Wizardry Long Live Wizardry! (And The All-New Games By Ex-Wizardry Developers)

[newtmonkey]

My copy of Wizardry Prisoner of the Battles (PC) arrived. I considered purchasing the download version, but it was like 5000 yen, while I was able to find a used complete copy in mint condition for 3000 yen or so.

First impressions: Beautiful packaging. The box is designed to look like a classic Wiz 1-4 box. Comes with a decent manual.

Big surprise: I typed in the included registration code, asked the game to update, and it started updating online. Amazing. That's service!

I just started the game and explored a bit, and am impressed with all the options. You can pretty much turn it into an old Wiz game. You can switch everything but messages to English, turn on wireframe dungeons (with multiple options for menu borders), pick low res monsters, select between classic Wiz character generation and a newer version that guarantees you will have sufficient stats for your chosen class, and can even choose whether to select or type out spells and traps :O

Good music so far, was hoping for a MIDI option to test out on my Sound Canvas (like with Chronicle), but no luck.

 

[Grauken]

isn't this a PS2 title?

 

[newtmonkey]

There is also a PC version.

 

[Grauken]

Where did you buy it?

 

[newtmonkey]

This probably won't help at all, but there is an online store in Japan called Suruga (https://www.suruga-ya.jp/). I often buy old console games from them. I did a search for Wizardry, and they had a copy of Prisoners of the Battles, but it was the last one. I was pretty lucky, actually, because I have seen this game (PC version) for anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 yen online (used).

I am happy to report that it installs and runs fine on Win 7 64-bit. Another option outside of Japan would be to get the download version, but that is 5,000 yen or so, so at that point pirating starts to make more sense....

 

[Dorarnae]

This probably won't help at all, but there is an online store in Japan called Suruga (https://www.suruga-ya.jp/). I often buy old console games from them. I did a search for Wizardry, and they had a copy of Prisoners of the Battles, but it was the last one. I was pretty lucky, actually, because I have seen this game (PC version) for anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 yen online (used).

I am happy to report that it installs and runs fine on Win 7 64-bit. Another option outside of Japan would be to get the download version, but that is 5,000 yen or so, so at that point pirating starts to make more sense....

lucky, I wanted the pc version but yeah it's stupid expensive.... it comes with a scenario editor right?

 

[newtmonkey]

Dorarnae Unfortunately, it does not... I think it's Wiz: Five Ordeals that comes with it? That game is even more expensive, sadly. Cheapest copy I could find used was 18,000 yen. There is a download version for 5000 yen, but would obviously prefer a box, etc. if I could find one for around the same price.

 

[Dorarnae]

Dorarnae Unfortunately, it does not... I think it's Wiz: Five Ordeals that comes with it? That game is even more expensive, sadly. Cheapest copy I could find used was 18,000 yen. There is a download version for 5000 yen, but would obviously prefer a box, etc. if I could find one for around the same price.

ahhh yeah it's five ordeal, didn't know there was just the standard game too.

 

[newtmonkey]

Have been taken a slight break from Wizardry games to play some of the Shin Megami Tensei games.

Shin Megami Tensei (PSX)
This is the remake of the SFC game. It's got a great atmosphere and little no no anime shenanigans, but I'm only 3 hours in so I can't say much about the game mechanics. Compared with what I have played of the newer games in the series, I was surprised by a few things:

1) The sheer power of the human characters.
Once you get the first two other human characters, you can pretty much steamroll any encounter with guns.
2) Consequently, the reduced importance on summoning monsters
Since it eats up a resource to have monsters constantly summoned and because monsters don't gain EXP or levels, the game seems to be suggesting that you tackle exploration and combat with (mostly) your human characters, and summon monsters only when needed. It also pushes you to constantly fuse monsters since fusing is almost always going to end up with a more powerful monster by far.
3) That first real boss fight was pretty brutal since he has a high chance of paralyzing your entire party, which is pretty much an automatic loss for you. I went to look up tips for it after losing a couple times to see if they game expected me to have better monsters, higher levels, or what, and apparently you are supposed to fuse your dog with any other monster to create a super powerful summon that basically lasts only for that one fight. I could have missed it (I doubt it), but the game does not give any hint that this is possible, and the fact that your dog does not actually show up in your list of monsters to summon (he only shows up at the fusion locations) was pretty retarded.
4) The negotiation system seems pretty much random, especially compared with Strange Journey (which I am also playing now) where you can often use logic to figure out how to negotiate the correct way. Here, it's just trial and error and it seems like if you mapped out the flow of a conversation with a particular monster, you'd have 8 failure states and 2 success states.

