Wizardry Wizardry: The Five Ordeals Steam release

[Ysaye]

few stat downs on levelling up as well

That's unfortunate, japs picking a bug and turning it into a features for decades is beyond me, the amount of shit a jap can endure is an example (to not follow) for us all.

My biggest bugbear is in the shop and inn where you can't swap characters without at least 4 or 5 key strokes which is a bit grating.

Wow, so no improvement at all?
How is equipment management and combat UI compared to say, Elminage?
What about spell names? Something intelligible? Well, it's probably not translated yet so scratch that.

Spell names have been translated to be generally explanatory (Heal, Sleep,Wizards Eye, Spark etc.) rather that traditional Wizardry spell names.

 

[aweigh]

Spell names have been translated to be generally explanatory (Heal, Sleep,Wizards Eye, Spark etc.) rather that traditional Wizardry spell names.

An unfortunate decision. The Wizardry true words of power are fantastic and losing the language worsens the experience.

EDIT: Could possibly be related to legal issues.

 

[aweigh]

Same here. It's very playable but will wait a bit.

If you want 100% english scenarios here is a list of old user ones that will be expanded over time.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1308700/discussions/0/5457797888013418956/

aweigh Dorarnae Have you played Five Ordeals scenarios in the past? how they compare to prisoners of the battle? How would you rated them from 1 to 10?

I played PotB to completion and enjoyed it very much (more than Labyrinth of Lost Souls). I used a japanese wiki to get th rough some parts of it, via Google translate.

Unfortunately I couldn't replicate the experience with Five Ordeals, the first scenario I tried had a lot of text that was necessary information for puzzle solving so I gave it up quickly. However, since Five Ordeals is essentially the same as PotB mechanically, then that alone means it has fantastic gameplay.

 

[Acrux]

Haven't followed this too closely. Are there major difference between this and Labyrinth of Lost Souls?

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I've noticed this on a lot of japanese games that are pseudo translated. Sometimes the game interface is fully translated but when it cones to cutscenes and dialog you get moonspeak jap. I get annoyed at voice acting as well and instead you get subtitles (at least in english).

As long as I can read everything in english then i can let voice acting slide (bit it must have english subs)

 

[Casual Hero]

Here is a rough translation of the scenario introductions that I took from the Japanese manual. There could be a few mistakes here, as I'm just feeding this through DeepL:

Traveler's Property (Clear Level: 25-30):

Spoiler

In Wentos, a town near the border, an incident has become a topic of conversation among the miners. According to a legend, if one can reach the depths of the palace with a certain sacred stone (which is said to be the key to the treasure, and is still kept in the country), one can obtain unlimited wealth.
At the same time this story spread, there was a rumor from somewhere that all the existing sacred stones were stolen by a group and brought into the ruins, and that the group was wiped out by a monster attack. If all of these rumors are true, anyone can get unlimited wealth if they can get the sacred stones that should still be left in the ruins.

Children of the Full Moon King (Clear Level: 14-16):

Spoiler

Count Selene was known as a powerful local lord. In addition to being a sound ruler, he had another face. He was the kind of the beastmen; the king of the non-humans. One day, Galaxias, the Count's aide and sorcerer, suddenly turned to the demon race. He first stole from Selene the jewel Cubemesis, which is said to control the navigation of the moon. Next, he took Selene's five children and imprisoned them somewhere in the castle.
Selene was so enraged that he immediately launched a counterattack, but was defeated in the face of Galaxias' army, which was armed with the jewel. Selene's body was turned into a tree and planted in the courtyard of the castle.
A few years later, in the capital city of Eirene, a single rumor was the talk of the town. It was that a new wizard names Neperay had taken up residence in the now ruined castle of Selene, and that he was taking demons and humans as his guests every night.
It is said that they invite people in to a party of such extravagance and beauty that it is beyond all description.

