Gauntlet II (Nintendo, 1990)

A great, top down, tile based rpg.

The good:
A narrator informs the players of various activities, such as food, and potion-like effects, which would otherwise go unknown.

The game has four player compatibility which is nice, but creates some problems regarding player pushing (as described below).

The bad:
In multiplayer, players are capable of pushing fellow players out of the way. This functionality, though useful when coming up from behind, can be extremely irritating for the leader of the pack - getting pushed into traps and enemies.

Movement can be tricky in narrow hall ways, with the player becoming stuck on tile edges very easily.

The rest:
Saving is done through a password system. All player attributes are properly recorded, but the passwords themselves can be a pain to enter.

In Gauntlet, you explore many mazes as one of a few different characters, collecting treasure and defeating enemies as you go along. In Gauntlet II you will explore more than 100 mazes. As you travel around the mazes, you'll have to battle a number of monsters, collect treasure, and find secret rooms. The digitized sound and graphics from the arcade game has even been recreated on the Nintendo Entertainment System. If you have a Four Score or NES Satellite, you'll be able to have three friends help you get through the game, or you can play with just one friend, or go it alone if you'd like. You'll battle more monsters than you did in Gauntlet, and keep in mind that the mazes will get a bit more difficult as you progress. These two games are a great addition to any NES collection.

The object of the game is simple, get to the exit in each dungeon. You can play as one of four characters, the wizard, the elf, the warrior, or the valkyrie. The controls are good and you can play with up to 4 people, if you have a NES satellite. The only real downsides to this game are: It does get repetitive, and there is no music.

Although I wouldn't tell anyone that this is a must have game for the NES console, it does have it's place in most collector's libraries. It is a very basic game that still uses small amounts of brain power to play. It is quite redundant in the fact that all the levels feel pretty much the same, but with it fathering such games and Dark Legacy it is still worth a play and will take you back to some classic roots.

This is the classic Gauntlet game which many remember in old-school arcades. Good game for solo or duo play, but play can get repetitive after a while. Still... a good game to keep in your classic gaming mix.