Wizardry - Series in Japan

Series in Japan

When Wizardry was first introduced in Japan, the lack of available information as well as a low quality of translation led to the game being far more seriously interpreted by Japanese players due to overlooking in-game jokes and parodies. For example, in early games Blade Cusinart was introduced as "a legendary sword made by the famous blacksmith, Cusinart" as Cuisinart and its food processors were virtually unknown in Japan and thus its meaning was misinterpreted. However, this misconception appealed to early computer gamers who were looking for something different and made the Wizardry series popular. Conversely, the fourth game, The Return of Werdna, was poorly received, as, lacking the knowledge of subcultures necessary to solving the game, Japanese players had no chance of figuring out some puzzles.

The popularity of Wizardry in Japan led to the making of various light novels, manga comics, Japanese pen-and-paper role-playing games, an original video animation, and several original console sequels, spinoffs and ports. Most have been released only in Japan.

Ports of the original scenarios

• Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (Macintosh, MZ-2500, X1/turbo, FM-7, FM-77, PC-8801, PC-9801, MSX2, NES, Game Boy Color, WonderSwan Color, Cell phone, C64/C128)
• Wizardry II: The Knight of Diamonds (Macintosh, MZ-2500, X1/turbo, FM-7, FM-77, PC-8801, PC-9801, MSX2, NES, Game Boy Color, C64)
• Wizardry I & II (PC Engine)
• Wizardry III: Legacy of Llylgamyn (X1/turbo, FM-7, FM-77, PC-8801, PC-9801, MSX2, Famicom, Game Boy Color, C64)
• Wizardry IV: The Return of Werdna (X1/turbo, FM-7, FM-77, PC-8801, PC-9801)
• Wizardry III & IV (PC Engine)
• Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom (FM Towns, PC-8801, PC-9801, SNES, PC Engine, C64)
• Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge (FM Towns, PC-9801, 98note, J-3100, SNES)
• Wizardry VI & VII (Sega Saturn)
• Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant (PC-9801, PC-9821, PlayStation)
• Wizardry Nemesis (Microsoft Windows, Sega Saturn, 1996)
• Wizardry: Story of Llylgamyn (SNES, 1999)
• Wizardry: Llylgamyn Saga (Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, 2000)
• Wizardry: New Age of Llylgamyn (Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, 2000)

Spin-offs

• Wizardry Gaiden 1: Suffering of the Queen (Game Boy, 1991)
• Wizardry Gaiden 2: Curse of the Ancient Emperor (Game Boy, 1992)
• Wizardry Gaiden 3: Scripture of the Dark (Game Boy, 1993)
• Wizardry Gaiden 4: Throb of the Demon's Heart (SNES, 1996)
• Wizardry: Dimguil (PlayStation, 2000)
• Wizardry Empire (PlayStation, Game Boy Color, 2000)
• Wizardry Empire II: Fukkatsu no Tsue (PlayStation, Game Boy Color, 2002)
• Wizardry Empire III (PlayStation 2, 2003)
• Wizardry Chronicle (Microsoft Windows)
• Wizardry Summoner (Game Boy Advance, 2001) published by Natsume
• Busin: Wizardry Alternative (Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land in North America) (PlayStation 2, 2001)
• Busin 0: Wizardry Alternative Neo (PlayStation 2)
• Wizardry Traditional (Cell phone)
• Wizardry Traditional 2 (Cell phone)
• Wizardry Xth Academy of Frontier (PlayStation 2, 2005)
• Wizardry Asterisk: Hiiro no Fūin (Nintendo DS, 2005)
• Wizardry Gaiden: Prisoners of the Battles (PlayStation 2, 2005)
• Wizardry Summoner (PlayStation 2, 2005)
• Wizardry Xth2 UNLIMITED STUDENT (PlayStation 2, 2006)
• Wizardry Empire III: Haō no Keifu (PSP, 2007)
• Wizardry Torawareshi Tamashii no Meikyū (Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls) (PSN, 2009)
• Wizardry Seimei no Kusabi (Wizardry: Wedge of Life) (DS, 2009)
• Wizardry Bōkyaku no Isan (DS, 2010)
• Wizardry Online (MMORPG, Windows, 2012)

Yuji Horii drew inspiration from the Wizardry, Mugen no Shinzou (Heart of Phantasm), and Ultima series of games for making the popular Japanese role-playing game Dragon Quest. Horii's obsession with Wizardry was manifested as an easter egg in one of his earlier games, The PORTOPIA Serial Murder Case. In a dungeon-crawling portion of the adventure game, a note on the wall reads "MONSTER SURPRISED YOU." The English fan translation added a sidenote explaining "This is Yuji Horii wishing he could have made this game an RPG like Wizardry!".