Home GameQuest Direct Gamers' Resource Classic Game Corner: Gauntlet: Dark Legacy

Classic Game Corner: Gauntlet: Dark Legacy

If your only contact with the Gauntlet franchise since the 80s is the occasional, ironic “Wizard needs food badly” joke, then Gauntlet: Dark Legacy may surprise you. A revamp of 1998's Gauntlet: Legends, Dark Legacy introduces four new character classes, expanding on the classic foursome of Fighter, Elf, Wizard and Valkyrie. The game also revamps the dated one-button attack mechanic used in the previous game, letting players choose between a quick, weak attack and a slower, more powerful one that can be used in tandem to create combo attacks.

Beyond the addition of the Sorceress, Dwarf, Knight and the bomb throwing Jester to the lineup, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy incorporates new items into the store and adds five new levels.

The gameplay of Dark Legacy, however, is classic Gauntlet. You and up to three friends romp across a mazelike dungeon or landscape, gleefully dispatching an outrageous number of enemies that stand in your path and destroying the monster generators that spawn them.

Just like any Midway arcade game, there are a ton of hidden cheat codes that enhance the fun of Gauntlet: Dark Legacy. Try these codes to unlock some very special characters, and try to find more of your own:

AYA555 - Play as Japanese Schoolgirl
RIZ721 - Play as Quarterback
RAT333 - Play as Warrior Rat
DARTHC - Play as bald character with black cape
GARM99 - Play as the Wizard Garm
TWN300 - Play as blue/orange Valkyrie with a scythe
BAT900 - Play as Centurion
CEL721 - Play as Cheerleader
MTN200 - Play as General
SKY100 - Play as Green Alien
CSS222 - Play as Baseball Bat
TAK118 - Play as Ninja
CAS400 - Play as special Warrior
KJH105 - Play as stick figure with a baseball cap
KAO292 - Play as Waitress
DES700 - Play as Wizard in desert garb

If you're craving some old-school arcade action without the blocky graphics or laggy gameplay, give Gauntlet: Dark Legacy a spin. It manages to make a good game (Gauntlet: Legends) better and it's way, way better than the next revamp of the series, 2005's Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows. GameQuest Direct has Gauntlet: Dark Legacy available on PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox.