ever.  A Dark Legacy re-release on modern systems, with online play support, would be fantastic.

 

[VegaNine]

This is my first time seeing this thread, and I was so impressed that I missed the date of the OP.

Four years, and 26 posts? Insert Coins to Regain Health. We should all be ashamed.

Gauntlet Legends (Arcade) was a treasure, and it became my obsession in the Winter of '98, and all through '99. The ability to save your character's progress on the cabinet itself gave me a new attachment to my local mall's Cyberstation. There was no place I'd rather be than that damn arcade, and whenever I was kept away from it—whether by school or snowstorms or closing hours—in my teenage fantasies, it made me happy to know that in some weird way, I was there, dude! Sure, leaving high score initials is nice, but to have your own ass-kicking doppleganger living in your favorite place on Earth? It must be how a dog feels when they mark their territory with piss and crap (sorry).

As distraught as I was when my arcade finally closed, I think I was equally as distraught when the Legends machine vanished a year earlier. I've entered my code—to no avail—in every machine I've seen since.

Related: I'm still offering cash money to anyone who finds a discarded GL cabinet (New England area) with a tricked-out Blue Warrior (JEC256*). Unlikely, yes, but c'mon! It's Gauntlet! I just want to hear those words again. You know what I'm talking about.

Anyhow, it's great to finally see it in writing how Legends differs across platforms (and which version is the closest to the arcade). On that note, this thread is no comparison—it's an exegesis, and it's bookmarked forever.

Thanks, ABF!

*By the way, does anyone else still remember their original password? And do you still guard it with your life?

 

[How About No]

"BLUE VALKYRIE IS ABOUT TO DIE"

One of my most-played games on N64, co-oping with my dad. This game's probably the reason the thumbsticks on the controllers were ground to pulp.

Looking back, it was about overly-long levels, holding down a single button facing lines of infinite enemies in hopes you can eventually hit the generator behind them. But for some reason, it was still fun! Even played Dark Legacy to completion years later, though I didn't care for the extra characters. Never played Seven Sorrows.

Still the best track in the game!

 

[Tomat]

It only took me 105 levels of the original Gauntlet until I started to think I was having fun.

 

[GrayFoxPL]

I like my PS2 version.

 

[Deraldin]

I have a level 99 Falconess sitting on my N64 controller pak still. I don't think I ever got around to finishing Legends though. I beat Skorne in the Cathedral but I never managed to find all the runes to unlock the final level. :/

 

[Seraphis Cain]

Welp, time to track down a way to play some Legends/Dark Legacy now.

 

[BertleTheTurtle]

Gauntlet DS

Some things just aren't meant to be.

 

[Xander51]

So happy that this thread got bumped! Gauntlet Legends is one of my all-time favorite games. I played the huge stand up arcade machine originally at the Silver Legacy hotel in Reno, and I was hooked. I was bummed when the PC port was cancelled because I had a 3Dfx card and that's what the arcade machine ran on, so I was hoping it would be arcade perfect. Still had a good time with the N64 version, and later the Dreamcast one...though the one or two missing sounds in the Dreamcast version really bothered me. Hit the level cap in both of those versions.

The whole addition of item storage and selection to some of the home games kind of bothered me as well, I prefered the instant-use scenario of the arcade game. I would definitely pay for a re-release of these on modern platforms, even if they didn't have online.

 

[soxinthebox]

Loved Legends on the 64 and was hell amped to play Dark Legacy but it was a massive let down for reasons I can't recall. Maybe because it was the exact same game with some shitty tag super move thrown in.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

Legends and Time Crisis 2 is like the only 3d arcade games I've spent more than $2 on. So good.

 

[ixix]

I only played Gauntlet Legends way back in the day, but I gave up on it when I somehow turned myself into a minotaur and couldn't figure out how to turn back and so I abandoned the game in a fit of rage rather than endure the shame of running around with a bull for a head.

(Note -- NES Gauntlet I also has saving and an ending, but because the game doesn't have most any of the features listed above, the password only saves equipment and the game level you are at (there are no character levels), and only at five or six points in the game. It should be mentioned, but it is quite different from the full RPG mode of Gauntlet IV's Story mode. No bosses, the areas aren't themed, just broken up into worlds, no hub area, shops, experience system or levelling up, no game time clock (that is saved), etc. But still, it is saving, so it should be mentioned.)

I posit that Horny McPurpleface's interminable monologues in the NES Gauntlet are sufficiently annoying as to classify him as a boss.

There's also

Spoiler

the hydra dude in the final stage

, but it's mostly Cowly McNevershutsup that I remember hating.

 

[A Black Falcon]

I've edited the original two posts, so all the facts there are now correct. There was quite a bit to fix.

