Gauntlet Legends is a fantasy-themed, hack and slash dungeon crawler, categorized as a Main Game, originally released in 1998. The core gameplay involves navigating stages to defeat enemies and collect treasure, blending RPG progression with beat 'em up action. A distinctive feature for its time was the inclusion of password-based saving, allowing players to maintain character development and inventory across multiple arcade sessions.
The primary gameplay loop revolves around navigating various stages, defeating hordes of enemies, and collecting treasure. Players select a hero and delve into dungeons, utilizing a variety of weapons and magical abilities to overcome obstacles. The combat system emphasizes direct confrontation, requiring players to manage their health and resources while maximizing damage output against increasingly difficult adversaries.
A notable feature for an arcade title of its era was the inclusion of persistent character data. This allowed players to save their progress, including character development and inventory, enabling a longer-term investment in their adventure beyond a single session. This system supported ongoing character growth and customization over multiple visits.
The game plunges players into a world of high fantasy adventure. The core premise centers on the exploration of dangerous, monster-filled locales. The environment is designed to facilitate constant action, characteristic of the beat 'em up genre, overlaid with the character progression systems typical of an RPG.
This is fundamentally a hack and slash/beat 'em up experience with strong Role-playing (RPG) elements, designed primarily for the arcade platform. The focus is on immediate, visceral combat against waves of foes within dungeon environments.
As the main game release, the experience is self-contained as originally launched for the arcade platform. There are currently no officially released downloadable content (DLC) or expansion packs associated with this title.

The third and final console version of Gauntlet Legends, released in June of 2000. This version is most notable for being a near-direct arcade port, as the only console port to feature the four original Realms from the arcade original. However, some of their levels were completely redone, a new physics engine was used, and some of the soundtracks were remixed. Like the arcade version, there is no inventory. The player can only access the shop after completing a level. Special items are used on a time limit, which is slightly longer than the arcade version. The game is often criticized for not allowing players to buy food at the shop. This port includes many features from Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, including its 8 new character classes. The Poisoned Fields area is included as the first level in the Castle Stronghold. The Mausoleum is also accessible from a secret passage in the Castle Courtyard.

The second console version of Gauntlet Legends, released in March of 2000. This version is often criticized for its extreme diversity from the original arcade version. Most of the levels have been down-sized, many objects features buggy physics, and lack of four-player cooperative play (omitting Multitap functionality) gave the port relatively bad ratings. The game retains the inventory system from the Nintendo 64 version, the two new realms, and extensive cheat codes.

The first console version of Gauntlet Legends, released in September of 1999. This game introduced an inventory system that allowed players to stock and activate items after they were obtained, with a few exceptions (Invulnerability and Anti-Death Halo). This is also the first Gauntlet game to feature Sumner's tower and his shop. Four-player co-op is supported, but only by making use of the Expansion Pak.