Having said that, I just reached the point where you lose two of your human characters to gain a different one, so I think summoning will start to play a bigger role until you get your whole party back.

Shin Megami Tensei: Deep Strange Journey (3DS)
Wow! After playing SMT1, I cannot believe how user friendly this game is haha.
The atmosphere is again great, with a particularly awesome soundtrack. I love the 2D monster artwork that is actually animated (compared with the pixel shifting that passes for animation in SMT1), and the dungeons are already more interesting than the boxy office building and shopping malls of SMT1.

Like all Japanese games made in the last 20 years or whatever, the dialog just goes on and on and on and 99% of it is characters repeating things other characters just said to you or scenes where something happens and each of the 6 characters on screen has to comment on it. It is anime times 1000 compared with SMT, which if released back in the day could have possibly been mistaken for a western RPG, but is still not 1/1000th as anime as, I dunno, Legend of Heroes. The funniest part of the dialog I have seen yet is when the engineering personnel have to explain the concept of UNLOCKING DOORS to you, and not only does each of the engineers tell you in multiple text boxes what it means to OPEN DOORS, but then you get a couple text boxes from the game itself to tell you about it.

Overlooking that, I am really liking this game. I have also read that it gets much less talky after the first dungeon, so there's that.

 

[aweigh]

SMT: Strange Journey is (IMO) the pinnacle of "true" SMT game play.

Enjoy it man, cos it is an AMAZING game, and probably the last SMT-related game we'll be seeing with such devotion to making a great blobber/dungeon crawler/SMT game.

The only SMT game I rank above Strange Journey is SMT 3: Nocturne for PS2, but not because it's a better game, but because it's a really impactful experience, story/plot/characters/dungeons etc.

Mechanically though, Strange Journey is the best of all SMT-family games in terms of complexity/depth. After you finish it I recommend checking out SMT 3: Nocturne (PS2) for a change of pace, more traditional style of JRPG (i.e. not a Blobber, not a first-person view dungeon crawler), but buckle in for the best fucking SMT story/experience ever.

SMT 4 (3DS) and its companion-piece "Apocalypse" (3DS as well) are pale shadows of the glorious SMT 3: Nocturne. The main reason people disliked SMT 4 so hard (here, especially) is simply because it was such a huge step down from Nocturne.

 

[Dorarnae]

SMT: Strange Journey is (IMO) the pinnacle of "true" SMT game play.

Enjoy it man, cos it is an AMAZING game, and probably the last SMT-related game we'll be seeing with such devotion to making a great blobber/dungeon crawler/SMT game.

The only SMT game I rank above Strange Journey is SMT 3: Nocturne for PS2, but not because it's a better game, but because it's a really impactful experience, story/plot/characters/dungeons etc.

Mechanically though, Strange Journey is the best of all SMT-family games in terms of complexity/depth. After you finish it I recommend checking out SMT 3: Nocturne (PS2) for a change of pace, more traditional style of JRPG (i.e. not a Blobber, not a first-person view dungeon crawler), but buckle in for the best fucking SMT story/experience ever.

SMT 4 (3DS) and its companion-piece "Apocalypse" (3DS as well) are pale shadows of the glorious SMT 3: Nocturne. The main reason people disliked SMT 4 so hard (here, especially) is simply because it was such a huge step down from Nocturne.

well the reason why I hate smt4 is because you can't start on hard mode right away. minotaur and the other boss just before tokyo were hard but after that the game is a cake walk, the difficulty in the game is dumb. and I HATE the smirk system.

I finished smt strange journey deep recently.

I'd say it's a bit better than the original because of the faster gameplay(can cut all animations in combat and faster exploration...). but other than that, I can't say the new dungeon was great and they added like 20 demons?

 

[megidolaon]

SMT: Strange Journey is (IMO) the pinnacle of "true" SMT game play.

Enjoy it man, cos it is an AMAZING game, and probably the last SMT-related game we'll be seeing with such devotion to making a great blobber/dungeon crawler/SMT game.

The only SMT game I rank above Strange Journey is SMT 3: Nocturne for PS2, but not because it's a better game, but because it's a really impactful experience, story/plot/characters/dungeons etc.

Mechanically though, Strange Journey is the best of all SMT-family games in terms of complexity/depth. After you finish it I recommend checking out SMT 3: Nocturne (PS2) for a change of pace, more traditional style of JRPG (i.e. not a Blobber, not a first-person view dungeon crawler), but buckle in for the best fucking SMT story/experience ever.