I only played Gauntlet Legends way back in the day, but I gave up on it when I somehow turned myself into a minotaur and couldn't figure out how to turn back and so I abandoned the game in a fit of rage rather than endure the shame of running around with a bull for a head.

One odd thing about Legends (at least for the console versions) is that yeah, you can switch to those upgrade forms, but can't switch back if you switch and then save your game in the upgraded form. You can switch between the five upgrade forms at will, provided that you have unlocked them, but can't switch back to your original character. It really is quite odd.

The best thing to do (in N64/PS1 GL) is, as I think I describe earlier in the thread, to unlock the upgrade form, load your save file, then go into the menu again, choose "new game", and choose the upgrade character you want to use -- they will now be selectable because they are unlocked on the character that you loaded's file. But do not switch to the upgrade form unless you want to permanently stay as the hidden characters only.

One other thing -- when switching between upgrade characters, or from your regular to upgrade form, the character keeps its name, level, etc. However if you go into "new" after loading a file with unlocked characters, then you can start as a new character of that class, and start from lv. 1. Of course N64 Legends allows you to rename your character at any time (in the tower), so if you change classes (from starter class to upgrade class, I mean) you can change names too.

Dark Legacy does things completely differently, as you may know -- PS2/GC/Xbox Dark Legacy has a single file for each name. In that file you have one of each type of character in the game, all 8 base classes and all 9 hidden upgrade classes. They all share a SINGLE name though, and at least in the GC 1.0 version you cannot ever change your name once it is chosen, which is annoying considering that all of your characters will share it. I'd rather be able to name each one, like you can on N64/PS1 Legends... Oh, and in PS2/GC/Xbox DL, each one of those 17 characters on your file all start from level 1 -- there's no way to switch between classes staying at the same level, once you unlock a upgrade class you won't have the option of upgrading your character, unlike Legends, but instead can then use that character from level 1. Overall I think the Legends system is better. Oh, and N64/PS1/DC Legends support all memory cards you can plug into the system in question (so any of the four N64 or DC ports, or either PS1 port), while GC 1.0 Dark Legacy only supports port 1. Yeah, kind of annoying there too. I don't know if the PS2 version supports both slots or not. (Obviously, the Xbox version would mostly just save to the system; I don't know about memory card support there.)

I posit that Horny McPurpleface's interminable monologues in the NES Gauntlet are sufficiently annoying as to classify him as a boss.

There's also

Spoiler

the hydra dude in the final stage

, but it's mostly Cowly McNevershutsup that I remember hating.

I'd forgotten about those guys... but even if

Spoiler

NES Gauntlet does have a final boss

, still it's missing a lot of stuff Gauntlet IV pioneered in the series, including character levels, a hub world, themed areas, a shop, and such. But NES Gauntlet is a good game; I prefer it to NES Gauntlet II, even though II has 4-player support while 1 is only two player, because I like all the additions, including the password save, the fact that it ends, the in-game music, etc. NES Gauntlet II is a straight arcade port so it has none of that stuff.

 

[derder]

I remember my brother and I rented N64 Gauntlet Legends for a weekend and maxed out every character and stat. Probably the most fond memory I have playing with my brother :*(

 

[Man God]

After finally beating all of DL in 2008 I've come to the conclusion that its just not as good as Legends. Legends N64 is basically the best game in the series.

 

[Kokonoe]

First off, Gauntlet Dark Legacy is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better.

Second, Gauntlet Dark Legacy is an awesome game.

Third, this game has pretty good music at certain points. The first level is always nice to listen to.

 

[A Black Falcon]

After finally beating all of DL in 2008 I've come to the conclusion that its just not as good as Legends. Legends N64 is basically the best game in the series.

N64 Legends definitely is the best-playing version of the game, with the best feature set and options, but I just can't ignore that Dark Legacy (GC/Xbox versions) has 20 more stages total, which is a lot. Yeah, they've got bugs, annoying missing features, and more, but they have a lot more content, and do have the two most important features, a persistent inventory, and the ability to buy food at the shop. So even though the bugs are annoying, and the interface isn't as good, they just have so much more content that I can't really say that Legends is the better game. N64 Legends plays better, but there's so much more to Dark Legacy...

 

[Khezu]

Legends is the best game on the N64.

I wish I still had an N64.

I wonder if WB will ever do anything with this series.

 

[DigitalDevil]

Four years old, and still on the first page. Wow!

 

[chixdiggit]

Awesome OP. I love the Gauntlet series and really wish it would get updated.

Legends is the best game on the N64.

Agreed. Great Game.

 

[ixix]

One odd thing about Legends (at least for the console versions) is that yeah, you can switch to those upgrade forms, but can't switch back if you switch and then save your game in the upgraded form. You can switch between the five upgrade forms at will, provided that you have unlocked them, but can't switch back to your original character. It really is quite odd.

