Two Gauntlet Arcade Game Commercials, One for Arcades and One for the NES

I’ve always loved Gauntlet II, and today I’m sharing two classic commercials from the Gauntlet series. With only two years between them, it’s kinda stunning how dramatically different the two commercials are from each other.

First up is the 1985 commercial for the original game. I shared this same commercial about four years ago (posted here), and today I’m still impressed by the design and animation of the commercial. Remember, this is shortly after the pinnacle of Dungeons & Dragons popularity, so the look of the commercial shouldn’t be all that surprising.

Next up is the 1987 commercial for the NES version of Gauntlet II. Instead of great animation we get a goofy “cool” kid of the eighties trying to drag an arcade cabinet home. The first commercial is clearly the better of the two!

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• Arcade designs reveal Gauntlet’s secret life (polygon.com)
• Arcade Classic Gauntlet Is Getting A Remake (kotaku.com)