Gauntlet

I love Gauntlet for the old NES, it's one of my favorite games from childhood. I was in a single player Gauntlet mood a couple weeks ago, even though to play solo is a guaranteed game over, and I popped it into my 26 year old NES, only to have it not work. After determining that the Nintendo itself was broken and not my Gauntlet cart, I gave the machine a tearful farewell and ordered this funny looking thing. It's a RetroDuo, it plays NES and SNES games, and was cheaper than me fixing my almost 3 decades-old Nintendy.

Gauntlet is a fairly difficult game, but not impossible. It certainly isn't on the Super Ghouls and Ghosts or Ninja Gaiden difficulty spectrum, in fact, with a buddy and 12 hours to kill, the dungeon can be conquered. Gauntlet is so great because of what other video games of it's time had to offer. Gauntlet gave you a choice of 3 characters, all different, but balanced, it had awesome music and a cooperative contest with your partner that had you racing each other for treasure, not kills. Gauntlet had bells and whistles that I had never even heard of at the time, and even though it could never compare to the superior arcade experience, the NES port was extremely satisfying. 

The successful Gauntlet player is not he who tanks, but he who lets others tank. Become the ranged wizard or archer, let your idiot friend be the warrior, watch him attract every mob on the screen, then steal every piece of gold for yourself. Dart for the keys the second the screen pans over them and never put your back in a corner. It's a Gauntlet, so the rooms are overwhelming and may seem to never end, but after 50 restarts and a couple broken treasure-truces with your co-op partner, Gauntlet can be defeated.

This is the music from the Gauntlet title screen that instantly brings me back to my 8 year old living room, collecting treasure while taking breaks only for Teddy Graham refills. Press play and experience the brilliance.