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Discussion Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord gets a surprise remake (out now in Early access!)

7threst

7threst

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I knew something was coming since Digital Eclipse have been teasing something Wizardry related, but wasn't expecting THIS haha! The first Wizardry, out on practically every home computer and also a decent NES-version, has been hugely influential. The dungeon adventuring combined with the map maping is something we see in games until today (hi Etrian Odyssey), and now the original has been remaked!
Digital Eclipse gives us the details:

Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord is a full 3D remake of the first game in the legendary Wizardry series of RPGs.

The first party-based RPG video game ever released, Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord was a direct inspiration to series like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Digital Eclipse’s revival preserves the appeal of the classic, with many upgrades for modern role-playing game fans.

Key Features

  • Dungeon Crawling, Deluxe – Craft your own party of adventurers and head into the labyrinth at the behest of the mad overlord Trebor, in search of the amulet stolen by the evil wizard Werdna. Battle groups of challenging enemies, avoid hidden traps, and make your way deeper into the dungeon as you prepare for the ultimate battle: Facing Werdna himself.
  • Commitment to Accuracy – Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord is built directly on top of the original 1981 game’s code. Although it looks all new, underneath the hood is the authentic game. You can even view the original Apple II interface as you play.
  • Challenge Without Hassle – While the well-known difficulty of the enemies has not been altered, quality-of-life improvements have been added in every area. Party management, navigation, spellcasting, and combat have all been significantly enhanced.
  • A Legend Reborn – If you’re just discovering the legendary Wizardry franchise, Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord is the perfect jumping-in point for new players. Series veterans will love the gorgeous new graphics and sound, and the streamlined interface.
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Check it on Steam:
Check it on GOG: https://www.gog.com/en/game/wizardry_proving_grounds_of_the_mad_overlord

And check the trailer below!

 
Wow. I got lost in all those corridors, never could navigate them. But I loved just finding weird stuff.
 
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for reference, the legal situation for the series (at least the name for it, alongside entries 6 through 8) was that it bounced around various Japanese publishers after the original developer Sir-Tech shut down in 2006. initally by Aeria, but the rights were picked up by DRECOM in 2020.
it was a hugely influentical game over there. notably inspiring the Dragon Quest series.
 
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This is gonna come out on consoles once it goes out of early access, I take it. Good. For years Japan got tons of Wizardry games on GBA, DS, PSP and Vita but none of them were localized. Finally we had one in west and it's where everything began.
 
9-Volt said:
This is gonna come out on consoles once it goes out of early access, I take it. Good. For years Japan got tons of Wizardry games on GBA, DS, PSP and Vita but none of them were localized. Finally we had one in west and it's where everything began.
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There was one that was localized, Labyrintb of Lost Souls on PS3, digital only. It was kinda decent. Not bad but not great either.
 
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This is pretty neat. Always up for a good ol’ blobber and the legacy of Wizardry gives this one a unique appeal. I imagine the story is pretty light which I bet gives it a nice ‘pick up and play’ feel. Probably wait until a console release though.

Tis’ a bit weird seeing so much of the discussion around this online being it’s connection to JPGs and not, ya’ know, western RPGs or the idea of computerized D&D.
 
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Yeah, Wizardry is pretty influential in general. Only other series that's comparable is Ultima, but I guess the reason to note Wizardry's influence on the Japanese side might just be because they're still making new ones over there. I also feel like it gets a decent amount of nods in Japanese media from time to time, but I struggle to remember specifics at the moment. Just vague recollections of fantasy manga referencing this or that and stuff in Dragon's Crown.

Kind of wish they were doing one of their Karateka-style playable documentaries. There's a real sense of history when it comes to Wizardry, not just for the game itself, but as the series goes on there ends up being plenty of characters made by players who sent their data to Sir-Tech or 80's-era RPG Royalty becoming part of the mythos. It'd be nice to see those characters, and the people who made them, contextualized in an easily accessible way. There's even one referenced in the trailer, with Hawkwind of Skara Brae being in the player's party.

edit: Oh, another scene has basically the whole party full of folks who would show up in IV.
 
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Ubisoft should really look at this and say "hey we also have an influential WRPG blobber series we can remake" but of course they won't because they hate me, personally.
 
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the first major update has been released.
Full Mouse & Keyboard Support

Our initial release was heavily controller focused, but we promised mouse support in our first update. Now, you can navigate all the menus in the game using your mouse, as promised. We’ve also added keyboard shortcuts to many areas to reflect the button prompts in the original Wizardry game.

Save Slots

Players now have access to 5 save slots to mark their progress.

Revised Mini-Map

The mini-map should now better reflect your party’s awareness of their current surroundings. What you have seen is what you know. Still, The Maze can never be trusted, so be sure to have DUMAPIC available to cast whenever you suspect it might be lying to you.

New Enemy Identification System

Characters can choose to Inspect Enemies during combat to learn more about them (give that back row something else to do than Parry). Your party can now Identify, Observe, and Deduce new facts about the enemies they face. As they do, the information they glean will populate the all-new Bestiary!

The Bestiary

There’s now a Bestiary that includes profiles and information on all 101 enemies in the game. The bestiary ties directly into our new identification system, providing a means of reviewing what you’ve learned when encountering enemies so that you can better strategize against them in the future.

New Character Portraits

Elves, gnomes, dwarves — show yourselves! There are now 20 portraits for every lineage, for a total of 100 portraits.

Custom Character Portrait Support

If you want a truly personalized portrait, we’ve added a character portrait importer as a direct result of player feedback and requests.

Bug Fixes

We've also included several quality-of-life and bug fixes based on the vast amount of feedback that we have received. We are actively monitoring the forums on Steam, so please continue to post your findings and feedback there — adding your voice in either venue is the best way to reach the team with your suggestions.
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the custom portraits have also lead to an interesting crossover happening.
 
there’s now a proper release date for when the game will leave early access (alongside getting ported to consoles)

May 23rd.
 
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