Wizardry Long Live Wizardry! (And The All-New Games By Ex-Wizardry Developers) - UPDATED: MARCH/07/2016

[Casual Hero]

it's actually not that bad to play dungeon crawler in japanese if you don't care about the story and just go for the gameplay.

That's pretty impressive. I've always wanted to try that.
I wish that I could get some kind of reference sheet that showed the Kanji for basic Wizardry stats or commonly used phrases during combat so I could get a better feel for it.

 

[Viata]

it's actually not that bad to play dungeon crawler in japanese if you don't care about the story and just go for the gameplay.

Well, the problem is not that if it's translated or not, it is if you are able to play it or not.

 

[Ysaye]

it's actually not that bad to play dungeon crawler in japanese if you don't care about the story and just go for the gameplay.

That's pretty impressive. I've always wanted to try that.
I wish that I could get some kind of reference sheet that showed the Kanji for basic Wizardry stats or commonly used phrases during combat so I could get a better feel for it.

Here is an easy way to make your own (and I am sure this is not the only or best way):

Go on youtube and watch a battle for a Wizardry in English, say https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgTxnITkd-A

Take screenshots of the main town, the inn, shop, church menus etc. Also the combat screens although they are fairly easy to guess.

Then go to an equivalent one that is in Japanese, say (Yes I could have matched up playstation versions!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjvR5lYx_NE

TBH - by the time you have watch a little of the second video you will know roughly where everything is; you could do a dummy run and start to get used to it before then making a proper party (that would be in time-honoured tradition of Wizardry anyway). Alternatively take screenshots of the same screens and make a translation sheet; the advantage of this is you could probably use this for a series of different wizardries.

 

[aweigh]

Google Translate has a feature where you can use your mouse to draw kanji/hiragana, makes it easy to input a kanji character into the google translate by drawing it with your mouse while you look at a screenshot. Look for a small icon below the big translation box.

Proved useful to me a few times, since you can't copy/paste something that is photographed.

EDIT: Then, if you want to, you open up the game's .exe and/or relevant files where the menu text is located (gotta find it first) and you can CONTROL + F the pasted kanji characters that you mouse-drew from the screenshot you took; if you get lucky and the hex editor finds it then just see if the game lets you change it into english right there inside the editor, save it, load the game and see if the change is reflected in the game's menu.

Easy stuff one can do is copy/paste the kanji/hiragana for something you want to find in the game, say for example the word "Longsword", then control + F your way into stumbling upon the game's item list inside the hex editor. Just an example of a usage scenario.

 

[felipepepe]

Google Translate has a feature where you can use your mouse to draw kanji/hiragana, makes it easy to input a kanji character into the google translate by drawing it with your mouse while you look at a screenshot. Look for a small icon below the big translation box.

Proved useful to me a few times, since you can't copy/paste something that is photographed.

Get a phone app called Yomiwa. Not only you can manually draw kanjis to see what they mean, you can photograph the screen and scan the kanjis in the photo: https://www.yomiwa.net/

 

[Ventidius]

Dorarnae, this probably will be at the top of your DRPGs to-buy list.

Experience Inc XBOne timed-exclusive on 11th June, PS4 & Switch in Winter 2020

黄泉ヲ裂ク華 / Yomiwosakuhana

Exploration

This looks awesome. As far as I can tell, this will be the first major Exp release in a while that isn't a port or a localization, which is already hype-worthy, but then you have that art style and visuals, which - going from the samples at least - are some of the coolest that I have seen in a blobber. Apparently, there won't be a PC release for the time being, but that suits me just fine at least, since I do have a Switch, and at this point I pretty much prefer blobbers on portable anyway (low fps suck, though). Still, I do hope they get around a PC release: I bought SOSC and Elminage Original twice each - on PC and Vita - and I would absolutely would do the same with this one if the gameplay quality lives up to that of SOSC (which is pretty much a modern classic, as far as I am concerned).

Anyway, the question of localization is worrisome indeed, but I am so starved for good new blobbers and this looks so good that I might just take a crack at playing it in Japanese, even though I have been reluctant to resort to that in the past, especially in the case of Dungeon Travelers 2-2 and Labyrinth Cross Blood. Speaking of the latter, the fact that Exp never got around localizing it probably doesn't bode well for this one getting that treatment. Then again, that one was a sequel, and the decision to not localize may have had to do with how well the previous Operation games did (not that I know much of how they performed, sales-wise), so who knows?

