I don't know about the arcade Gauntlet, but the NES Gauntlet is terrible!! You no sooner start the game, and then you're almost out of energy, and even if you work hard to not get hit by enemies, you eventually die, anyway, because your energy is constantly running out! And the clues to get into the final levels are impossible to find. It would surprise me if anyone's ever beaten this game legitimately without a Game Genie or something.
"No one can withstand the power of KAIN"