Tengen Advert - 1989

It would be years before I understood why our version of Gauntlet was so deformed when compared to other NES carts — they were “not designed, manufactured, sponsored, or endorsed by Nintendo.”

They were selling unlicensed Nintendo games:

I should also note that the Dizzy game was another unlicensed Nintendo game, but it came from the masochists over at Codemasters.

I’m pretty sure that Dizzy is completely unbeatable, even with a FAQ.

“Gauntlet” Feature - Nintendo Power #1 [July/August 1988]

I cannot say that I’ve ever liked Gauntlet, but it was one of our games that I spent several weeks of my childhood trying to beat. The game was seemingly endless and impossible to get through, especially when you had one of your asshole friends that’d go all lone wolf on you during a level and end up getting both of you killed.

On a completely unrelated note — rot in hell, Jared Mach.