 

[Dorarnae]

if you're used to play wizardry and other dungeon crawler, then you know mage require int, fighter require str.....just put point in one stat and you'll see which one is the one you need, they're not too hard to remember and they're often in the same order too(str,int,wis,vit,agi,luc)
then male/female is pretty basic and easy to remember, same for good/neutral/evil.

then when it comes to items and other stuff, when you read HP you can guess it heals hp or 1hp you can guess it revives a party member...some trial and errors and you'll remember what you need...

game like etrian odyssey, you can read a faq online for the skills...that's pretty much how I do it.

 

[Dorarnae]

I think it's because labyrinth cross blood was an ''older'' game...pretty sure they'll remake the game at one point again but yeah it's a shame because it's a good one, well kinda like operation babel but better.

 

[Thac0]

What is better, the Elminage games or the new Weeabo Wizardry?

Since it is Golden Week on steam and stuff is cheap, and I have a craving for deeper blobbers after Legends of Amberland was fun but about as complex as cotton candy.
I will probably get Elminage Gothic currently because it is ridicously cheap, but maybe something else is a lot better? I found a comment from aweigh that Laybrinth of Lost Souls is not on the Quality level of Elminage but closer to Class of Heroes, but since I havnt played any of those I have no fucking idea which of those is supposed to be the good one in the comparison.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

What is better, the Elminage games or the new Weeabo Wizardry?

Since it is Golden Week on steam and stuff is cheap, and I have a craving for deeper blobbers after Legends of Amberland was fun but about as complex as cotton candy.
I will probably get Elminage Gothic currently because it is ridicously cheap, but maybe something else is a lot better? I found a comment from aweigh that Laybrinth of Lost Souls is not on the Quality level of Elminage but closer to Class of Heroes, but since I havnt played any of those I have no fucking idea which of those is supposed to be the good one in the comparison.

Get Elminage Gothic. If you're craving for a blobber, you can't go wrong with it.
It's a blessing and a crime against humanity that a game with so many hours of quality entertainment is sold for 3 dollars.

 

[Matador]

What is better, the Elminage games or the new Weeabo Wizardry?

Since it is Golden Week on steam and stuff is cheap, and I have a craving for deeper blobbers after Legends of Amberland was fun but about as complex as cotton candy.
I will probably get Elminage Gothic currently because it is ridicously cheap, but maybe something else is a lot better? I found a comment from aweigh that Laybrinth of Lost Souls is not on the Quality level of Elminage but closer to Class of Heroes, but since I havnt played any of those I have no fucking idea which of those is supposed to be the good one in the comparison.

There is no better than Elminage Gothic, is peak Wizardry formula. It can be improved, for sure, but It hasn't been done yet.

Your other option is Stranger on Sword City. Great game, but the encounters and magic are underwhelming. I liked the very limited saving inside dungeons, and the Life point system to recover your dead units and having to have bench ones.

 

[turkishronin]

What is better, the Elminage games or the new Weeabo Wizardry?

Since it is Golden Week on steam and stuff is cheap, and I have a craving for deeper blobbers after Legends of Amberland was fun but about as complex as cotton candy.
I will probably get Elminage Gothic currently because it is ridicously cheap, but maybe something else is a lot better? I found a comment from aweigh that Laybrinth of Lost Souls is not on the Quality level of Elminage but closer to Class of Heroes, but since I havnt played any of those I have no fucking idea which of those is supposed to be the good one in the comparison.

If you take price into account Elminage series are definitely better. Although Elminage Gothic has a terrible UI, translation and sound effects, it's almost unmatched in gameplay aspects.
You can also check out Operation Abyss. It's a very good blobber.

 

[samuraigaiden]

How come nobody here talks about Elminage Original?

 

[Casual Hero]

How come nobody here talks about Elminage Original?

I've only played a handful of hours of it, so I'm not the resident authority on the subject. EO has a non-linear approach to its dungeons; once you leave the first dungeon, you can select any of the dungeons to go to- even the final one iirc. While a cool idea, I actually found this a bit off-putting. I thought, why am I clearing out this little baby dungeon when I could just go to a higher level one and get better exp? I didn't feel very motivated to explore each dungeon, which is a shame. It felt a little empty in that regard.

 

[Thac0]

Get Elminage Gothic.

Your other option is Stranger on Sword City.

You can also check out Operation Abyss. It's a very good blobber.

All three for 12€, seems like a nice deal. Thanks guys.

 

[Matador]

Get Elminage Gothic.

Your other option is Stranger on Sword City.

