Gauntlet Japan is a 1985 fantasy-themed hack-and-slash arcade game developed and released by Atari Games.^[3] It is noted as being one of the first multiplayer dungeon crawl arcade games.^[8][9] The core design of Gauntlet comes from 1983 Atari 8-bit dungeon crawl game Dandy, which resulted in a threat of legal action.^[10] It also bears striking similarities to the action-adventure maze game Time Bandit (1983).

Gauntlet Japan

The arcade version of Gauntlet was released in November 1985 and was initially available only as a dedicated four-player cabinet. Atari distributed a total of 7,848 arcade units.^[11] In Japan, the game was released by Namco in February 1986.^[5] Atari later released a two-player cabinet variant in June 1986, aimed at operators who could not afford or did not have sufficient space for the four-player version.^[2][12]

Gameplay – Gauntlet Japan

The game is set within a series of top-down, third-person, orthographic mazes where the object is to find and touch the designated exit in every level. An assortment of special items can be located in each level that increase the player’s character’s health, unlock doors, gain more points, and give magical potions that can destroy all of the enemies on screen.^[13]

Gauntlet Japan

Each player controls one of four playable fantasy-based characters: Thor, a warrior; Merlin, a wizard; Thyra, a valkyrie; or Questor, an Elf. The characters are named on the cabinet artwork, but in-game they are referred only by the title of their classes. Each character has his or her own unique strengths and weaknesses.

For example, the warrior is strongest in hand-to-hand combat, the wizard has the most powerful magic, the valkyrie has the best armor, and the Elf is the fastest in movement.^[14] The characters are assigned by control panel in the four-player version, whereas in the two-player version each player selects their own character at the start of the game or while joining during the middle of play.

The enemies are an assortment of fantasy-based monsters, including ghosts, grunts, demons, lobbers, sorcerers, and thieves. Each enters the level through specific generators, which can be destroyed. While there are no bosses in the game, the most dangerous enemy is Death, who can only be destroyed by using a magic potion—otherwise Death will vanish automatically after it has drained a certain amount of health from the player.^[13]

Hidden Room

Title Screen

Level Start

Warrior

Walkyrie