The best thing to do (in N64/PS1 GL) is, as I think I describe earlier in the thread, to unlock the upgrade form, load your save file, then go into the menu again, choose "new game", and choose the upgrade character you want to use -- they will now be selectable because they are unlocked on the character that you loaded's file. But do not switch to the upgrade form unless you want to permanently stay as the hidden characters only.

One other thing -- when switching between upgrade characters, or from your regular to upgrade form, the character keeps its name, level, etc. However if you go into "new" after loading a file with unlocked characters, then you can start as a new character of that class, and start from lv. 1. Of course N64 Legends allows you to rename your character at any time (in the tower), so if you change classes (from starter class to upgrade class, I mean) you can change names too.

Dark Legacy does things completely differently, as you may know -- PS2/GC/Xbox Dark Legacy has a single file for each name. In that file you have one of each type of character in the game, all 8 base classes and all 9 hidden upgrade classes. They all share a SINGLE name though, and at least in the GC 1.0 version you cannot ever change your name once it is chosen, which is annoying considering that all of your characters will share it. I'd rather be able to name each one, like you can on N64/PS1 Legends... Oh, and in PS2/GC/Xbox DL, each one of those 17 characters on your file all start from level 1 -- there's no way to switch between classes staying at the same level, once you unlock a upgrade class you won't have the option of upgrading your character, unlike Legends, but instead can then use that character from level 1. Overall I think the Legends system is better. Oh, and N64/PS1/DC Legends support all memory cards you can plug into the system in question (so any of the four N64 or DC ports, or either PS1 port), while GC 1.0 Dark Legacy only supports port 1. Yeah, kind of annoying there too. I don't know if the PS2 version supports both slots or not. (Obviously, the Xbox version would mostly just save to the system; I don't know about memory card support there.)

I never even realized I'd get to eventually switch to other unlockable characters. I pretty much went from Warrior to Minotaur then went "Aaaaaaaaah get this thing off my head get it off get it off" and never looked back. This is useful to know should I ever decide to get back in the saddle. I've got the game sitting in one box or another, maybe someday I'll dig it out and have another go.

I've probably still got the save file I gave up on, for that matter. Deleting it after my poor dude got bull-headed just seemed needlessly cruel. Maybe it would have been a mercy killing, but I liked to pretend that he could someday find someone who could love him in spite of his... affliction.

I'd forgotten about those guys... but even if

Spoiler

NES Gauntlet does have a final boss

, still it's missing a lot of stuff Gauntlet IV pioneered in the series, including character levels, a hub world, themed areas, a shop, and such. But NES Gauntlet is a good game; I prefer it to NES Gauntlet II, even though II has 4-player support while 1 is only two player, because I like all the additions, including the password save, the fact that it ends, the in-game music, etc. NES Gauntlet II is a straight arcade port so it has none of that stuff.

I wasn't trying to quibble over definitions or anything, I just remembered how the revelation that

Spoiler

holy shit guys Gauntlet actually has a last boss and the preachy jerk from the intermission screen eventually shuts up

blew my then-young mind when I reached it and wanted to share my joy/annoyance with the world. I also wanted to spoiler tag a game that's a quarter of a century old just in case there was somebody who didn't want to have the gripping conclusion of Gauntlet ruined for them.

 

[Kientin]

When I got a PS2, Dark Legacy was my second game for it if I recall correctly. I played it so much and my siblings and I would always fight over turns. Almost pulled an all nighter with a couple of my friends a couple times. Took quite a few characters to the max level.

I played it so much I suffered a massive burnout of that game. Just the mere thought of playing it nowadays makes me groan. I still haven't done that with any other game to this day haha.

 

[Arlecchino]

Holy shit. I remember playing this at Playdium and on the ferries. Thanks for reminding me of this.

 

[pa22word]

Dark Legacy is one of the best co-op games ever created. I remember checking up the metacritc scores for it a few years back and wanted to throw something, heh. I really wanted Midway to last long enough this gen to see an HD remix of DL with online co-op. Sadly it never came to be. Part of me is gracious though, for I would have never left the house again if that were to have happened x_x

Also, I'll leave this here as a reminder as to how great and memoriable the music in this game is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1k3UJ4qIiI

Over 10 years later (holy shit when you say it...) and I still hear this running through my head every once in a blue moon.

 

[George Claw M.D.]

This thread brings back memories. I was the first person to reach a level 99 character in Legends at my local arcade. Got to a point where I could play all day on a single credit. Multi-shot + rapid fire + invulnerability at point-blank killed any boss within seconds at a high-enough level. At that point it was just constantly cycling through the game, gaining as many levels as I could before the arcade closed. Everyone, including myself, was surprised when I got my big-headed Wizard and unlocked the Jackal. People were running outside the arcade, telling others to come see what I did. I felt like a boss. lol

The arcade closed before Dark Legacy came out, so I never got into that game.