Gauntlet II: A Good Sequel but Nothing New

Gauntlet II isn’t too different from the first game. The gameplay is essentially the same, the same four characters are in the game, and the graphics are mostly the same. This isn’t all that surprising given that the game was released shortly after the first in the arcades.

This was a conversion kit for the first game. Conversion kits were a way for arcade companies to curtail the rising costs of new arcade cabinets. All you needed was a game that had the same controls as the original cabinet, which is why Gauntlet II fit that bill. It was another four-player game and didn’t have any radical changes from the first game.

The NES port was released at an odd time for Tengen. The legal issues between Tengen and Nintendo had been resolved. There was also a piece of hardware that Gauntlet II took advantage of. Gauntlet II took advantage of the Four Score, which meant you could play with three other people, assuming that you have three friends who wanted to play Gauntlet II.

TLDR: A solid NES game that is a minor improvement over the first game in the series.

Narrative

You can kind of tell when a company isn’t doing well or when they don’t care about a game based on how the manual looks. Gauntlet II has a very boring manual that looks a little cheap. There isn’t a story in this game, so I can only assume it is the same as the previous game.

Since this is just an expanded version of the first game, the story is basically the same. I couldn’t find any reference to the game’s story, but the character names are the same. This isn’t all that surprising for an arcade game.

Atari did this a lot, not just with their arcade games. Their console games were also thin on story. Gauntlet II isn’t any different from the other games that were being released by Atari in the mid 1980s. It was different, but they didn’t give it that something that would elevate it. Having more of a story would’ve been that thing to elevate it.    

Gameplay

I like the gameplay in Gauntlet II because it is basically the same as the previous game. There were a few new things added, but none of the make drastic changes to the gameplay. The controls are still good, but it gets harder as the game goes on,  

This game is an extended version of the first game. You can choose from the same four players from the first game, and there are a lot of stages to play through. There are new enemies, items, and ricochet shots.

Levels are also randomized, and some can be rotated 90 degrees. This game added a few different elements, like magic walls and stun tiles. Stuff like this does a lot of heavy lifting when comparing this game to the previous.

There is also a secret room that you can find. It contains some power ups, such as food and magic potions. These potions can increase a character’s power, speed, or armor.

Despite these improvements, it is the same thing. I enjoyed the core gameplay from the first game, and this is largely the same. Gauntlet II has a few new things, but it isn’t anything new. I do like the additional stages, enemies, and possible players.

Visuals

Gauntlet II looks a little better on the NES. There isn’t too much else to say about this as it isn’t all that different. The game does have a few more levels, so there is something.

I do like how this game looks. The enemies, stages, and player characters all look good. There are also a few dragons that take up multiple squares. This is something pretty cool, and they look good for the time.

Overall, the graphics are better than the first. It isn’t amazing, but it looks good on the NES. This is a bigger game than the first, and they do throw a lot at the player. I didn’t notice a lot of slowdown or sprite flickering when I played this game.

8/10. I like Gauntlet II, but I liked the first game, and this is basically a rehash of that game. A lot of arcade games are like this. While there is some new content, it doesn’t go far enough for me.

Pros

• Four-Player mode
• Good Controls
• Decent Graphics

Cons

• Basically the same as before
• Repetitive
• No new characters or story

Conclusion

I was struggling to find something to say about this game. It is a fun game if you like this sort of thing. It is an expanded version of the first game, and it didn’t come up with a story that explains anything.

These Gauntlet games really show some of the problems with Atari from a creative standpoint. They make some very good arcade games, but struggle to translate those games to the home console. Atari did a great job of creating fun and unique arcade games, but when it came to keeping up with the changes in the industry, they totally failed.

There are a few more Gauntlet games before Midway got the rights to it, but only one that I want to go over. The Midway instalments would keep the arcade feel, but also make for good console ports. Not all of them were good, but they did a lot of things right. I’ll have to save those for another time, though.

If you like this post, check out some of my other posts about NES games. Such as Paper Boy or Gauntlet.