Genre: Action
Platform: GameCube (also on Playstation2 and XBox)
Creator: Midway
Once upon a time there was a game named
Gauntlet (brought to you by the fine folks who made Space Invaders!), an
arcade game which I never really played. Then came along Gauntlet Legends,
a revamped and better version of the game (I personally don't know what
they added other than better graphics, as I never played the original Gauntlet).
Gauntlet Legends was even released for N64. Then came along Gauntlet: Dark
Legacy. I should explain something first. I believe that I should really
define what a "remake" is. A remake is, essentially, a game in which they
take a previously released game and add maybe better graphics, possibly
a few small additions, but nothing too big. Examples include the Super
Mario Advance series and Sonic Mega Collection (though admittedly Sonic
Mega Collection was a collection of remakes). Then there are what I guess
you could call "redos". They take an earlier game, but add so many things
that it should be considered a new game. An excellent example of this is
the Gameboy game Donkey Kong, a "redo" of the old arcade
game. It's not really a remake, as
they've far more than quadrupled the size of the game (let's see... more
than eight times as many levels, more enemies, more items, more moves for
Mario. The only things that were really from the original were the first
four levels).
Gauntlet Dark Legacy falls into the later category. Yes, they take the levels from the original Gauntlet Legends (Mountain, Castle, Forest, and Desert) and the characters, BUT they add more levels (Sky, Province, Ice, and Dream), not to mention an all-new level after what was previously the final battle, plus a new showdown (you still fight who was the final boss in Legends, but there's another battle after that). Please note I am referring to the arcade versions... so far.
Basically, what you were supposed to
do was beat all the bosses to collect all the keys to unlock the almost-final
level where you have a showdown with Skorne, an evil demon who conquered
all these various places. But then, after beating him, you have to get
all of the various Rune Stones (assuming you haven't already) to get to
ANOTHER level and fight him a second time. This is where Legends left off.
In Dark Legacy, however, you were treated to another level and another
boss. I'm not going to spoil it for people,
however.
Anyway, I played the arcade version and liked it a lot. It was a VERY long game (thankfully, your keys, level, and runestones were saved). But what was especially interesting was the emphasis on multiplayer. All of the Rune Stones and Keys of the various people currently playing were "added together", so someone you may have never met before could save you the trouble of fighting a boss or finding a Rune Stone. Unfortunately, that's only while they were playing, so if it was only you, you would still only have the keys/runestones that you had previously.
I'll try to explain how it works. When you plunk in your quarters (or tokens) you'll basically be asked to choose a world to enter, unless someone else is already playing, in which case you will just join in where they currently are. There are a certain number of levels in each world. Your goal essentially is to get to the ending of the level, while killing enemies to get there. You kill enough enemies, you level up and become stronger. But don't think this is a turn-based RPG. It's a completely action-based game. Just because you become stronger as you play more doesn't make it an RPG. One annoying thing, however, is if you chose a world, you'd start at the first level and would continue in that world until you either beat it or your character ran out of health and died (fortunately, if you came back later you could reload your character and have the same keys and runestones you did before). Just so you know, you're classified by your initials. When you first start, you enter your initials. If you haven't played before (assuming no one who played the game previously had your initials), you would start out as a level 1. If you had played before, your earlier character would reload. Best of all, you could choose your character. So you could play as a Wizard, come back and enter your initials and play as a Valkyrie instead. So you could have multiple characters of different levels.
I'm boring you, aren't I? Well, let's explain some of the differences between the arcade and GameCube versions. Please note that "original" refers to the arcade version. Also, for the record, while I can remember many things from the arcade game, I have not played it for a while, so in this Review I may make a few small mistakes.
-In the arcade, your health would tick
down at about the rate of one health per second. This does not occur on
the GameCube.
-You could not buy food (which replenish
your health) in the arcade version (you get treasure as you go along, which
you can use to buy stuff, like keys or potions, at the end of a level).
While you could find food scattered throughout the levels in the arcade
version, it would only delay your health decline. The only way to "buy
health" in the arcade was to put in more quarters/tokens.
-In the arcade game, the Items of Legend
(a weapon especially potent against a certain boss) would be found in the
world of the boss. For example, the Parchment of Fire, a weapon absolutely
devestating to the Yeti, would be found in the Ice Realm (of which the
Yeti is the boss). The Ice Axe, which would seriously hinder the Dragon,
is found in the Mountain Kingdom (which again, the dragon is the boss of).
However, the Parchment of Fire in the GameCube version is actually found
in Foresaken Province (Lich is the boss of that world), and the Ice Axe
is found in the Castle Stronghold (which the Chimera is the boss of).
-Boss' health is no longer shown. In
the arcade version, on the top of the screen is a bar showing how much
health the boss has left. This is not included in the GameCube version.
-The Legendary Weapons sometimes work
slightly differently. In the arcade version, for example, the Ice Axe would
temporarily freeze the Dragon and the Scimitar of Decapitation would cut
off the Chimera's middle head. This is not true in the GameCube version.
The Scimitar of Decapitation does deal damage to the Chimera, but does
not cut off one of its three heads.
-The Chimera's heads were essentially
three seperate enemies in the original. If you dealt enough damage to one,
it would be destroyed and would deal no more damage. In the GameCube version,
however, the entire Chimera is essentially one big enemy, which makes it
harder to kill (as you always have to deal with the attacks of all three
of the
heads).
-Some of the Runestones and Items of
Legend are in different locations. In fact, many times the Runestones are
in the places where the Items of Legends previously were.
-There were various "bonus levels"
in the arcade game in which you would try to get as many coins as possible
(which would increase the amount of money you had). In the GameCube version,
while they exist, they do not give you extra gold. Rather, if you get all
of the coins you will gain access to a hidden character. The hidden characters
were in the arcade version, but you got them in a different way.
-New "giant" enemies known as Gargoyles
and Generals are present in the GameCube game, but not the original.
When defeated, they will drop various items which can be picked up. Golems
will also do this (while Golems were in the original, they did not drop
items).
-You actually have a maximum health
in the GameCube version, which increases as you go up in level. In the
original, however, your maximum health is ALWAYS 9999. The only thing depending
on your total health is really how much money you're willing to spend at
the arcade.
-In the arcade version, with the exception
of Battlefields of Garm, Descerated Temple, and Underworld, all the levels
were available at once. In the GC version, however, you gain access to
the worlds one at a time. Here's how you do it: There are various crystals
throughout the levels. When you get enough of a certain color crystal,
you'll be able to enter a new world (for example, if you gain 250 Black
Crystals, you can enter the Dream World). It is worthwhile noting that
in some worlds different colored crystals are more common (for example,
in Forest Yellow Crystals, which lead to Desert, are very common). Now,
while it is technically possible to take different paths, what will probably
be the order of the worlds you gain access to will be this: Foresaken Province,
Mountain Kingdom, Castle Stronghold, Sky Realm, Forest Realm, Desert Realm,
Ice World, Dream World, Desecrated Temple, Underworld, Battlefields of
Garm.
In the arcade, as stated previously,
while all could be accessed, they had "difficulty" ratings. Here they are:
Mountain & Sky: Easy.
Castle, Forest, and Province: Medium.
Desert, Ice, and Dream: Hard.
Desecrated Temple, Underworld, and
Battlefields of Garm: Deadly.
It is interesting that Province, a Medium level, is before Mountain, an Easy level. Ironically enough, even in the GameCube version I believe that Mountain is easier. Its levels, at the very least, are shorter than those of Province. But nevermind that...
-In the arcade, you couldn't choose
to just go to, say, level 3 of the Mountain Kingdom. You'd have to go through
levels 1 and 2 first--even if you'd already completed them. In this, all
you have to do is complete the previous level once in order to gain access
to the next level--and you can do it at any time.
-If you picked an item up in the original,
it would take effect immediately. So if you picked up an Anti-Death, it
would work immediately. Unfortunately,
such items are only good for a limited time. Thus, you couldn't have it
long, and often would get an item that could be very useful later, but
may be useless at that time. However, in this game, you can choose when
to use the items you pick up, and can even stop using them after using
them for a little while. That way you can use them again later (although
they still cannot be used indefinitely). Best of all, you can use an item
for a few moments, then deactivate it and use it later when it could be
of use. Neat, eh?
