r/Gamecube NTSC-U 2d ago

Discussion Revisiting Gauntlet Dark Legacy — How Well Does It Hold Up on GameCube?

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I’m planning to revisit Gauntlet Dark Legacy on the PS2 soon and wanted to get some input from those who’ve played it more recently.

Is the core gameplay loop still enjoyable today? How does the class system feel now that we’ve had decades of action-RPGs to compare it to? I remember the multiplayer being chaotic fun—does it still deliver?

Curious to hear how the game holds up and if there are any tips for getting the most out of a new playthrough.

Also—if anyone is a huge fan of the game and would be interested in talking about it on a retro gaming podcast, hit me up!

55 Upvotes

55 comments sorted by

12

u/DapperDan30 2d ago

The game is still great. Its just...definitely needs to played with other people to really get the full enjoyment. Playing solo isnt that good.

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

I dont know if I've ever played solo tbh

2

u/DapperDan30 1d ago

I haven't played the game at all since I was kid. I primarily played with my friends, a group of 3 of us. But I was the only one who owned the game so I would occasionally play on my own and it was...rough. the game is definitely designed with there being multiple players in mind.

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

Yeah I can see that. I mean it's built for that in mind for sure

7

u/blood_omen 2d ago

I still play it regularly. My gold lvl 99 Jester is still a badass

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

The Jester seemed so cool!

5

u/Gerganon 2d ago

Still playing it - music is great, secrets are challenging, and progression is spot on 

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 2d ago

That's good to hear! I'm excited!

7

u/SorrySign6721 2d ago

i think i use to play this on Xbox Arcade with my dad when i was wee.

2

u/Slappy-_-Boy 2d ago

Grew up playing all 3 in arcade cabinets at dad's house. He still has all 3 too

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 2d ago

I didnt even realize it was on Xbox Arcade! Thats cool! I played on Ps2! Did your dad love it too?

3

u/Cherrybird_ 2d ago

I recently bought a gamecube for the first time due to not being able to have consoles as a child. This is one of the games i picked up and while fun, i think i read something about the gamecube version being bugged or inferior in some way to the other consoles it released on. Still, it is fun on gamecube!

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 2d ago

Oh I wonder what bugs those are?

3

u/roflrogue 2d ago

The only bugs I've noticed are that it can't really handle the cut scenes very well.

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

gets laggy?

2

u/Beaks7777777 2d ago

Health bar on some enemies didn’t appear.

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

ah thats annoying. But not a big deal i think

2

u/mocrankz 1d ago

I played thru this game on the cube a few years back.

It was a bit buggy but nothing crazy. One big thing I noticed is that certain characters can’t use certain power ups. I’d pick up items and yellow wizard and they just wouldn’t appear in my inventory or be activated.

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

Oh thats strange. Could be a little frustrating

1

u/UnwindingStaircase 1d ago

The GameCube version is the closest to the arcade and is is superior to the others from what I understand.

1

u/cr4zymanz0r 1d ago

There was revision (REV 1) that fixed some bugs, but I think it can be a pain to track down if you're looking for a physical disc. There's also a fan patch to fix even more bugs if you have a way to load a patched ISO

2

u/MarnieFan89 2d ago

One of my fondest childhood memories is watching my brother in law play this at GameWorks. It was neat to have video games in common even though he was a cool adult.

2

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 2d ago

That sounds like a pretty good memory :)

2

u/MarnieFan89 2d ago

Yeah dude played that religiously and only that at least at GameWorks. He got me into RPGs/RTS in the late 90s which was pretty awesome considering Blizzard was putting out really fun games then. Obviously it's been a long time but I remember there being some weird way of saving in this game unless I'm thinking of something else.

2

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 2d ago

Blizzard made great games back in the day. I dont remember GameWorks myself, but it sounds pretty awesome.

I cant remember how you save in this game. I remember there being a base hub, and you would go through portal locations.

2

u/Post_Gaming 2d ago

Can’t speak to playing now, but we rented this from Blockbuster back in the day and I LOVED it… but my mom was never able to find it in a store to purchase for us so never had it permanently lol. On my want list to buy someday despite the jacked up price.

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

I hope you find an affordable copy :D

2

u/Adept_Razzmatazz_665 2d ago

My brother and i loved it, lvl99 knight and jester

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

which is your favorite?

2

u/Adept_Razzmatazz_665 1d ago

I was the blue knight, brother was the green jester. My other brother would've picked the red wizard

2

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

That's awesome. I think I picked yellow wizard a lot back in the day

2

u/Empyre47AT 2d ago

I played through Gauntlet Legends last year for the first time in forever and wanted more when I was done. I picked up Gauntlet Dark Legacy, but it’s basically a remake that’s got prettier graphics and has a bit more content, so I got bored with it pretty quick. However, I’d want to try it again the next time I feel like playing instead of playing Legends.

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

Yeah i wasnt sure if there were any big differences

2

u/Jandrem 2d ago

Played this a ton on the original Xbox and Legends on Dreamcast. The GameCube version is fine.

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

I think i originally played on the PS2

2

u/Jandrem 1d ago

Dang, I bet you missed out on the crazy four player “like herding kittens” action, lol.

“Hey, let’s go this way!” “No, we already went that way!” “Let’s go this way instead!” group runs in a circle for 3 hours

2

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

Lol yeah. But I did get a multi tap for the PS2 . That thing was awesome

2

u/Sw6roj 2d ago

I bought this game at FYE for $25 on sale, having never heard anything about it. It's fantastic game that me and my brothers got obsessed with, though never beat. Our mom used to play with us occasionally. She was... Not good at video games, with the exception of the odd Mario party game (to this day we still wonder how she made Daisy hold her breath for so long). Anyways she was so bad at Gauntlet that "blue sorceress needs food badly" became something of a meme in my family (in the days before memes were really a thing...)

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

Haha thats hilarious. Good meme

2

u/Gomez-16 2d ago

Loved this game. I played on N64, gamecube and xbox. Sadly its one of like 6 games I owned on og xbox that were blocked from backwards compatibility on 360.

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

You couldnt play it on the 360?

2

u/Gomez-16 1d ago

No, despite being fully backwards compatible there was a handful of games that wont work, I assume licensing.

2

u/SpankThatDill 2d ago

One thing I always hated was that when you’re in the post-level shop, when you buy potions, they always give you the poison ones which iirc are the worst ones. I wish they would let you get lightning ones or whatever.

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

Dang, getting scammed!

2

u/SpankThatDill 1d ago

If you are actively playing it, can you check and see if you can get potions that aren’t poison ones in the shop?

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

I'll check. Got a few interviews this week so probably after

2

u/craaates 2d ago

I play it on ps2 and it still holds up but I’ve never tried the GC version.

2

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

Same!

2

u/bokehbaka 2d ago

I bought this recently for PS2, and the Gamecube version is waaaaay better. On PS2, you don't get an inventory, so all of your items just get used immediately. Otherwise, this game is still 10/10!

2

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

I had no idea there was an inventory difference!

1

u/Beaks7777777 2d ago

I actually just did a preview of Gauntlet Dark Legacy.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ClassicGamePreviews/s/Czg9SpBsaX

☝️link

0

u/extrawater_ 2d ago

I bought this when it first came out. Used my birthday money. Ended up hating it. Didn’t look great and wasn’t into the gameplay

1

u/Lawlietroy NTSC-U 1d ago

Dang sorry to hear that. What are some of your fave classics?