Gauntlet II

[wyethin]

I bought a copy of Gauntlet II for Game Boy this week, having never played it originally. The first thing I noticed was the hilariously poor quality of the digitized voice, which always makes me jump and then lol at the horrible grinding sound coming out of my Game Boy.

Anyway, I have a few questions for the Gauntlet-savvy.

1. The Game Boy version seems very similar to the NES version. Are there any differences other than the obvious graphics and sound?

2. Do all the early Gauntlet releases have frame-rate issues? Mine just tanks when a bunch of sprites are on-screen. It's manageable but definitely distracting.

3. How does melee work exactly? Do I really just charge into enemies? Should I be mashing on the attack key at the same time?

4. It seems some enemies can't be engaged in melee but just get absorbed by your character. Does this apply only to ghosts and Death or are there others as well?

5. When the game mentions "magic" is it only referring to potions?

6. How do armor/weapon upgrades work? Do they stack? Also, do upgrades carry over to subsequent levels? Does anything carry over?

7. The manual (which is worthless) says in bold: "WARNING: Do not pick up too many keys!" Yet evidently this wasn't important enough to explain. GameFaqs is also curiously silent on the topic. What does this refer to?

8. Are the maps random, given in random order or something else entirely?

9. What is the conventional wisdom concerning character choice? i.e. Elf is the suck, Warrior is overpowered, etc.

http://ui28.gamefaqs.com/955/gfs_38604_2_2.jpg

10. Does anyone else think Merlin looks a lot like the Dude from The Big Lebowski? Just me, probably.

Any and all other tips, tricks, abuse and nostalgia appreciated.

[pseudonym]

I'm only familiar with the NES Gauntlet games, but I'll try to help. Someone else will likely correct me if I'm wrong.

3. If I remember right, certain enemies can only be killed by running into them.
8. The maps are random and start to repeat the longer you play.
9. Generally speaking the Elf and the Wizard are the best characters on the NES Gauntlet games. Speed is a more useful asset over power in these games, and their "bombs" (as I call them) can clear the screen of enemies, I think.

[Rob2600]

I bought a copy of Gauntlet II for Game Boy this week, having never played it originally. The first thing I noticed was the hilariously poor quality of the digitized voice,

On the NES, the digitized voice samples in Gauntlet II were excellent. I guess that didn't carry over into the Game Boy version.

[Baloo]

7. The manual (which is worthless) says in bold: "WARNING: Do not pick up too many keys!" Yet evidently this wasn't important enough to explain. GameFaqs is also curiously silent on the topic. What does this refer to?

The only logical explanation I can think of for this one is the situations where there are hordes of enemies behind locked doors that you can bypass. Since going right up to the door with a key unlocks door (and all the enemies) I guess it would be best to not hold too many keys in case you have to go past said doors. But that's just a theory.


8. Are the maps random, given in random order or something else entirely?

The maps are numbered, but they are random.


9. What is the conventional wisdom concerning character choice? i.e. Elf is the suck, Warrior is overpowered, etc.

Personally I'd go with the warrior. His brute force allows him to last longer against lots of enemies, and he can barrage through enemies to obtain chests and more points.

[Flack]

Magic refers to potions, yes.

The reason you don't want to pick up too many keys is that there is a maximum amount of items you can carry. If you are full of keys, you can't pick up potions.

Wizard has the least armor, but is the most powerful magic user. Elf is the fastest, but also has relatively weak armor. Warrior is strong, but slow, and the worst magic user. I usually pick Valkyrie -- she's not too slow, relatively powerful, and still a decent magic user. It's a good well-rounded character.

Oh, and "melee" is, like you said, just running into people.

Death can be killed by magic potions.