2008 Backbone Entertainment
Platform: Nintendo DS
As part of the launch and release of The Games That Weren’t book, we are adding assets and content that didn’t make it to print as bonus DLC content to share with you.
Within the book is a 10 page discussion Q/A piece on Gauntlet DS, talking to Creative director Micah Russo, technical director David Sullivan, sound designer and composer Yannis Brown, original lead engineer Adam Rippon, lead artist Tracey King, and artist Gerald Broas.
Designed as a modern take on the classic arcade series, the game retained the original four playable heroes whilst introducing character levelling, online and local multiplayer, voice chat and a brand new 3D engine built specifically for the Nintendo DS. It was showcased publicly at events, featured on Nintendo DS Download Stations and reviewed by a number of magazines before release, with many expecting it to hit the shelves in late 2008.
Sadly, despite reaching completion and even being reviewed by publications such as Retro Gamer magazine, the decision was ultimately made not to release the game as the market for Nintendo DS titles of this type had begun to dry up. It was a hugely disappointing outcome for the team after years of work.
Thankfully, if you know where to look, the completed game can now be found online and experienced for yourself.
Whilst putting together the Q&A feature, we also captured a number of new screenshots from the final leaked build and produced a high resolution scan of the promotional advert that unfortunately didn’t make it into the book. We’ve also included some fantastic character concept artwork by Arvin Bautista, all of which can be found below.
Video
Gallery
Where can you play to online?
We can’t give out links to it, but it will be floating around in places online.