The Devoid of Apotheosis (Clear Level: 45-50):

Spoiler

The army of darkness led by the sorcerer Scotus began to invade the Holy Land of Areteia at the same time that the eastern nation of Angis began to invade the Kingdom of Kentron. The Holy Land fell soon after, and the ancient document "Codex of the Covenant" was taken by Scotus. No one has confirmed the survival of the League of Protectors, led by the knight Commander Curios, since the invasion.
Not long after the magic of the stolen Codex was released, the situation began to worsen. The earth cracked and many disasters struck the people. From the subterranean palace at the center of it all, more and more creatures emerged that seemed out of this world, wreaking all sorts of havoc on the kingdom. The earth rotted day by day, and with the further invasion of the dark forces, many people lost their lives.
Now the line of defense was retreating to the capital, Eirene.
I believe there is only one hope to save the kingdom from this situation. There is no other way but to get the Codex back from the hands of Scotus, who is said to still be in the underground palace, and gain the power to cause miracles. This power resides in the Codex.

The Pickled Man of Galvan (Clear Level: 15-20):

Spoiler

A mighty struggle had been going on for two hundred years between the monster that lurks in the depths of Galvan's labyrinth and the immortal sage, "The Pickled Man". Now, the trend of the battle is leaning towards the victory of the monster. The power of the Pickled Man has finally run out, and the deformed monster has increased its army to attack the cities of the earth. The people are waiting for the arrival of a hero to defeat the monster. Do you have the courage to face this challenge?

The Wheels of Flame (Clear Level: 15-18):

Spoiler

The King of Steel was strong, stern, and coarse, but he had the support of his people. His powerful leadership made his kingdom prosperous, until one day when this balance of power was shattered.
The King of Steel, who had set out with his guard to defeat the pagans who were said to be in hiding, disappeared. The minister was greatly distressed, and called for strong men from all over the country,
"Those who know the whereabouts of the King of Steel will be rewarded handsomely!"
You must find the king!

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Lol at this one:

Count Selene was known as a powerful local lord. In addition to being a sound ruler, he had another face. He was the kind of the beastmen; the king of the non-humans. One day, Galaxias, the Count's aide and sorcerer, suddenly turned to the demon race. He first stole from Selene the jewel Cubemesis, which is said to control the navigation of the moon. Next, he took Selene's five children and imprisoned them somewhere in the castle.
Selene was so enraged that he immediately launched a counterattack, but was defeated in the face of Galaxias' army, which was armed with the jewel. Selene's body was turned into a tree and planted in the courtyard of the castle.
A few years later, in the capital city of Eirene, a single rumor was the talk of the town. It was that a new wizard names Neperay had taken up residence in the now ruined castle of Selene, and that he was taking demons and humans as his guests every night.
It is said that they invite people in to a party of such extravagance and beauty that it is beyond all description.

It is a little beauty & the beast as well.

How could the DarkUnderlord let this happen?
The army of darkness led by the sorcerer Scotus began to invade the Holy Land of .....
.........

There is no other way but to get the Codex back from the hands of Scotus, who is said to still be in the underground palace, and gain the power to cause miracles. This power resides in the Codex.

Wheels of flames sounds a little bit like Ultima 5.

The pickled man makes me think Godzilla or Picolo from DBZ.


I hadn't realized some wizardry games had rather high levels 30, 40, 50? Have i not played in that long?

 

[Contagium]

I've been playing the "Abyss of the Ancient Relics" user scenario and it's really well done so far. Played another scenario before and it was beyond irritating... navigating spinning tiles every time you are trying to get to a ladder to the 3rd floor... beyond stupid.

This is definitely better than "Labyrinth of Lost Souls" up to this point. Not going to touch the official scenarios until the game is out of EA

 

[Fluent]

Copped it! Hey guys. So which modules are in English? I search for English modules and I only find 2, some "Tower of x" one and one with a Japanese name that I suppose supports English? How do I find the other English translated ones? Thanks!

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Aren't all of the modules signs & story message boxes japanese?

 

[Fluent]

Aren't all of the modules signs & story message boxes japanese?

Hey Keighn. Nope! Some usermade modules are translated already to English. I found another one - something something Relics. Loaded it up and it seemed to be in full English. Got lucky on that one as I just saw the English name on the server and grabbed it.

