17 replies to this topic

[Adrian M]

Ok, I sat down on Saturday afternoon with a good friend of mine, and we set out to finally COMPLETE Gauntlet 1 on the Midway's Arcade Treasures (XBOX version).

Ok, I figured that level 100 would be the end. I remember seeing pics of the Genesis version that showed some type of dragon so we assumed that this would be the case with the arcade version. Oh how wrong we were! Level 100 came and went and then my companion and I were shocked to see a level 125 with no end in sight! "Didn't we already play this same stage 3 times??" my friend remarked as her Valkyrie hit the hidden door switch to open up some wall. "I think so...when will this end?" I kept proclaiming...

I think we got as far as level 135 to which we just gave up due to sheer boredom. Please tell me there's an end to this game, or is it Gauntlet 2 that has the dragon boss?

[Bruce Tomlin]

There's no end to either Gauntlet 1 or 2. It just runs the same levels randomly (with random mirroring), increasing the difficulty level as you go farther. Only the first seven or eight levels are the same every time. Which is why the high score charts are based on points per coin. (So you just put one coin into the character you want a high score for, and keep plugging them into a "mule" character.)

And the Dragon is in Gauntlet 2.

Oh, and that sound you hear is us old folks laughing at you young whippersnappers expecting arcade games to have an "end".

[Adrian M]

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There's no end to either Gauntlet 1 or 2. It just runs the same levels randomly (with random mirroring), increasing the difficulty level as you go farther. Only the first seven or eight levels are the same every time. Which is why the high score charts are based on points per coin. (So you just put one coin into the character you want a high score for, and keep plugging them into a "mule" character.)

And the Dragon is in Gauntlet 2.

Ah damn! It's a good thing we didn't bother going for Level 200 then!

I thought that Gauntlet did have an ending...at least that's what I heard. But no matter...the game gets really tedious after the first 25 levels and then it just becomes a matter of forcing yourself to continue to slog through. Thanks for the confirmation!

[Bruce Tomlin]

There's a "quest version" (I forget what it's really called) on the Sega Genesis game Gauntlet IV, but not in the arcade game. (Gauntlet IV's arcade mode is a pretty accurate implementation of Gauntlet I, except for no treasure multipliers, and you are limited to 9 coins per player.)

[PaulEMoz]

Gauntlet is a really poor game when it's on free play. The whole appeal came from the adrenaline of getting as far as you could on the coins you had. When that is lost, so is the essence of the game.

[Adrian M]

[quote name='Bruce Tomlin]There's a "quest version" (I forget what it's really called) on the Sega Genesis game Gauntlet IV' date=' but not in the arcade game. (Gauntlet IV's arcade mode is a pretty accurate implementation of Gauntlet I, except for no treasure multipliers, and you are limited to 9 coins per player.)[/quote']

That's probably it...the quest mode.
In fact, if I recall, the original Tengen NES version also ended after 100 stages. Though, that was a pretty poor port (I still remember my disappointment when seeing the choppy movement of the enemy sprites...the NES Gauntlet 2 was a HUGE improvement in every way!).

[Tempest]

Nope no ending for either Gauntlet I or II. There was a website where some guy who was WAY WAY WAY too into the game went through and described all the algorithms that determined the levels and other game play mechanics in such detail that Ed Logg himself would take a step back. I wish I could find that page again.

Tempest

[Adrian M]

I think I've truly burned out on Gauntlet. I can't stomach the thought of playing the game ever again! It truly became a test of one's patience and willpower and eventually you end up feeling like this is some sort of torture exercise. Ugh. Anyone want a cheap XBOX version of Midway's Arcade Classics?

[Fellow Atari Man]

[quote name='Bruce Tomlin]There's a "quest version" (I forget what it's really called) on the Sega Genesis game Gauntlet IV' date=' but not in the arcade game. (Gauntlet IV's arcade mode is a pretty accurate implementation of Gauntlet I, except for no treasure multipliers, and you are limited to 9 coins per player.)[/quote']

Yes, it's Gauntlet 4 (no original Gauntlet, 2 or 3 for the system) that has the dragon in it's Quest feature, as there's five castles you have to get through, with a dragon in each castle, and it's port of the original Gauntlet (on the same cartridge) doesn't end.

In Reply to Paulemoz (sp?)

What, no quarters but 2-4 players isn't any fun with Gauntlet? *I* still have fun with another player, after all these years (I've had the Genesis version since '94).

[Xot]

The NES Gauntlet does indeed end after level 100, but bears little resemblence to the arcade game. It does have a specific quest and ending to it, which you can only achieve if you acquire a special password via the treasure rooms.

[jetset]

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I think I've truly burned out on Gauntlet. I can't stomach the thought of playing the game ever again! It truly became a test of one's patience and willpower and eventually you end up feeling like this is some sort of torture exercise. Ugh. Anyone want a cheap XBOX version of Midway's Arcade Classics?

Aw c'mon now....there's some good other games on that collection!

[PaulEMoz]

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In Reply to Paulemoz (sp?)

What, no quarters but 2-4 players isn't any fun with Gauntlet? *I* still have fun with another player, after all these years (I've had the Genesis version since '94).

Well, to be honest, I've never played it with two players outside of the arcade. So I imagine in that case it would be a bit more fun. But as a one player game, it's got little merit.

[DeV0]

Í remember back when this was in tha arcade there where rumours going around about there being and end depending on how many players where playing. So i cheated with mame and kept skipping levels and of course nothing, another arcade game myth

[geosteve]

I've seen people play Gauntlet 2 well into the 100+ levels, some of the mazes are really quite impressive and others can be completed with only about 30% worth of the overall maze traveled. Wish they put G2 on Midway Treasures, I like the reflective shots, acid puddles, moving exits, and the other cool stuff in the sequel. remember the voice saying "fooled you!" when you step into a false exit.

Anyway, G1 has levels 1 to 8 fixed and the rest are random - can be flipped or mirrored when repeated. G2 has only 1 to 6 fixed. (in both games there are skip level exits in level 1.) I think the total mazes is over 100 unique to each game.

[mechanized]

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I think I've truly burned out on Gauntlet. I can't stomach the thought of playing the game ever again!

Give Gauntlet: Dark Legacy a try, if you haven't yet. For a modern Gauntlet title, it's really in keeping with the spirit of the original. Plus, lots of character professions and (excepting the unlockable characters) each character has a distinctly different look depending on which color you choose, like the Yellow Wizard has an Egyptian look, but the Blue Wizard is kind of the traditional pointy-hat wizard, the Green Warrior has a sort of Ranger look to him, while the Blue Warrior has tribal, tattooed theme. It's a pretty big game, at that.

[bradjewell]

yeah, I thought dark legacy was a fun game...
and there is a lot of game to it...
can be tedious as all gauntlets..
but fun, none the less...

Brad

[Bruce Tomlin]

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I think I've truly burned out on Gauntlet. I can't stomach the thought of playing the game ever again!

Give Gauntlet: Dark Legacy a try, if you haven't yet. For a modern Gauntlet title, it's really in keeping with the spirit of the original.

Just watch out for the Game Cube version. It's got a bug that shows up in later levels. Whenver there's a text message that shows up on the screen, it can lock up. I recommend saving before EVERY time you start one of the higher levels (especially the "dark" ones, IIRC).

[Saikyo]

No there is no end to Gauntlet 1 I remember playing the spectrum version
and to see how many levels there were I used the "Extend Key" cheat to
walk through walls!

by the time the 275th stage came up I thought "oh no Iv'e wasted half my day!"
"I dont want to carry on!" I was really, really upset!