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I'm pretty sure the Japanese spin-offs now outnumber the main Wizardry games which is pretty hilarious.

I really wish we could get (physical) reissues of things like the Ultima Collection, Ultimate Wizardry Archives, and so on.... Hell even that D&D Anthology released a few years back is now out-of-print and expensive.

Ack wrote:Does Wizardry have the same kind of plot grouping across entries?

Yeah, there are two different metaplots.

Wizardry I, II and III are set one after the other, with the characters of III being the descendants of the first game. They are not very plot-heavy games so it doesn't matter much in practice but originally II and III weren't even standalone, they required you to import a party from I.

Wizardry IV starts mere minutes after the end of Wizardry I. You play as the bad guy and requires heavy knowledge of Wizardry I to be beaten.

Wizardry V has a different designer from the other four and started a series of changes that would come in full force for the last games. It's standalone but it gets very little attention compared to any other entry of the series.

Wizardry VI, VII and VIII had a different world, blend of science fiction and fantasy. As far as I can tell, it's a satirical take on stolen McGuffins by a bad guy called the Dark Savant which is the final boss of the last game. Characters from previous games appear in subsequent ones but I jumped directly into 8 and I'm not getting lost so all is good.

Then there are all those Japanese games that who knows what are up to. I'm told many took satirical elements of the series seriously which is hilarious


Personally, while not being an expert in the series or anything, I think it's a choice between the classicism of I and the well-done modernity of 8.

While there are some that prefer VII, concensus on the internet seems to be that 8 is the best game in the series with many stating outright that it has the best combat of any RPG.

But it's a modern game and if you want something that feels retro, the choice is Wizardry I. It's a very clean design and I think it has held up very well but it's unmistakeably a 1981 game because half of the challenge is in the mapping and knowing when to retreat to your base. When I have time, I'll probably try to beat it because it's shorter than its sequels and not that hard.

EDIT: Ninja!

Here's a question for you guys, would you play Ultima on the go or do I need to sit down and take notes and map things out?

Erik_Twice wrote:Here's a question for you guys, would you play Ultima on the go or do I need to sit down and take notes and map things out?

Haha, oh no, not at all. While I recommend having a map for Ultima, you do not need to draw it yourself. You only need to enter one dungeon in the entire game, as all dungeons contain the same monsters on the same levels. Most of the real meat of the game takes place in the overworld, which has a top down perspective. The game also provides a map when you go to space.

Sorry, I mean "Ultima" as in the series, not as the first game. I was actually thinking more of playing Ultima IV

Anyone know if there are any good mods for Diablo II: LoD?

Erik_Twice wrote:Sorry, I mean "Ultima" as in the series, not as the first game. I was actually thinking more of playing Ultima IV

In that case, you might still consider it for dungeons, but I don't think you'll need it for the world map or anything. But it's a good idea to write down important info, like what shops sell what goods and such.

o.pwuaioc wrote:Anyone know if there are any good mods for Diablo II: LoD?

There's a lot.

http://d2mods.info/

Any of the major mods with their own forum on there is a good bet. I spent a lot of time with Eastern Sun, which I felt was a good balance of new and existing. Some of the mods get close to full TC status.

Erik_Twice wrote:Here's a question for you guys, would you play Ultima on the go or do I need to sit down and take notes and map things out?

For Ultima IV I found that actually taking notes (and marking up a printout of the map) is really the core of that game. The goal isn't based around fighting a tough boss, instead it's mostly about understanding the "rules" you need to follow in order to become the Avatar. I'd basically go into a town, talk to everyone and write down everything that seemed important, go to another town and repeat. I thought it was also way more satisfying than it sounds once you get the hang of what the game wants you to do!

I'm pretty sure I was also the only person to actually complete the game for Together Retro so this gameplay style obviously doesn't suit everyone...

Yeah, that's what I thought. I think I'll leave it for another time, then, because I'm now busy with Wizardry on the PC side. (Also, I don't think the game will work on me after I was spoiled, see below)

By the way, I watched Spoony's interview with Richard Garriot and it's really interesting. Garriot talks a lot about what kind of principles he seeked in his games and compares to other games of its era. Really good stuff, I recommend it a lot.

Sadly, there's a huge game-spoiling tibit of information when he talks about the morality of Ultima IV. It's the kind of thing that makes half of the game don't work like it should so if you want to play it, skip Part 2 of the interview (A shame, because it's the best part).