So where can I get the Wizardry manuals?

[Higher Game]

I got the archives (1-7. and gold) disc, but no manual, and I don't know anything about the game mechanics. The early ones are simple, but I'd really like more information on 6 and gold. In fact, I really would like to find a site with good manuals, just to look through and see if I might enjoy a game. Any help?

 

[LCJr.]

Have you tried Underdogs, Abandonia and replacementdocs.com?

 

[Jasede]

Idiot. The archives have the manuals on the CD. I can tell because I have my Wizardry Archives manual in my DVD drive right now. It's a large .pdf with all manuals rolled into one. Wiz 7 gold also has a VERY good and comprehensive walkthrough AND a hintfile.

 

[Higher Game]

Underdogs doesn't even have the Wizardry games (why do you think I got the disc? ), Abandonia only has Wizardry 7, and I couldn't use Replacement Docs because after I registered, I checked my email and it was just a blank one that was supposed to have the details. :evil:

 

[Higher Game]

Oh, that explains it. I found the manuals on the disc and they are very helpful. I didn't know what most of the races were, and their stats. That said, a good manual site would still be useful to me.

If I was too stupid to think of that, be honest, am I going to get slaughtered by Wizardry? I've heard they're infamously difficult, even by old school RPG standards...

 

[Jasede]

Scan the CD, idiot. The manuals are there. At least the one for Wiz 7, in the windows help format. Scan for a .pdf.

Edit:

Yes. You will get slaughtered by Wiz 1-5. And 6 if you aren't used to "old-school". Read the manuals. Read them again. Especially read the party suggestions in the Wiz 7 windows hintfile. They are better than anything someone could suggest you here. If you are used to modern games, you will NOT get through 7 without the walkthrough, but you should try it anyway. Six is managable. Just read the hintfile and the manuals.

 

[Higher Game]

Well, I did beat Wizardry 1 for the nes on an emulator a while ago, through the heavy abuse of save states. I doubt if it's really the same as the PC version, though, since most Western RPGs got butchered in translation. As a whole, it seems like a dungeon crawl, and I'm hoping the later ones developed more opportunities for role playing. I'll definitely look over the manuals.

 

[Jasede]

1-5 have NO roleplaying. At all. Forget it Look elsewhere. 6: Some choices and consequences, one that carries over to 7 and 8.

And only pussies use savestates. In Wiz 1, when your party dies, they die. That's it. That's how men play. Mage died? Tough shit. Drag his ass to town and hope you make the "revive" check. If not, he turns to ash and you get a second chances. Failed? Bye mage.
Also, I hope you enjoy having to type the full length of every spell you want to use every time you cast, because you have to, in the earlier ones.
"MALOR!"
"DIOS!"
"MAKANITO!"

 

[Higher Game]

Well, I'm making my party in the 6th one now, but there's no sound in DOSBox. Should I bother with trying for sound, or just put Jumpin' Jesus (old school death metal) on as background music? :twisted:

I remember there being ninjas as enemies in the first game that were "only" level 3 monsters, but were capable of instakilling level 423432 PCs. I used save states to retain my sanity from fighting those things. And I killed Murphy's Ghost a few thousand times, probably. It's a shame 2-5 have no role playing, and after playing the first one, I figure they aren't worth going for. 6 seems to be more modern, from what I've read in the manual.

 

[Jasede]

6 is great, and from the old ones, 4 is an amazingly difficult challenge. Take it from me (I've played almost all RPGs I ever heard about), Wiz 4 is THE most difficult RPG. Ever.

You should buy Wiz 8, too! Importing is fun. Ninja are love, without states, you'd cast a disabling spell and pray.

Hints:
* Disabling spells > damage spells. This is not Final Fantasy.
* ALL classes are worthwhile. The more powerful elite classes can have serious drawbacks, especially for beginners. I suggest avoiding Ninja, Monks, Samurai and Bishops on your first time. They are very difficult to use properly, and need much time to become useful.
* Get an Elven ranger (for 8) and and a Mook that uses swords. If you want to abuse the game, get a Fairy Ninja (good luck rolling that one). They get the Cane of Corpus, AKA Boomstick.
* Think. Six is easy, once you got used to the old-school design
* Get the Diamond Ring in 6. I will NOT tell you how. I got it myself without help, so can you.

 

[Higher Game]

Well, I've given thought to making a ninja instead of a thief. Thieves just don't look that great for melee combat, while a ninja might be able to step in if a fighter gets disabled. I'll consider making a samurai, but only after I level up a solid fighter, and see how that works out.

 

[Jasede]

That's a good approach. I'd make a Thief for 6 and change his class to Ninja later.

Here's my party that fought through 6, 7 and 8. It's far from perfect.

