''Gauntlet IV'' is a 1993

action video game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform gam ...

developed by M2 and published by Tengen for the

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

. It is a port of the original Gauntlet, and was well received by critics.

Gameplay

''Gauntlet IV'' main mode is "quest mode", which combines the gameplay of the original game with a character-leveling system and item purchasing. Additionally, it includes "arcade mode", a port of the original game, "battle mode", a

deathmatch Deathmatch, also known as free-for-all, is a gameplay mode integrated into many shooter games, including first-person shooter (FPS), and real-time strategy (RTS) video games, where the goal is to kill (or "frag") the other players' characters a ...

game, and "record mode", a single-player only variant of arcade mode in which progress is kept track via a password.

Development and release

''Gauntlet IV'' began as a port of the original '' Gauntlet'' for the

Sharp X68000 The is a home computer created by Sharp Corporation. It was first released in 1987 and sold only in Japan. The initial model has a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1 MB of RAM, and lacks a hard drive. The final model was released in 1993 wit ...

produced as a homebrew project by a group of friends in Japan who would later form the development studio M2. It was picked up by

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, the makers of the original game, and used instead as the basis for a sequel for the Genesis published by Tengen, their home-publishing imprint. The game's soundtrack was composed by

Hitoshi Sakimoto is a Japanese video game music composer and arranger. He is best known for scoring ''Final Fantasy Tactics'' and ''Final Fantasy XII'', though he has composed soundtracks for over 80 other games. He began playing music and video games in elementa ...

and

Masaharu Iwata is a Japanese video game music, video game composer. After graduating from high school, where his musical projects included composing on a synthesizer and playing in a cover band, he joined Bothtec as a composer. He composed the soundtrack to se ...

Reception

Upon the game's release in 1993, ''

MegaTech ''MegaTech'' (sometimes styled with the katakana メガテケ) was a publication from EMAP aimed specifically at the Sega Mega Drive gaming market. The magazine was started in 1991. The launch editorial consisted of a small team including Paul ...

'' said that "the action is flawless" and had stood the test of time well. They continued that it was "a brilliant game, and one that warrants immediate attention". ''

Mega Mega or MEGA may refer to: Science * mega-, a metric prefix denoting 106 * Mega (number), a certain very large integer in Steinhaus–Moser notation * "mega-" a prefix meaning "large" that is used in taxonomy * Gravity assist, for ''Moon-Eart ...

'' praised the longevity of the game, saying it was "huge fun and a must-buy" and placing the game at No. 19 in their list of the best Mega Drive games of all time. Mega Top 100 feature,

Future Publishing Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...

, issue 14, page 87, November 1993

References

{{Gauntlet series 1993 video games Dungeon crawler video games Fantasy video games Hack and slash games Sega Genesis games Sega Genesis-only games Video game sequels Video games about valkyries Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Masaharu Iwata Video games scored by Hitoshi Sakimoto