Wizardry Franchise Returns After 10 Years
Wizardry is back, but not like you remember it... and not on the PC.
After a ten-year absence, the Wizardry franchise-- which was originally launched by publisher Sir-Tech back in 1981-- is finally making a return in Spring 2011.
The original Wizardry, now dubbed as the "Granddaddy of RPGs," made a huge impact on gaming when it launched in 1981 for the Apple II. The game was one of the first titles to use grid-based dungeon crawling gameplay. It was also reportedly the first to introduce a first-person perspective within a game although Maze War and Spasim have been noted to offer the first-person visuals prior to Wizardry. The overall series established a basic and classic command-driven battle system with still images of monsters to fight.
The last Wizardry title to appear on the market was the highly-popular Wizardry 8 back in 2001 for Microsoft Windows which actually served as the third chapter to the series' Dark Savant trilogy (which included Wizardry 6 and 7). And while the release of a new addition may be good news to long-time fans, there's a dark side to the story. In fact, long-time Wizardry fans may just want to kiss the old franchise goodbye and consider the new installment a reboot of the entire IP.
Here's why. For starters, Sir-Tech is no longer the publisher, handing the reigns over to XSEED Games. Secondly, the new Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls game isn't coming to the PC, Mac or even Linux-- it's arriving on the PlayStation Network. That's right, it's console-bound. If that wasn't disappointing enough, this version won't be like any other Wizardry title before it (although it seems to retain the old-school RPG gameplay), offering up Anime/Manga-style characters instead of the traditional designs conjured up by artists here in the States.
Yet despite the new look, the new platform and the new publisher, XSEED Games promises that the new installment (or reboot) will follow the "grand tradition" of the Wizardry series. "Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls features a deceptively simple game system complementing deep and involving dungeon designs," the company said Wednesday. "Hardcore RPG fans will find an extensive and grueling 1st-person 3D grid-based dungeon crawl experience rendered in high-definition with hand-drawn characters and sprites by famous commercial artist Yuki Hayabusa. Players will develop a party of up to six members culled from a rich mix of five races and eight classes, and prepare to encounter over 120 different monsters."
Little else is known about the new game save for that it was developed by ACQUIRE and previously released in Japan under the name Wizardry: Torawareshi Tamashii no Meikyū (Dungeon of Imprisoned Souls). XSEED Games said it will share more information about the new installment in the coming weeks. Maybe PC gamers will see the game later on in the year...? Will PC gamers even care?
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As a huge wizardy 8 fan I can say that I dont care about this game.
People shouldn't use the term grueling to describe a game experience, it really puts people off.
Japanese RPGs were/are heavily influenced by Wizardry so this isn't a complete surprise. I don't think the gameplay will be too different so if you an stomach the anime style it may be worth a look.
So it other words, some dudes made a game, and in order to increase sales pilfered the Wizardry brand.
Like what they did with Bard's Tale.
Japanese RPGs were/are heavily influenced by Wizardry so this isn't a complete surprise. I don't think the gameplay will be too different so if you an stomach the anime style it may be worth a look.
I can't. I just can't. I can name a whole epic marathon of things I'd rather do than attempt to stomach anime... frying my own testicles is pretty high on that list...
Cast BATU enough times and it might convert to a PC game . . .
I played the original a long time ago. Fond memories of using ZILWAN to do 2100+ points of damage to a 4-point undead kobold and TILTOWAIT on whole herds of critters. Then there are those secret cheats like creating a bishop and identifying item #9.
I can't. I just can't. I can name a whole epic marathon of things I'd rather do than attempt to stomach anime... frying my own testicles is pretty high on that list...
Your loss either way.
and here I thought Castle (the old ASCII game) was the granddaddy of dungeon games...
Screw Wizardry, DUKE NUKEM!
Hell, I'd still tap it.
W8ing eagerly for this one.....
1981-2011..Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that 20 years?
i loved 7 played it to death... i wish people would stop ruining the greats with garbage like this. anime of all things .... what a waste.
1981-2011..Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that 20 years?
[citation]The last Wizardry title to appear on the market was the highly-popular Wizardry 8 back in 2001 [/citation]
Consider yourself corrected.
Compared to Wizardry 7, the 8 was painful because of the very slow combats and the reworked class system. There were also some quest/character bugs which ruined the gameplay even further.
I guess the good old RPG times are not coming back anytime soon with all these dumbed-down console ports like Dragon Age 2.
Always something different to handle...
Cast BATU enough times and it might convert to a PC game . . .
Ill rather cast NoThx to this when games like Dragon Age 2 ect are around the Win PC!
The Wizardry series has been on consoles as far back as the NES. The Japanese have always took to the series way more fanatically then anywhere else, hence all the console ports of the series over the years, plus all the Gaiden (side stories) versions and such.
The SNES had some really good ports and most of the series was released on it, but overall, The FM-Towns had some of the best ports of the games, with CD audio and completely redrawn graphics.
Rant aside, Im still happy the series is alive in some shape or form, and am also glad that we'll finally be getting a state side release.
On a side note, the translation for Wizardry VI on the SNES is getting close to being complete, for those that are interested.
http://tico999.freeweb.hu/
Such a shame that the old school RPG's [Wizardry, Ultima, etc] are long forgotten and bastardized. Not interested in this in the least.
Wizardry was my inspiration to write a dungeon-crawl in Turbo Pascal way back when. I almost wish I'd done more with it...
I bought Gothic 1, 2+exp and 3 on steam for $6.
Better game, better gameplay, on steam, 3 full games, $6.
Steam deals are gonna keep putting these crap publishers in their place.
Eventually people will figure out that a $400 console and $50 games is a losing proposition vs. a $900 computer and $5 games (especially with computers being much more useful overall than any console).
And @schwing
2011
-1981
-----
30
Carry the "1".
I bought Gothic 3 on Steam, but could not DL the manual; I get partial progress then hangs (sometimes, but not always, there's a PDF-related error message), with multiple browsers. I discovered I could not DL other manuals for Steam games (like Civ V, Drakkensang, etc). I put a support ticket in, but have got no response in a week now. If you have the Gothic 3 manual, please send me a PM; I really need it. Thanks.
Ahhh, Wizardy 7... first RPG I ever played and to this date still the greatest. Would love to see the series resurrected but can't say I'm at all interested in the anime style, sorry. My initial giddiness at seeing this news article has now given way to major disappointment.
Another FF copycat using an old IP name. Emo protagonists with spiky hair, what could be better?
Sigh.
This makes me sad, very sad. They took one of my favorite RPG franchises of all time (along with the Gold Box games) and turned it into a crappy JRPG FF knockoff. I played every Wizardry game and loved them all (Return of Werdna was kinda different but still fun). I loved how incredibly brutal they were (pit traps, decapitating ninja enemys, failed resurrection spells, spinners, accidentally teleporting into solid rock ... etc), it gave you a real sense of accomplishment when you actually beat the game. It's not like the RPGs of today where you mostly feel as though you're just along for the ride. DA: O (before they patched it to make it easier) was a step back towards some good ol' fashioned nintendo hard.
1981-2011..Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that 20 years?
That's 30 years.
The Wizardry franchise has existed on console for a long long time. Claiming that Wiz 8 on the PC was the "last Wizardry title to appear on the market" is nonsense, there have been at least 9 "Wizardry"-branded games released after 2001. All on the PS2, DS, PSP and PSN.
However, these can ALL properly be considered spinoffs of the real series, as they do not (to my knowledge) follow or reference the original series (which in itself was not that continuous). To call Dungeon of Imprisoned Souls a reboot of the Wizardry franchise is just plain silly.