The Apple IIgs version of the arcade classic, Gauntlet, was first published by Mindscape in 1988. It’s a reasonable port, although it doesn’t have the variations in colour that most Gauntlet ports have. The levels in this version seem to be mostly the same colour – grey – with spot colours used for doors, items and monsters. Which is disappointing.
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Gauntlet, NES/Famicom
The 1988 NES version of Gauntlet was developed and published by Tengen, and – surprisingly – it doesn’t feature the levels from the arcade original, but does its own thing instead.
Gauntlet Legends, Arcade
Gauntlet Legends is the fifth game in the Gauntlet series and the first to take Gauntlet the full 3D route. It was a joint venture between Atari Games and Midway Games and was initially released into arcades in 1998.
Gauntlet 4, Megadrive/Genesis
Gauntlet 4 (aka Gauntlet IV) was developed by M2 and published by Tengen in 1993, exclusively for the Megadrive/Genesis. In some respects the development of this game is just as interesting as the game itself.
Gauntlet 4 began life as a homebrew remake of Gauntlet, among a small group of friends in Japan, for the Sharp X68000 home computer. Atari Games, the developer of the original Gauntlet, eventually caught wind of the project and commissioned the group (now named M2) to produce a sequel instead.
Diablo, PC
Developed by Blizzard North and first published by Blizzard Entertainment in 1997, Diablo is a classic point-and-click action/RPG that features quests, monsters, real-time combat, magic, and dungeon-delving, in a way that is meant to appeal to those who prefer a more immediate style of gameplay, than the more ‘hardcore’, turn-based style of many RPGs. And – as a result – Diablo was a smash hit, and spawned a series that still (infamously) persists to this day.
Seal of the Pharaoh, 3DO
Seal of the Pharaoh is a first-person dungeon-crawler with a tomb-raiding ancient Egyptian theme. It was developed by System Sacom and published in 1994, exclusively for the 3DO, by ASK Kodansha in Japan and Panasonic in North America.
Xanadu Next, PC
Xanadu Next was developed by Falcom and published for Windows PCs in Japan in 2005. It is a continuation of the Dragon Slayer series and a spin-off from Xanadu: Dragon Slayer II. The game remained untranslated into English until a worldwide release by XSEED Games in 2016. And I have to say: it’s a wonderful game, and is arguably the pinnacle of the long-running franchise.
Sorcerian: Dragon Slayer V, MSX
The fifth episode in the Dragon Slayer series – Sorcerian – was originally released in 1987 for the PC-88. The MSX2 version was ported by Tierheit and published – in Japan only – by Brother Industries (on their Takeru label) in 1991. A fan translation into English is available, but I did notice that there are still a few untranslated passages in the game.
Sorcerian: Dragon Slayer V, PC
Sorcerian is the fifth instalment in the Dragon Slayer series. It was originally released in 1987 – in Japan – for the PC-88, and the MS-DOS version was converted, localised into English and published by Sierra On-Line in 1990.
Legacy of the Wizard, NES/Famicom
Legacy of the Wizard is the North American localisation of Dragon Slayer IV, released for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Brøderbund in 1989. It’s a fantasy-based platform/action game featuring a family of four heroes – and their pet – on a mission to retrieve a mystical sword and slay a dragon, inside a sprawling dungeon.