I’m looking for the name of a game I remember playing in the late 1980′s/ early 1990′s at my local arcade hall.
It was a dungeon crawl type game – moving through dungeons, collecting treasure, fighting monsters.
For some reason the game Dragon’s Lair comes to mind (that was a cool game for its time), but I don’t remember any top down dungeons being part of that game, as that was more an interactive adventure type game. It could be that I remember Dragon’s Lair because it was next to the game I’m thinking of. Not sure.
What kind of genre would the game I’m thinking of be? Just arcade? Not rpg since you really just went through the dungeon and killed stuff and collected things and there wasn’t any xp or stat elements to it, since it was an "arcade" game that reset itself if you ran out of quarters
Anyway, If anyone knows of any dungeon crawl type games made in the very late 1980′s to the early 1990′s that were out there in the arcades (probably no later than 1995), please let me know – I would appreciate it!
Also, If you don’t know the name could you list any web sites that cater to mostly arcade games – not home video games as this was not a home game (at least I don’t think it was) I would appreciate it.
Thank you for your time!
Since it was one of the more popular arcade games at the time, I believe you’re thinking of Gauntlet.
It came out in 1985 by Atari Games. It’s considered a milestone in gaming history because it was the first game that featured cooperative multiplayer.
"Released during the emergence of popularity of other role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, the game was a sensation, being one of the first true dungeon crawl arcade games." (wiki)
I too have fond memories of this game. This, and the other game you mention, Dragon’s Lair, were two games that really got me interested in the whole D&D scene, and RPG gaming. I think many people out there have similar experiences with these two games.
For those people in the younger generation who haven’t tried it, go ahead and try out a pen & paper D&D style game – I highly recommend it.
Also, you should check out youtube (and other sites) and do a search on Gauntlet – there’s a surprising amount of gameplay videos, and fansites as well.