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Gauntlet: Dark Legacy is the sixth installment created by Midway Games in the Gauntlet series. It is a remake to Gauntlet: Legends.

Dark Legacy greatly expanded the world of Legends. It doubled the amount of characters and Realms, and added a slew of new monsters and items. Dark Legacy also increased the game's speed and added new effects graphics, as well as increasing the resolution of the current ones. Some of the music has been remixed or swapped out, and new songs have been added for the new areas. The biggest change involves the new Realms and the areas within; nearly every area has changed in some fashion, whether it be different item layouts, new hazards, or different foes.

Story[]

The opening narration:

"In an ancient time the evil mage Garm, using the power of the runestones, released a great evil upon the land. This demon, Skorne, broke free of Garm's control, crushing him and imprisoning his soul in the underworld. Skorne then released his minions upon the lands, and scattered the runestones across the Eight Realms so that they might never again be assembled and used against him.

"No one has dared try... until now."

Basically, Sumner's brother Garm seeks to release Skorne from the Underworld. Sumner has summoned the four mighty heroes, plus four new ones, to stop Garm from releasing Skorne. They must travel to 8 Realms and destroy the forces therein if they're to stand a chance against a true demon.

Gameplay[]

The usual top-down, 3/4ths viewpoint is back, but now in a 3D environment. The game takes the game elements of the previous Gauntlet: Legends, remixes them a little, and adds in a slew of new content.

In the arcade version, progress is much more linear and players don't have the ability to fight a boss separately from the rest of the level. Thus the legendary weapons are all hidden in the same level as the boss.

Another major difference is that, in the console versions, there is an inventory system which lets players save items for later use after picking them up. On the Gamecube, this function was controlled with the D-pad.

Characters[]

The four iconic characters return: 

In addition, there are four newcomers:

  • Dwarf (Mirrors the Warrior in Strength, slightly lower speed but higher armor)
  • Knight (Mirrors the Valkyrie in Armor, slightly higher strength but lower magic)
  • Sorceress (Mirrors the Wizard in Magic, slightly lower strength but higher speed)
  • Jester (Mirrors the Archer in Speed, slightly lower strength but higher magic)

Each character possesses a Beast Within, an alternate character with better stat growth. These characters are earned by collecting Coins in Treasure Rooms.

Every character (save the secret ones) can be changed into one of four colors: red, blue, green, and yellow. in addition to altering the accents on the character's equipment, the color changes the look of the character's physical appearance. The general themes are:

  • Red - Scandinavian features and clothing made of red cloth with grey fur accessories.
  • Green - Tanned skin, red-brown hair and clothes that are mostly green cloth with prominent leather belts with brass buckles.
  • Blue - Light skin with dark brown hair that often has grey streaks. Medieval Europe themed blue clothing that often has scale mail elements.
  • Yellow - Dark skin that usually has black hair, clothing is mostly flowing robes.

For the beast forms color choice changes clothing color, but typically has no other effect.

In addition to appearances, the color selected makes bomb potions of the respective color slightly more effective. (I.E. yellow-light magic, red-fire magic)

Realms[]

All realms return, with the addition of newer realms and levels. Each character hails from a different realm.

Abilities[]

  • Melee - Heroes will automatically fight monsters if they run into them. Holding down the Quick Attack button will cause them to fight faster, and using the Slow Attack button will start combo attacks.
  • Combo Attack - In melee, holding down the Slow Attack will allow the character to perform powerful melee strikes that will give them breathing room against the hordes. Each character's combo attacks deal elemental damage.
  • Quick Attack: This is a hero's basic ranged attack. Quick Attacks are subject to gravity, and will fall after a certain distance.
  • Slow Attack: This is much stronger than the Quick Attack, but also comes out slower. It's power causes knockback, even to Gargoyles. Generals and Golems will try to block this attack.

Items[]

Special Items[]

Note: some of the Secret Codes give permanent items.

Legendary Weapons[]

Consumables[]

Consumables are items that are either used immediately or have a singular passive purpose.

Collectibles[]

Enemies[]

Enemy Class[]

Starting the trend for future installments, monsters come in three levels of strength and are spawned by monster generators. Destroying these generators is a primary goal of the game and is essential for stopping the flood of monsters.

Bosses[]

All Legends bosses has returned in Dark Legacy, and comes with three brand-new bosses.

Dressings[]

Gallery[]

Gauntlet series
Classic Era Gauntlet (The Deeper DungeonsNES Edition)Gauntlet IIGauntlet: The Third EncounterGauntlet III: The Final QuestGauntlet IV
Legends Era Gauntlet: Legends (PlayStationNintendo 64Dreamcast)Gauntlet: Dark Legacy (GameBoy Advance)Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows
Modern Era Unreleased Gauntlet DSGauntlet 2014 Reboot (Slayer Edition)
Books Gauntlet: Paths of EvilGauntlet: Paths of FearGauntlet: Darkness Calls
Other Media Reaper MiniaturesGauntlet & Gauntlet II: Limited EditionGauntlet / Rampart
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