Game 13: Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (NES) - Won! by Werdna

"There I was, just hanging out with some buddies playing Vampire the Masquerade, when all of a sudden a band of adventurers proclaimed I had stolen Trebor's amulet and they were there to reclaim it. While true, I couldn't stand the transgression. Really Trebor, is this the best you can do?"

At least someone won Wizardry last night. Werdna was at the top of his game with a first turn, very first action, Tiltowait. The most powerful spell in the game, and here I thought I was hot stuff having two mages with a few of these in reserve. This spell has the potential to obliterate my entire party with a max damage of 150. Each character ranged 70 to 130 HP.

Nooooo! I'm supposed to cast that

I started the session with some glimmer of hope that I might put this game behind me. I hadn't considered the possibility that Werdna would lead with such a devastating spell. At level 13 my mages and cleric gained their most powerful spells, which I tried to use during the final fight.

Looking back, I didn't see much need to change my class when I felt like the characters were at the top of their game. Alex, the lead fighter was sporting nearly 130 HP and had acquired some exceptional equipment.

Blade Cusinart is awesome, or I should say... was

Sean and Flewin also gained some good equipment such as an Epee of Excellence, Tanned Leather (better than padded), and 1st Class Plate. Having even my thief with negative AC was a nice sight, but my confidence didn't match reality.

Thankfully the run option has succeeded the majority of the time

I should have known better; I was constantly assailed by enemies that posed a greater threat than I knew how to handle. Especially those that were resistant to magic. The benefits from fighting these tough battles were tiny compared to the risks. Most of the time it was still better to grind against Murphy's Ghost.

Of all the fights I've won, Frost Giants were the only ones award this amount

It was nearing the end of my play session; I adopted a now-or-never mentality and pushed forward, towards Werdna's lair. Did I feel completely prepared? No. Did I feel like I stood a chance? Yes, obviously. So, I headed in after healing up.

I'm pretty sure it was after 3, which may explain why he was so mad... also I didn't have an appointment

I took a deep breath followed by a resounding sigh of consternation. Werdna was surrounded by what looked like a dangerous group of vampires. I was certain their level draining would give me trouble. What I didn't expect, as mentioned before, was the first volley of Tiltowait.

I still held out hope as one of my mages had miraculously survived and had his own Tiltowait queued. Alex, the lead fighter was drained and paralyzed. My remaining party members fell to more party damaging spells delivered by the vampires. The following turn the game knowingly taunted my lack of options.

Would you like to die or stare at the screen?

Dying at Werdna is the worst place. Not only is my party gone they are virtually unreachable. I would need to defeat Werdna to collect them. This would also require taking less than six characters as that's the only way to gather up the fallen character, one-by-one. I might as well have teleported into a wall.

You will be avenged!

I blame my poor luck on turning off the solid walls for the more classic feel of a lined dungeon. A classic look was a nice thought, but now I realize this must have also turned up the difficulty to 11.

A hidden difficulty setting... not really

So, what now? I have characters available to grind against Murphy, but I want to mitigate the risk of Tiltowait. I figure over 200 HP for each character is a necessity. I may make all new characters to focus ability points on vitality and fighters to maximize damage soaking potential.

I'll start with a group of fighters, change classes 4 - 5 times through cleric and mage for spells, and finally arrive at a party of fighters/ninjas (if I'm lucky enough, a thief if I'm not), a cleric, a mage, and a wizard.

I can't imagine anyone watching such obscene amounts of grinding for 8+ hours, so I'm not going to bore anyone other than myself. I'll stream my progress again once I've finished and start collecting treasure.

Poor Murphy, what did he do to deserve this fate?

I'll alleviate the strain of grinding solely on Wizardry by also playing Star Saga 2 at the same time. A slow turn based text adventure should fit nicely with the braindead button mashing on the NES.

Session Time: 4h00m (Total Time: 22h20m) 

Game 13: Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (NES) - Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

And so ends the party... for now

One second I think I'm making progress, that I have some handle on the game, and in the next it throws a curve ball. I guess I ventured too far, too fast. I should really take this game one fight at a time, stay close to the exit.

I was exploring the fifth floor and doing well; I have a little over half mapped out. I even discovered a couple interesting items: a ring of jewels (not sure what this does, if anything) and an epee of dismay (pretty sure this was cursed, so I sold it). Then, all of sudden, my magic ceases to function.

Fizzle? Why?

I'm at a loss as to why magic quit functioning for my party. I thought it was a single room, but the effects lasted as I made a beeline for the exit. Unfortunately, I had been in the middle of deep exploration and there were many doors between me and the elevator, and even more to the stairs. The party fought bravely.

One by one my party started to fall, Pacpix was first to several breath attacks from dragons. I had no way to heal between battles and my mages were now useless, but there was a glimmer of hope. Only two more doors to get through, and I had just saved Alex from poison with a neutralizing potion. I think I mentioned it before, but entering doors seem to have a higher chance of encountering enemies.