Furry (feline) Fighter -> Samurai
Mook Monk
Dwarf Valkyrie
Furry (canine) Thief -> Ninja
Elf Alchemist -> Ranger
Fairy Mage -> Bishop

Most useful party-members: Dwarf and Fairy. My party wasn't optimized and is VERY difficult to play if you import it to 7. They are ALL elite classes and will get magic slooooowly. Do NOT use it as a model for your party, more as a warning example.

 

[cutterjohn]

I got the archives (1-7. and gold) disc, but no manual, and I don't know anything about the game mechanics. The early ones are simple, but I'd really like more information on 6 and gold. In fact, I really would like to find a site with good manuals, just to look through and see if I might enjoy a game. Any help?

Check for a pdf file on the CD/DVD or whatever it came on.

My copy of the collection, which I bought several years ago came on a few CDs and one big HUGE printed manual which contained the entire pritned copies of every Wizardry from I - VII Gold.

Beyond that if you bought if off of ebay (or something) and they didn't have/send the manual try Home of the Underdogs or other abandonware sites, and maybe some of the various wizardry fan sites. Google is your friend.

 

[Jasede]

Oh yes, and Ninja suck in melee in Wiz 8. But they're great with throwing weapons.

 

[LCJr.]

Underdogs doesn't even have the Wizardry games (why do you think I got the disc? ), Abandonia only has Wizardry 7, and I couldn't use Replacement Docs because after I registered, I checked my email and it was just a blank one that was supposed to have the details. :evil:

You don't need to registered to download from replacementdocs.

 

[Jasede]

He already found the docs on the CD, you know.

 

[LCJr.]

They have more than Wizardry manuals you know. Just in case anyone else is interested, idiot.

 

[Jasede]

And? It has practically been linked to already, dumbass. If someone's really interested in the site, they'd go to it anyway after reading HG's first post, just to have a luck around.

That said, I love you. Let's be friends.

 

[aweigh]

What's the difference between the Wizardry games on SNES/PSX/PS2 and the ones on PC? Are they completely different games, with different developers, or are they ports? I played the last one released on the PS2 and liked it.

 

[Jasede]

What's the difference between the Wizardry games on SNES/PSX/PS2 and the ones on PC? Are they completely different games, with different developers, or are they ports? I played the last one released on the PS2 and liked it.

The one on the SNES is one of the PC originals with upgraded graphics. I never heard about a Wizardry on the PS2, but it sounds suspiciously Japanese. Wizardry is VERY popular in Japan, so maybe a jRPG maker bought the license and made a new game from it? It looks very old-schooly from the screenshots I saw.

 

[LCJr.]

Pity gramps didn't kill your ancestors in the war.

 

[Higher Game]

Wizardry is apparently infamous for Japanese spin-offs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizardry

It's a shock that Sir-Tech went under, given the huge amount of Japanese love for the series. It's also surprising that the Japanese could enjoy such a hardcore RPG, given the popularity of light RPGs.

That said, the 1-2-3 Wizardry series for the SNES is on the Underdogs, and it's very nice. It got shiny console graphics, a nice interface, and of course, save states. 4 was ridiculously difficult for me, and I didn't bother with 5. I'm still thinking of characters for 6.

I've given consideration for having 2 mages, just for the extra kick. 2 fighters, 2 mages, thief, and priest. Actually, maybe 2 priests, since I think they're a bit tougher than mages, and having one as my 3rd character in the line might be useful, at least until the thief becomes a ninja, and maybe even after.

 

[aweigh]

I played the Wizardry on PS2, #9 I think, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Does that mean there are 1-8 japanese Wizardry's? Or is the PS2 #9 a japanese sequel to the western #8?

Mystary!

 

[mirrorshades]

Well, I'm making my party in the 6th one now, but there's no sound in DOSBox. Should I bother with trying for sound, or just put Jumpin' Jesus (old school death metal) on as background music

Wiz 6 doesn't use a sound card, you need to be sure that you have the PC speaker enabled in DOSBox. The sound is kind of cool, though, there is some tomfoolery that spits more digitized-type sounds out of the speaker instead of the normal beeps and boops.

Mmmm... boops.

Anyway, I know you said you found the manual on CD, you will also need the Magicword/Icon List in order to get past the copy protection. That is available on replacementdocs.com as well. (It's one of those stupid black-on-red deals where you have to look up the 3 symbols and type in the translation.)

I played 6 for a while about 10 years ago. I don't remember most of the specifics, but I do recall that it is somewhat less of a pure dungeon crawl than the first 5.

 

[Jim Kata]

* Get the Diamond Ring in 6. I will NOT tell you how. I got it myself without help, so can you.

Really? That is surprising.