Gauntlet Legends is a simple hack-and-slash game that is fun to play with a group of friends.
Up to four players can participate in Gauntlet Legends at one time. The players can select from the four character classes of the original Gauntlet: elf archer, warrior, valkyrie, and wizard. Also taken from the original are the demon generators, that will spawn limitless enemies of varying strength, and the "thrown weapons". The game is a three-quarter overhead view of a completely 3D realm. Each character throws an unlimited supply of their respective weapon, and has a magic reflective of their ability that become more powerful the more potion the player collects. There is also a melee attack, numerous traps throughout the levels, and secrets.
Gauntlet Legends ports the arcade version reasonably well to the Nintendo 64.
Graphics: Gauntlet Legends pushes the ability of the N64 to its limits with the arcade port. There is some loss of quality due to the limitations of the hardware, which was to be expected. Some of the graphics are occassionally fuzzy and difficult to see, but all in all the game moves smoothly without any slowdown even with numerous enemies on-screen. Characters and creatures are bold, move fluidly, and are rich in appearance, creatively speaking. The magic are visually impressive, and the environments look good.
Sound: Of all its characteristics the audio most reflects the original Gauntlet. The narrator sounds impressive, telling the player(s) which character needs food or is "about to die." Sound effects are muted, but magic sounds appropriate and the music is appropriate without being annoying. The weapon sounds might have been improved, and enemy sounds could have been "upped" a notch. With a massive crowd of orcs, I would have liked to have been overwhelmed by snorting and grunting from my opposition in surround sound.
Gameplay: You hack and slash your way through mountains of evil creatures in Gauntlet while trying to find the key, items, and secrets. It does not try to break the mold, and does a good job of making multiplayer extremely fun ("No, go that way, that way!" and "I needed that food!"). Further, Gauntlet Legends adds the ability to replay your character, rise in level, and garner special abilities such as a familiar who aids you in battle. After you have gained a number of levels, you can alter your character class to a more sophisticated class (omitted for spoiler). These are all ancillary to the core element of the game, which is hacking and slashing through mountains of baddies with your friends. In this regard, Gauntlet Legends delivers. The game loses some its appeal when playing solo, however, being too one-dimensional and linear to create staying power alone. It also lacks replay value once you have gotten through.