Wizardry: Proving Grounds of The Mad Overlord - Reception and Legacy

Reception and Legacy

Wizardry became an instant classic, with publications like Computer Gaming World praising it as "one of the all-time classic computer games"; complex yet playable. With no major faults, the only minor one described in the review is the ease with which parties can initially be killed. The game eventually led to a series of eight games spanning twenty years, and helped set genre standards with its intuitive layout and interface.

The game was reviewed in 1982 in The Dragon #65 by Bruce Humphrey. Humphrey stated that "There is so much good about this game, it’s difficult to decide where to begin", and concluded by describing it as "not easily beaten or solved, I recommend it to anyone tired of mediocre programs and ho-hum dungeon encounters."

The Macintosh version of the game, known by fans as "MacWizardry", was reviewed in 1986 in Dragon's first "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers called MacWizardry "a delightful reintroduction of a marvelous classic." In a subsequent column, the reviewers gave the Mac version of the game 4 out of 5 stars.

By 30 June 1982, Wizardry had sold 24,000 copies, making it one of the best-selling computer RPGs in North America up until that time. In comparison, Temple of Apshai (1979) had sold 30,000 copies and Ultima (1981) sold 20,000 copies at the time. In the June 1983 issue of Electronic Games, Wizardry was described as, "without a doubt, the most popular fantasy adventure game for the Apple II at the present time."

The Wizardry series was ported to various Japanese computers such as the NEC PC-8801 and became extremely popular there. Aling with Ultima, it formed the inspiration for JRPG series like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.