To say that Dungeon Explorer was "inspired" by the classic Gauntlet is a bit of an understatement. But Dungeon Explorer adds a surprising amount of depth onto Gauntlet's base, and the end result is one of the best adventure games on the TurboGrafx.

After choosing a character class, you must set off on a quest to destroy Natas (it's "Satan" backwards, get it?) who is threatening the land. But you don't have to go it alone -- up to four friends can join you on your journey.

And you'll probably need them. Until you can sufficently level up your character, you can expect to die. A lot. And then have to use a password to get back to where you once were, since the VC's auto-save system is useless here.

But past the initial frustration, Dungeon Explorer holds a lot of goodies. In the later levels, the action gets to be quite intense in a good way, with some pretty impressive boss encounters.

Some note must also be made of the soundtrack, which is among the most impressive output ever put on a TurboGrafx card game, and makes excellent fodder to slay shemps to.