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Wizardry II: Legacy of Llylgamyn review

Game: Wizardry II: Legacy of Llylgamyn
Platform: NES
Genre: RPG (Fantasy)
Developer: Unknown

Reader review by dagoss

July 04, 2012

CRPG ports are havens. Some are arguably better than their computer counterparts, gaining music, bug fixes, and new features. Wizardry 1 and 2 are two ports I'd immediately point to as games that improved on the NES. I do not think this is a point lost on active NES players as I often see The Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord cited as an excellent alternative to the Dragon Warrior style RPGs that are so prolific on the NES.

Wizardry 3¹ is a very different beast than its predecessors. While the first two titles challenged your skill with graph paper, 's maps have have far fewer tricks. Each floor is a claustrophobic maze of tightly packed rooms and doors, with the occasional one-way door just to keep you on your feet. Frequent doors means frequent encounters though, since battles are exponentially more frequent when passing through one.

More encounters changes the focus of the game from mapping to fighting. You'll often know where you are in the maze with relative certainty, but will need to spend more time grinding through numerous and arguably more difficult battles every few steps. Of course, don't fall into a false sense of security--just because there are fewer traps doesn't mean you can get along without making a map.

The most significant change though is still in the dungeon itself. Though there are six floors in total, floors 2 through 5 are restricted to characters of specific alignments. To finish the game, you will need to do one of two things: build and manage two completely different parties (one evil and one good) or build one party and change alignment halfway through the game by fighting or leaving friendly encounters. The former--which is the route I took--is time consuming but more strategic as you balance the deficiencies in each party, share neutral characters, and re-use equipment. Changing alignment, on the other hand, is tedious, can take hours, and limits your class selection.

No matter how you deal with the new alignment restrictions, you'll need to visit all floors to get the two orbs needed to complete the game. A shortcut late-game allows you to jump from the entrance to floors 4 and 5, making long treks relatively uncommon. Most of your time will be spent hunting down EXP to last long enough to get through each floor.

The shift from mapping to combat really changes the player's experience. Wizardry's combat system is not nuanced. Combat was always part of the atmosphere, a force of doom that constantly threatened to overpower you while you were lost in the labyrinth. The player's success didn't hinge on the party's levels but on the ability to balance risks and explore effectively. In Wizardry 3, the omnipresence of combat and secondary status of exploration is labourous.

That said, there's no denying the novelty Wizardry 3. Being forced to used two parties requires new ways of thinking as you develop characters. It is a shame that the two-party dynamic was not taken a step further, for example, through puzzles that must be solved by being in two locations at once.

Despite being fully translated (you can change all the game's text to English from the options menu), Wizardry: Legacy of Llylgamyn was never released outside Japan. You'll therefore need a converter or Famicom to play it. Being in English, commanding a relatively sensible price on eBay, and having familiar gameplay makes this a reasonable entry point into the world of Famicom imports.

Regardless of its differences, Wizardry 3 is sill Wizardry through and through. If you know that you're into that sort of thing and you didn't know that this game existed (and is actually in English), you're welcome.

¹ Despite being the third PC in the Wizardry series, Legacy of Llylgamyn was actually the second title released for NES. You may find it listed as Wizardry 2 on some websites (including HG), though the box clearly reads "Third Scnario." I've used this numbering throughout, to avoid confusion with Wizardry 2: Knight of Diamonds.

Rating: 7/10

More Reviews by dagoss
	Jeopardy! (NES) This isn't You Don't Know Jack for the NES; it's hang man with trivia questions.
	Millipede (NES) This is an arcade port done right, adapted to the target platform's strength and limitations rather than simply making the assembly code run.
	Castlevania (NES) Castlevania isn't an action game; it just looks like one.

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