 

[Matador]

Copped it! Hey guys. So which modules are in English? I search for English modules and I only find 2, some "Tower of x" one and one with a Japanese name that I suppose supports English? How do I find the other English translated ones? Thanks!

From steam discussions pinned thread:

List of Old User Scenarios that Have English Message.
Until the service in of the scenario editor and the translation of the official scenarios, perhaps these user scenarios will be available for you to enjoy.

This list will be updated as needed.

- The ancient tower of Eleia
- ～ Cosmic Earth ～
- Abyss of the Ancient Relics
- Fate of Accursed Beings

 

[Acrux]

Haven't picked this up yet, but planning to during the sale. Abyss of Ancient Relics is supposedly very good, according to comments.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I don't have a steam computer set up atm (maybe I'll get another laptop). I doubt it will hit gog.

 

[hackncrazy]

I doubt it will hit gog.

Even if it does, I don't think its worth to get there. Since this is a game that heavily relies on user made content and since a lot of gog releases gets fucked when it comes to modding, it's better to take the plunge on steam.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

• 
  MINIMUM:
  • OS: Windows 8.1
    
  • Storage: 1 GB available space
    
  • Additional Notes: Maybe work on Windows 7, but we didn't provide any support.

• 
  RECOMMENDED:
  • OS: Windows 11

My old steam computer is a win7 laptop. It has MMX on it. I wonder if if would work on that computer. Everything else looks simple.

WIN 11... lol. Not happening.

Anyway, it is still early release with hopes of full english. I was looking at thd patch log also.

This review shows a temp language solution:
From what little I played, this is a like opening a time capsule and experiencing the same unforgiving yet compelling gameplay as in the original Wizardry entries.

Everyithing apart the (rare) text messages is translated in the original scenarios, and for those who do not speak japanese, it is easily resolved by playing in windowed mode and using a program like Screen Translator or another OCR.

I've google translated the negative japanese reviews, and it is basically whining about the UI (which is quite usable, at least when using a keyboard) and about how the game is "too old"...

This isn't a game for everybody, but those able to appreciate what it offers will discover a worthy successor of Wizardry 1-5.

Patches:

Update 2021/12/28

Fixes
- Calculating the recovery amount of healing spells was incorrect.
- Handling of damage when using items other than SP, and when items are damaged by combat spells incorrect.
- When an item was damaged and turned into another item, the indeterminate name of the changed item number was not used.
- Some equipment names related to race names were wrong in the "Traveler's Property" scenario.
- In the "The Pickled Man of Galvan" scenario, some enemy names related to race names were wrong.
- When the user and target of the spell "Prodigy" were different, the screen would display incorrectly.
- The display number of times the spell "Clear Magic" could be used was incorrect.
- The "Locate Person" spell could not be used properly under certain conditions.
- When depositing items in the item box screen, the details of the item were not displayed.
- Changes to the name of the "edge of town" for each scenario were not reflected.
- priority order of portrait HP determination are incorrect.

NEWS
POSTED
Sun, December 26

User scenario force update

Some converted user scenarios have been updated to fix the bug.

If you are playing the user scenario, please go back to the title screen and select the downloaded scenario from "Story Select".
and select "Reinstall" to rebuild the scenario data.

This update does not require any updates to the game itself.

Funny the mention of 2006. I'll wait until later. I suppose I could peruse the high seas and look at it. Risky it be but I'd still buy it. I always buy Wizardry, Might & Magic, Bardstale, and Ultima games. Only pirating would be free copies on old sites like HOTU or myabandonware. More than likely, I'll just watch reviews.

aside.... I do wonder if i should save up for a screaming win11 laptop. This time, I'll up the ram and SSD upon purchase. Becoming a laptop hoarder.. and chromebook sucks.

 

[Fluent]

So, this game really has the BEST UI I've seen yet in a Wizardry or Wizardrylike. It's really remarkable. And the game has everything else and then some, so it really feels like the "ultimate" Wizlike, especially considering all the user modules u can download and play (and that will eventually be translated.) Very great stuff, really a must-have imo if you're a fan of Wizardry and the like. Really remarkable job the devs did with this one!