There are other differences, of course, but these are the main ones I can think of. As I have never played the PS2/XBox versions, I don't know the differences between those and the GameCube/Arcade versions, but I imagine there are some differences. Now let's get to the Review, shall we? Five star scale...
Graphics: ***
Hmm. Well, the graphics are pretty good, but aren't a magnificent improvement over the graphics from Gauntlet Legends or the arcade version of this game. The graphics are nothing to wow someone, but they're not something to make people gasp at the awfulness of it. Then again, that's like many graphics...
Sound and Music: **
Some of the music is good. Some of the music is bad (I can't get that stupid "bumshakabukaluhey" chanting from the Forest Realm out of my head). It's sometimes funny to hear the characters talk when someone else takes something from a chest they opened (my favorite is the Wizards: "You are greedy!") or when they eat food. The music really could've used some improvement. Most of the time it's nothing you hate, but it's nothing you love either. Still, the music from the first level of Mountain was really good.
Difficulty: Easy-Medium
I'll tell you one thing: It's a lot
easier than the arcade game, if for nothing else, because your health meter
doesn't tick down. So getting food
(which increases your health) is no longer merely delaying the inevitable,
it's just making it harder to beat you. Considering it's near-impossible
to lose in this game unless you go into a hard level as a low-level character
(which is only possible if another player is using with a higher-level
character that has access to that world), odds are very low your character
will die. And if they do die, all that happens is they're warped back to
the keep (the "central hub" of the game) until all the other players "die".
The only time my character ever died was when fighting the Chimera.
Controls: ****
They're not too bad. Unfortunately,
it is a bit difficult to try to select an item to use with the directional
pad
while trying to simultaneously attack
by pressing B or A and moving around. Of course, this is an extreme case,
but it does demonstrate a few problems with the controls. But that isn't
really the controls that are the problems, it's the infamous "trying to
do too many things" problem.
Levels: ****
Alright. The levels are very diverse and creative, ESPECIALLY in the Dream World, which was my favorite. The designers showed they truly had warped minds when they made that world. Anyway, the levels were for the most part the same as in the arcade game. A few things were changed, however.
-A new type of enemy called "generals"
were added. They're like golems, only a bit weaker but faster. Another
added 'mega-enemy' is the gargoyle. All three drop items when they're killed.
-The Items of Legend and Runestones
have been moved around. In "Maze of Illusion" (a level in Dream World)
a Rune Stone is where the Item of Legend (Lantern of Revelation) previously
was.
-A few new levels, like "Your Worst
Nightmare", "Mothership", and "Haunted Grounds".
There were a few other small changes,
like changes in difficulty. Sky was harder than it was in the arcade
because it was one of the later levels.
So the levels themselves were pretty good overall.
Concept: 1/2
The concept is essentially the same as Gauntlet Legends, which, as I hear, is the same as Gauntlet. They did add some neat things in this version (like saving items), so I increased the score a little. Just a little.
Bosses: 1/2
Here's a problem with the bosses: The general strategy is just to stay in one place (moving occasionally) and to keep shooting at them. That's it. No moving to avoid their blasts is really even involved. Just keep holding down the attack button until the boss is dead. Moving around to try to avoid the attacks doesn't help you out much anyway. Also, one thing I hate is you can't see how much health the boss has left, which you could in the arcade version. So you have no clue how close you are to beating the boss. And I heard that in the PS2 version of this game you COULD see their health...
Still, there is a weapon hidden in each world that will be very effective against a certain boss. For example, the Book of Protection, which is potent against Lich, is found in the Sky Domain. Fortunately, it saves the items so you can get them, quit, then later use them on the boss. Usage of the weapon is automatic, by the way.
The bosses require almost no strategy, however. Just move every now and then and keep shooting at them. That's it. All that really matters is if your health and level are high enough. If they are, you win. If not... you don't win. Oh, and they can be REALLY tough to beat if you're not with friends. Really, really tough.
Replayability: **
Yes, it's true you can try the game
with a different character (like maybe the Jester instead of, say, the
Warrior) but that really isn't that
much to bring you back. It may offer a lot of replayability, but that's
pointless
if you're not interested in using it.