The enemies' magic works fine!

I felt despondent as I saw the screen above. My hopes of making it back dashed. I considered my options. I could quit this game... no, I knew there were difficult games to get through. It's the sole reason I made the rule not to let up until a game was won. It's just... 13 hours, and I have little to show for it. At least I have my maps.

I set about making another party. It took a good 20 minutes, and as I'm about to assemble them I remember the thief, THIEF, that I dragged down to level 9. Maybe I could sneak through, find some friendly monsters, and get out with most of the party. I didn't have the funds to raise them yet, but it'd be good to have them back.

So, I did this, and it was just as disastrous. I ran into some dragon flies on the way down and was killed nearly instantly. Later on I would notice that Jonothan had disappeared from my roster. I wonder if only six characters can exist as out in the dungeon. Either that or some monster got a hold of him and dragged him off into oblivion. In any case, Jonothan is lost forever, along with the sturdy plate armor (best armor I've yet found). Well, time to get on with a new party.

Sean didn't start out as a very good thief

It was at that point I called it a night, and I truly considered moving on to another game. Who puts up with this? 13 hours, and starting the game all over again. Well, I ended up firing up the NES again today, and committed to an hour more at least. If I didn't make any progress after that, then I'd take some time off.

I didn't think anyone would want to watch me grinding out a new party, so I didn't bother to stream today. (My computer was also indisposed.)

Well, one thing led to another, and I decided instead of a single party I would make two. After getting to a point where I could once again grind on Murphy's Ghost, I made a second party and took them three by three to gain their experience.

Don't worry Sean, you're now the best candidate for ninja

It's been a very successful comeback up to this point. I took the new party to collect the Blue Ribbon. I did not put on the Ring of Death this time, and I now have the funds to raise my fallen party and then some.

The calls were not quite as close, and I managed to bring everyone back to the castle without incident. The only bad news in all this is the loss of Jonothan. I wonder, at what point do you think I can assault Werdna and get this over with?

My current roster

With this group of characters, I'd really have to suffer catastrophic losses to have the same setback as last time. Still, I feel I haven't made much progress. I'd like to see some gains in magical equipment that I can use, so I'm going to test the waters on the ninth floor. Wish me luck.

Session Time: 6h20m (Total Time: 18h20m)

Game 13: Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (NES) - Fumbling in the Dark

At least there aren't any grues

Every step I take deeper into the dark depths of the dungeon sends shivers down my spine. I'm paralyzed by the fear of losing my party, any one of them. Any moment I can meet enemies that paralyze, poison, or instantly kill my party. And now, I've made a terrible mistake... actually a few.

No amount of planning can prevent this

I've now made it as far as the fifth floor, and I've yet to find much treasure in Wizardry. I found another statue and key on the second, which I can only guess allow me to progress past certain squares since there are ones marked as special, but nothing notable occurs.

On the third floor I finally started to get equipment from chests, but only things I could already purchase. I'm hoping to get something more interesting from the fights soon; otherwise, I don't see much benefit from fighting anything but Murphy's Ghost based on the risk involved. On the fourth I found the ninjas above, but more interesting is an area just outside the elevator.

I got lucky and no one died this time

From this fight I received my first real treasure. A rod of flame that can cast Mahalito (group fire damage), and a ring of death. Following this fight I received a congratulatory message and another quest item that allows me to use a second elevator.

How exactly does a blue ribbon unlock an elevator?

It's with this ring of death that I made my first mistake. I accidentally put it on. Now, how you may ask did I accidentally put it on? Well, it's all due to a handy little feature that allows me to equip all party members without visiting each of their equipment lists.

Can't cancel out of it once started either

So, there I was, having to continually click through all the equipment options. I honestly wasn't thinking about it, and started to click faster to get it over with. Then the following screen flashes for but a second, and my heart sinks.

Noooooo!!

Yes, Archivis, equipped the Ring of Death. The only way to remove a cursed item is back in town, and I was lucky to have enough healing to make it back as the ring ticks 3 HP every step. I then found the cost to remove a curse is equal to the cost of selling the item, 250,000 gold in this case. That would have been a helpful sale.

Do you take loans?

I considered my options. Maybe if he's dead I can remove a cursed item? No. Maybe I can get another ring from that fight and sell it to afford the removal? Maybe... but I'll need another character. I make one, Jaspar, and am underwhelmed by his progress. I headed to bed for the night.

Jaspar, why are your hit points so low?

At the start of my next session I reviewed my notes and stumbled upon a spell I had previously written off as useless, Loktofeit. It's a sixth level priest spell. It causes the party to return to the castle, but drops all  equipment and most gold. Drops all equipment? Could that really work?

Here goes nothing

And, it works! I welcome Archivis back to the party. Let's see now if I can get back on track. I head out to get another Ring of Death. This is was another mistake. First, Archivis dies during the second fight as I fail to silence the two mages before they both get off powerful Lahalito spells that damage the entire party for 20 HP each.