SMT 4 (3DS) and its companion-piece "Apocalypse" (3DS as well) are pale shadows of the glorious SMT 3: Nocturne. The main reason people disliked SMT 4 so hard (here, especially) is simply because it was such a huge step down from Nocturne.

That hell dungeon in SMT3, the name of which I forgot (Amala something?), definitely had that "made-for-a-classic-blobber" dungeon feel to it more than any other place in that game. Lot of traps, illusory walls, risky meandering paths, etc.

 

[Celerity]

http://store.steampowered.com/app/6...iestess_of_Darkness_and_The_Ring_of_the_Gods/

No one noticed this?

 

[Grauken]

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/random-jrpg-news-thread.98542/page-79#post-5380907
http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...-the-gods-coming-to-steam-on-nov-28th.119178/

 

[newtmonkey]

aweigh Dorarnae

I haven't been in the mood for gaming on my PC lately, since by the time I am finished with work I have been sitting at my desk for like 12 hours (minus 40 min break for exercise), and all I want to do is lie down and and relax...
So I have been putting time into SMT: Deep Strange Journey. I don't remember 100% but I think I have put 6 hours into it.
I typically hate games where you need to capture monsters to create or fill out your party, because I honestly have zero interest in either A) experimenting and figuring out what monsters are worth keeping or B) looking up shit constantly online. However, SMT: DSJ makes it all so convenient that it's a lot of fun. I mean, it shows you all the stats and abilities in game, and there are no mysteries with fusion. I also find the negotiation to be WAY more intuitive and forgiving than it is in the earlier SMT games and what I played of Persona 1/2.

The atmosphere is pretty awesome, and I love the soundtrack. I especially love how, when you win a battle, instead of playing your typical exciting victory theme, it instead plays this little ominous tune that is less like "YOU WON! CONGRATULATIONS" and more like "you didn't die... you have another change to not die."

I have played (and still own a copy) of SMT3, but I just can't get into it. Maybe once I finish SMT: DSJ and then go through SMT1 and 2.

I also have SMT4, but that game is just definitely not for me. I don't like that they changed the artist, didn't care at all for the atmosphere, and the writing seemed horrible (and loooooong).

 

[aweigh]

personally i recommend soul hackers on 3ds for more Strange Journey-like SMT goodness. They're very similar games in terms of mechanics. After SJ, Soul Hackers is (imo) the 2nd best SMT "blobber", with 3rd place being taken (overall) by SMT 3 Nocturne.

 

[Dorarnae]

personally i recommend soul hackers on 3ds for more Strange Journey-like SMT goodness. They're very similar games in terms of mechanics. After SJ, Soul Hackers is (imo) the 2nd best SMT "blobber", with 3rd place being taken (overall) by SMT 3 Nocturne.

Soul hacker is praised quite a bit but I am the minority who prefered the first game. nemesia(I think that's her name?) annoyed me.

 

[aweigh]

Dorarnae

The first game is the one that is exclusive to the SATURN, right? "SMT: Devil Summoner" ?

Did that one ever get fan-translated into English? I'd love to play it on SATURN Emu.

 

[Dorarnae]

Dorarnae

The first game is the one that is exclusive to the SATURN, right? "SMT: Devil Summoner" ?

Did that one ever get fan-translated into English? I'd love to play it on SATURN Emu.

its also on psp with some extra content. but I think the psp version is a bit buggy but overall I dont recall having trouble with it.
it was never translated. I remember seeing people who were translating soul hacker, prefered to translate that game instead of the first one....

 

[mogwaimon]

I seem to recall that the game is hard as hell to actually hack for a translation, which is part of the reason even Atlus hasn't done it yet despite actually wanting to do it at one point. I believe they were considering it at the time of the PSP re-release, but the way that game was coded made it even harder to translate than the Saturn game. That's why we got Soul Hackers on 3DS instead.

 

[Dorarnae]

I seem to recall that the game is hard as hell to actually hack for a translation, which is part of the reason even Atlus hasn't done it yet despite actually wanting to do it at one point. I believe they were considering it at the time of the PSP re-release, but the way that game was coded made it even harder to translate than the Saturn game. That's why we got Soul Hackers on 3DS instead.

I thought it was because they(atlus) lost the code or something.

 

[mogwaimon]

Aye, that's part of it. The other part is the code is too sloppy to waste the resources reverse-engineer. There are some people on romhacking who translated most of the script like two years ago but disappeared off the map. Before they did they were complaining about the shit code making it difficult to even get a proper dialogue box set up with decent fonts and all that.

http://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=18289.0

 

[Dorarnae]

 

[Dorateen]

Should play the DOS version.

 

[Dorarnae]

I was browsing ebay and saw this:

the heck? hehe