Developed by Software Creations and published by US Gold in 1991, Gauntlet III: The Final Quest is a home computer-only sequel to the classic arcade games, Gauntlet and Gauntlet II.

It features eight playable characters (Warrior, Lizardman, Iceman, Wizard, Elf, Rockman, Valkyrie, and Merman), and simultaneous two-player gameplay, with characters fighting their way through a variety of isometric landscapes, killing monsters and destroying generators, which the monsters come out of.

Unlike in previous Gauntlet games, in Gauntlet III you must complete a series of tasks to open the door to allow you to complete the stage, and each stage is comprised of a number of levels that are connected via a series of doors. Surprisingly, you can go backwards and forwards through these levels, at your own leisure.

On the first stage you must find a bucket, which you then take to a well to get a key, and you finally take the key to an altar to unlock the exit to the next stage. The bucket, the well, and the altar are all found on different levels, so you need to search for them. Once the exit to the next stage has been opened, you then have a limited amount of time to reach the exit, to receive a points bonus. An egg timer is shown in the top right-hand corner of the screen, to depict this.

On subsequent stages (that I saw), the tasks were reduced to simply finding a number of keys to unlock the stage exit, which I thought was disappointing, and it seems to point to the developers not really having their heart in this project.

Graphically, Gauntlet III is also disappointing. The in-game graphics are lacklustre at best – amateurish at worst.

Worst of all is the gameplay, which is hampered by poor controls (directing fire accurately is a hit-and-miss affair), and characters often getting snagged on the scenery (which is very annoying).

The only feature of serious note is Tim Follin‘s atmospheric music, which is excellent.

The developer/publisher were also very short-sighted in calling the game “The Final Quest“, because it simply wasn’t (as if they thought that their game would be the be-all and end-all of the Gauntlet series… As if!). Numerous Gauntlet games came out after this, in both arcades and on home systems. In fact, Gauntlet 4, which came out in 1993, is arguably the best game in the entire series, IMHO. It’s certainly a lot better than Gauntlet III…

Gauntlet III: The Final Quest was also released for the Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.

More: Gauntlet III: The Final Quest on Wikipedia