Wizardry What makes a Wizardry game to you?

[Casual Hero]

Wizardry 7 wants to be a months long planetary romp, but it is marred by its own tedium and unpolished systems. Wizardry 7 feels like the halfway point to a truly great open-world RPG, but it falls a little short of its mark.

Roaming a single dungeon for random encounters and random loot is more interesting for you?

Well, yes. One huge difference between the early Wiz games and Bradley's version is the save system. In Wizardry 1, going down into the dungeon is a big deal; you might come out with phat loot, or with 2 dead characters. It all depends on how you prepare for your trip, and how far you decide to press your luck. The constant feeling of being on edge as you explore the maze is almost unmatched in any other gaming medium. Wizardry 7 has a lot of variation, yes, but like I was attempting to say: I feel like these extra bits and pieces don't always go together very cohesively.

PS: Itemization is not random in the original Wizardrys.

I love both Wizardry 7 and Grimoire, which expands on the D.W. Bradley formula.

So do you agree that Wizardry 7 and Grimoire are Bradley-like cRPGs, and not true Wizardry games?

 

[octavius]

Wizardry 7 wants to be a months long planetary romp, but it is marred by its own tedium and unpolished systems. Wizardry 7 feels like the halfway point to a truly great open-world RPG, but it falls a little short of its mark.

How is Wizardry 7 more tedious than the early Wizardries, when it has much more variation to offer: cities, shops, NPC's, factions, puzzles... Roaming a single dungeon for random encounters and random loot is more interesting for you?

Random encounters in Wiz 1 was more fun than fighting the same HP bloated enemies over and over and over again in Wiz 7. Wiz 7 has superior variety in some respects, but certainly not in the encounters! And with no random loot it just becomes a chore.

 

[Lady_Error]

There is random loot too, just not with every encounter.

As to people who prefer not being able to save and play a sort of ironman mode, well, everyone has their own taste.

I also don't know what parts do not “go together cohesively“ in your mind, AdvancedHero.

 

[mondblut]

you won't waste much time without making progress, and that is one of it's strengths.

Funny, I thought running back to town and back again after every second encounter is by the book definition of wasting time without making progress.

 

[V_K]

you won't waste much time without making progress, and that is one of it's strengths.

Funny, I thought running back to town and back again after every second encounter is by the book definition of wasting time without making progress.

No, that's fun, how can't you see it? The only thing that's even more fun is losing your party to a random encounter and creating and grinding a new one to go fetch their corpses. Especially if it's Wizardry 2 where creating and grinding a new party means going through Wizardry 1 all over again. See? Fun!!!

 

[mondblut]

No, that's fun, how can't you see it? The only thing that's even more fun is losing your party to a random encounter and creating and grinding a new one to go fetch their corpses. Especially if it's Wizardry 2 where creating and grinding a new party means going through Wizardry 1 all over again. See? Fun!!!

Too bad I missed all that joy thanks to emulator save states.

 

[Dorateen]

I'd vote for Bradley's mustache prose.

 

[Boleskine]

The most defining aspect of a Wizardry game is Brenda Romero being a playtester, and maybe helping to write the manual as well.

 

[Lady_Error]

The most defining aspect of a Wizardry game is Brenda Romero being a playtester, and maybe helping to write the manual as well.

What the fans of Wizardry 8 try to forget is that Brenda was the only writer and the lead designer of Wizardry 8:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizardry_8

No wonder I never liked that game. Even the copying of the time-tested Wizardry systems could not save it.

 

[Ysaye]

There is random loot too, just not with every encounter.

As to people who prefer not being able to save and play a sort of ironman mode, well, everyone has their own taste.

I also don't know what parts do not “go together cohesively“ in your mind, AdvancedHero.

I think the lack of cohesiveness comes from the fact that medieval, norse and eastern fantasy classes (Alchemists, Mages, Clerics, Lords, Bishops, Valkyries, Ninjas and Samurais) using old fashioned weapons (I don't think there is a modern weapon till Wiz 8) and magic pitted against pretty much (at least by Wizardry 7 and following into 8) a sci-fi setting including robots, "alien" races who are interstellar travellers with guns, spaceships, technology and other stuff that seemingly would dwarf any capability your party has. If we were talking "modern" versions of the medieval names then all good, but apart from the Valkyrie Vi we are given no hint as to how this is possibly supposed to coherently coexist or even how the party is competitive.

 

[Lady_Error]

I don't think there is a modern weapon till Wiz 8

There are. Wizardry 7 has not only muskets, but also a laser weapon or two. Plus the *LIGHT SWORD*, an obvious Star Wars reference.

pitted against pretty much (at least by Wizardry 7 and following into 8) a sci-fi setting including robots, "alien" races who are interstellar travellers with guns, spaceships, technology and other stuff that seemingly would dwarf any capability your party has.

Just because they can travel in starships (you arrive on a starship too, by the way) doesn't mean that they are much better in close combat. Especially if you consider that magic doesn't care about technology and works against it just fine. Robots are also nothing more than strong melee fighters with ranged weapons.

 

[V_K]

how this is possibly supposed to coherently coexist

It isn't, the party comes from a planet with low tech, high magic level and arrives at a planet with low tech, high magic level (except for the Helazoids, but they are hidden), along with some other parties with high tech, low magic level.

"alien" races who are interstellar travellers with guns, spaceships, technology and other stuff that seemingly would dwarf any capability your party has.

It's not that much different from a typical fantasy RPG narrative where your party goes against vastly more powerful dragons, demons and gods - and emerges victorious.
Hell, it isn't even that much different from Star Wars, where the baddies have the Death Star and lots of good it done them.

 

[Darth Canoli]

What the fans of Wizardry 8 try to forget is that Brenda was the only writer and the lead designer of Wizardry 8

So what ?
She did a great job. I never cared who wrote what but now i know, i'll erect a mini-statue in her honor in my garden.

Spoiler

And a gargoyle or a garden gnome in yours nearby

 

[Hobo Elf]

It's not Wizardry if my party didn't get wiped out by a series of unlucky Ninja crits.