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

So anyone can make a module? Is there a pdf of the instructions?

 

[Casual Hero]

The editor is not out yet, so no.
Apparently they are still refining it and working out issues.

 

[Fluent]

Can't wait to see some Codex modules in this baby!! :D Playing "Abyss Of The Ancient Relics" now, and LPing it for YouTube. First video comes out tomorrow. A few quirks u may notice:

NO SAVES. This means u have one continous save file, so if something bad happens you are stuck with it. Awesome! And terrorizing.

Game has a Normal/Fast setting for movement. Imo I would play on Normal movement speed, since it's much more immersive with a nice slow-paced turn and movement animation. Fast mode means zero animation at all and is a bit jarring.

Has all the features of a Wizardry game u'd come to expect and even more. Plethora of items at the item shop, most not shown until they are in stock, but slots for a wide amount of items. Very cool.

Very high amount of quality of life features. Bishops can collect all unidentified items with one button press. Trading items brings up a 6 person trade menu where items are shifted with just a click. MOUSE IS INCLUDED IN THE UI! Although u can play without it, too. But it's very nice with the mouse, trust me. Left click OK right click Cancel.

There are a few already translated modules as mentioned in previous comments. The one i'm playing is full English and a blast so far. You'll see if u watch my videos but if not, the start is pretty rough but we start managing the waves a bit later on. Overall super fun game/module, having a blast and feels like an "Ultimate" Wizardry as I mentioned. Cheers fellas!

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Interesting QOL and interface, considering I only played wizardry on c64 or Dos/windows.

 

[hackncrazy]

Can't wait to see some Codex modules in this baby!! :D Playing "Abyss Of The Ancient Relics" now, and LPing it for YouTube. First video comes out tomorrow. A few quirks u may notice:

NO SAVES. This means u have one continous save file, so if something bad happens you are stuck with it. Awesome! And terrorizing.

Game has a Normal/Fast setting for movement. Imo I would play on Normal movement speed, since it's much more immersive with a nice slow-paced turn and movement animation. Fast mode means zero animation at all and is a bit jarring.

Has all the features of a Wizardry game u'd come to expect and even more. Plethora of items at the item shop, most not shown until they are in stock, but slots for a wide amount of items. Very cool.

Very high amount of quality of life features. Bishops can collect all unidentified items with one button press. Trading items brings up a 6 person trade menu where items are shifted with just a click. MOUSE IS INCLUDED IN THE UI! Although u can play without it, too. But it's very nice with the mouse, trust me. Left click OK right click Cancel.

There are a few already translated modules as mentioned in previous comments. The one i'm playing is full English and a blast so far. You'll see if u watch my videos but if not, the start is pretty rough but we start managing the waves a bit later on. Overall super fun game/module, having a blast and feels like an "Ultimate" Wizardry as I mentioned. Cheers fellas!

A question about the modules: are the scenarios made on it all "single multi floor dungeon" stuff or is the editor robust enough to offer the opportunity to create an overworld with multiple dungeons?

Also, is there some kind of puzzle out of the usual or are there just navigational puzzles like dark zones, rotating tiles and stuff?

 

[Fluent]

A question about the modules: are the scenarios made on it all "single multi floor dungeon" stuff or is the editor robust enough to offer the opportunity to create an overworld with multiple dungeons?

Also, is there some kind of puzzle out of the usual or are there just navigational puzzles like dark zones, rotating tiles and stuff?

Hey. I'm not sure about your first question, but it does seem able to make multiple dungeons in an overworld. I say that because when u select the dungeon in this module it is selected out of a list where it seems possible other dungeons could go. But I'm not totally sure until a module actually does it or the tools are released, sorry.

Not sure, haven't hit much of a puzzle yet except maybe a special locked door with some descriptive info. When I play more I'll report more about that if I find them in the game.

 

[Latro]

Interesting QOL and interface, considering I only played wizardry on c64 or Dos/windows.

how's windows 7 performance?

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I actually only used DOS. It is odd mobygames lists windows. I do want to try this on win 7 but I will wait for full release.