You kind of lose your interest after you beat it with one character. That's
not to say there's no replayability, there's a lot, but you probably won't
be in the mood to keep going.
Secrets: * 1/2
There are some secret characters you can unlock if you complete these "bonus games" hidden around in the levels, and there are the hidden boss items. But this really isn't that much. Of course, I guess there are a lot of "little" secrets hidden throughout, but again, that's really not enough to up this game's score. Sumner (kind of your "guide" to the game) will give you some hints as to where you can find Runestones/Items of Legends, making them less "secret". Of course, Runestones are required anyway, so I'm not sure they count as secrets.
Camera: **
The camera could have been worse, I guess. Still, at least it doesn't infringe on the gameplay too much. Of course, when there are multiple players, cameras are a bit more tricky to create, so I'd say Midway did a good job on this. The only real problem the camera ever causes is that when some characters are far up ahead and another character is far behind and needs to go around a bend, the camera doesn't show the bend and the farther characters have to backtrack to let the other character progress (as the camera won't let you move where you can't see). The camera would have gotten a higher score if it were customizable: You could move it around a bit. Still, like I said, with multiple players making a good camera is a bit difficult, so I'd say Midway did a pretty good job. I just wish they could have let you alter where the camera is a bit.
Addictiveness: ****
The game is addicting until you finish
it. After that, it really loses its appeal. Yeah, you can try to level
up your character to a level 99 or try another character and play with
that, but is that really that much? But that is a
matter for replayability...
Gameplay: **
Alright, one problem with this game
is the gameplay. It's too darn repetitive. You avoid traps, shoot enemies,
and pick up the occasional item. Ok, ok, I guess you could describe a lot
of games with great gameplay in that manner. For example, Super Mario Bros
could be summed up as "Kill enemies. Jump over pits. Get coins and power-ups".
Nevertheless, the gameplay in this game, simply put, is mediocre at best.
There is almost never any chance you will lose except on bosses. Add that
onto the fact that this game isn't very good in single-player, and you
have a game without very good gameplay. In a lot of games, the gameplay
is good because you know that just a few slipups could cause you to die.
Not so in this game, unfortunately. It
takes a lot of the pressure off, which
isn't necessarily a good thing. Too much pressure and a game is too tough,
too little pressure and it's too easy.
Fun Factor!: **** 1/2
I know what you're thinking: If the
gameplay is so bad, why such a high score in Fun Factor? Well, a game can
have horrible gameplay, but if it's fun, it's fun. A game can have horrible
graphics, bad characters, a dumb plot, near-impossible controls, and so
on, but if it's fun it is fun. Obviously not many games have low scores
in other categories but a high score in Fun Factor, but it's possible.
This game is fun, simply put. It's hard to
describe why, as it often is, but it
is fun. There's something about this game that is enjoyable--as long as
you're in multiplayer.
OVERALL: ***
This game is fun while it lasts. However,
there's just not that much left after it. The biggest problem with this
game is the heavy emphasis on multiplayer. You can play it with one player
(by the way, there are fewer enemies when you play with fewer players,
so it doesn't seem too overwhelming, although there are also fewer items),
but it isn't as fun at all. With two or more players the game is fun, but
it's really not that great with just one. Yes, the game is doable, but
it's certainly less fun when you're doing it alone. If you don't have at
least another person to play this game with on a semi-regular basis, don't
get it. There are better multiplayer games out there that you can enjoy
with just one player (like Mario Kart). Yes, they may be more
enjoyable with more players, but this
game is just really no good with just one player. You may play by yourself
every now and then for whatever reason, but unless you have someone else
to play it with, it's not good at all. You can play through the whole game
by yourself and have some fun, but not nearly as much as if you played
with other people.
To recap: It's really bad in single-player. That lowered the score. It also doesn't have much replayability and the gameplay isn't great. That lowered it more. If everyone played this in multiplayer, it would have received 4 stars, but with it being as boring as it is in single-player, I had to lower the score.
So if you have some friends (or siblings) to play this game with, you'd probably want to get it! But if you don't, pass it by. That's what the game is: Pretty good with multiplayer, bad with single player.
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