You can also check out Operation Abyss. It's a very good blobber.

All three for 12€, seems like a nice deal. Thanks guys.

Hope you enjoy them. Looking for your impressions.

Keep in mind Stranger on Sword City is the most polished of the three.

 

[Thac0]

Get Elminage Gothic.

Your other option is Stranger on Sword City.

You can also check out Operation Abyss. It's a very good blobber.

All three for 12€, seems like a nice deal. Thanks guys.

Hope you enjoy them. Looking for your impressions.

Keep in mind Stranger on Sword City is the most polished of the three.

For this evening I conly started Elminage Gothic, but first impressions were good. It immediatly got me diving on wikis to get the details between stats and classes that I forgot since Wiz8, as most good characters builders do. I settled for Fighter/Hunter/Servant/Valkyrie/Alchemist/Summoner for something that should be well rounded and not too spell heavy with still some choice in gameplay. I really like the idea of Innocent gear to offer an alternative to class juggling, and plan to get it on the Valkyrie and probably the Servant. First cave seems pretty smooth, very nice level design for a first cave with the three branching paths and the healing pool. Combat is really good, had a close call at level 1 against 7 slimes already.

It is very similar to Labyrinth of Refrain/Coven of Dusk, which I enjoyed a lot. But refreshingly the mechanics are a lot more familiar and less arcane to me. I still keep figuring out new stuff in Refrain. I can definitly see where that the inspiration for Refrain came from the Wiz successors, which seem to be decently popular in Japan.

 

[Matador]

First dungeon is the worst dungeon by a mile. If you are liking the game, I think you are gonna love the rest of it.

 

[Twizman]

I preferred Dungeon Travelers 2 to SoSC so far. You have to mash through a lot of inane dialogue, but the combat is solid. Not so much puzzle solving, just dungeoning focused from one to the next.

 

[Mastermind]

How come nobody here talks about Elminage Original?

I've talked about it. What do you want to know?

 

[Thac0]

I have played to the 5 hour mark in Elminage Gothic now. While the manual available online is neatly written and has good art, it really cheaps out on some explanations. Luckily the steam guides are amazing. Took me a while to figure out that while the game uses AC, it doesnt use Thac0 and the accuracy bonus on a weapon needs to be positive not negative. Atleast I hope so.

Party wise I changed the Hunter to a Mage, since a Faery cant use Bows apparently. Maybe not the wisest decision, since playing without a thief is a little frustrating, but I will probably multiclass the mage or the alchemist back into a thief eventually. I got most of the good transmutation gimmicks and seeing enemy levels, seeing status success rates and seeing permanent battles on the map feels really good. Kinda bullshit that it is locked behind a class tho, althoug that is a fine line to walk, as classes should be able to bring some unique advantages to feel worthwile. The MVPs easily are the servant and the summoner up to now, I caught a Mork Cricket, and that little roach is as strong as my frontliners. 33hp and hits for 12 rather consistently. The servant cant hit for shit but he is tanky, and auto recovery with a adjustable HP threshold is kinda OP early. My Dragonnewt Valkyrie is a bit strange, I feel like she is supposed to have more than 20hp at level 6.

I am on level 3 of the first dungeon now. While I liked level 1, level 2 was pretty garbage, didnt even have a quest. The Knight that gave out free maps was cool, but that was it. My thoughts overall have stayed on , while this lacks some really cool features (Laybyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk) has (Formations, Mana Upgrades, Wall Destruction), it has the better combat system, and is one of the best blobbers I have ever played. Also content seems to be absolutely massive.

I will start SoSC next as I really like the art style. Operation Abyss is a little too weeby, and this is coming from someone who watched Steins:Gate today. I will probably play all three them to 5 hours first to see which one to waste the next month in.

 

[aweigh]

Hint: you're not supposed to be able to kill the red boss in the 3rd floor of the 1st dungeon. Don't lose heart if it annihilates your party, you're supposed to give it a wide berth.

You can kill it however, and it's a strength of the game's systems that you can.

Spoiler

You can use a Bard's Tarot ability to charm the thing and it will hit itself to death

.

 

[Thac0]

Yeah, I beelined for that cool little gem symbol, saw his level 28, tried to nope out with an alchemist spell and got two people oneshot. I am not touching that cricket with a 10 foot pole until my team is level 25 or I found a really broken summon.

 

[Dorarnae]

was trying some hdmi cable for my psp...forgot how dark elminage gothic is on psp, can't see shit...

 

[MuscleSpark]