No worries, Durian just learned Di, which brings back the dead.

Oops? What do you mean 'oops'?

Apparently, it's not as effective as the temple, or I'm just really unlucky. Archivis is now ashes. When a character is ashed it costs double for the temple to raise the character. And, even then, the temple has a chance to fail.

And they bury him with all his gear

Sorry Archivis, again. I still had the second ring, so I made a new wizard to identify it so I could sell it. Somehow when I identified the ring though it immediately equipped on him. I rewatched the footage, and it was definitely not an accidental equip this time. Maybe this is a bug from how I got rid of the first one?

Around this time I decided to take the default party out for a spin on level 9. I handed off the blue ribbon and took the two elevators all the way down. I quickly found the chute down to level 10, and was lucky to run into only friendly monsters that I let leave.

Anyone know what Contra-dextra avenue means?

I didn't get very far though, as I never ran into a friendly monster past the first door. I wonder what chances my current party have at surviving all the way to Werdna. Would I really miss anything by attempting a raid on him already?

Werdna's lair offers the only change in scenery

Well, I know where Werdna is now, but I still have five dungeon floors left to explore. I've found my mage very useful in combat, and the wizard less so. I decided to make another for my next character.

Now if only I could stop getting decapitated

I'm unsure what more to do to prepare for the floors ahead. Should I continue floor by floor, or jump to the last and hope for better equipment? I could continue grinding on Murphy, but the return has nearly stopped. I've also considered grinding out a backup party in case my current gets wiped. I feel like I don't have a good grasp on where to go next.

I've hit a wall

Session Time: 6h00m (Total Time: 12h00m)

Game 13: Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (NES) - The Ghost of Murphy's Law

Welcome new party

With my abysmal start to Wizardry, I decided to enlist the help of the few readers that posted in the previous entry. Adding in their luck, I got past the first floor and am well on my way through mapping the second. I hope the characters are fitting to each, Archivis was the only one who requested a specific class.

I spent some time ensuring to get 17+ bonus points and focused on vitality. Even so, I still got a few levels where a character only gained a single hit point. I also went with an evil party because, well, ninjas. One thing different this time around was to only equip my first three characters. Since they're the only ones that can attack or be attacked, there's no reason to equip everyone from the start.

Before getting back into the thick of things though, I thought it best to peruse the manual a second time. Here are some interesting things I learned:

• With high bonus totals it's possible to create a Samurai from the get go, so I did.
• To erase the save data on the NES cartridge, you need to delete all characters, select delete character again, and confirm erasing all data. This restores the default party and resets the items at Boltac's.
• The manual confirms that a "good" party should leave friendly enemies alone, and "evil" should kill everything because, you know, gold.
• Characters out in the maze can lose their gold and equipment. It's a little ambiguous, but this may also apply to a party that is left out in the maze at full health.

I missed this last point until after I started pulling my old characters out and stripping them, evil party needs gold. Once I retrieved everyone I noticed I was only up 500 gold, minus 250 for raising a character that died during one of those trips. This includes the gold gained from fighting monsters.

I'm sure it didn't help to have my weapon unequipped

On the suggestion of the manual I took the first floor one fight at a time. This slow build-up felt overly cautious, but considering my first experience and the luck involved, I wanted to maximize my chances. After a few levels I felt confident and explored.

I noticed a decided lack of treasure sitting around. Chests are only gained after combat it seems, but not every combat will produce one. Pacpix has yet to fail disarming a trap, but he's only produced a single anointed mace, which sold for 15 gold, despite max luck. I've found several statues I'm not sure what to do with, but maybe there's a clue in the description.

I searched each one and came away with two keys and a massive influx of experience. This last statue summons the ghost of Murphy. He seems tied to this plane through the statue, and no matter how many times I defeat him, he keeps coming back. He's a friendly ghost though, so a good party would struggle with leveling a bit more than I did.

He's friendly, kill him, for the gold!

I started to think maybe I was over-leveling, so I moved on to the next floor. Here I was poisoned, paralyzed, and faced imminent death at the hands of 6 ninjas. The difficulty curve sure is on a steep slope in this game.

Since when do zombies paralyze?

I made it as far as one more statue, an animated frog that started doing some strange dance as I approached. What is the purpose of all these, what I assume are, quest items? There's very little of a cohesive story between them. Trying to find some clue in the description leaves me dumbfounded. A silver Key came from the silver boar, a bronze key came from the bronze statue (what do you call a half chicken / half cat creature), and a frog statue came from the frog statue.

Did I take the whole statue this time?

I guess the only thing to do is continue exploring. I stepped into floor 3 and 4 to check them out, but didn't get very far. I still have some of the second floor to map. Things are going well so far, which means I'm sure the party will meet an untimely end during my next session.

Session Time: 4h30m (Total Time: 6h00m)

Game 13: Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (NES) - I Must Be Mad

I always assumed the mad overlord was Werdna

Game 13

Title: Wizardry

Year: 1989

Platform: NES

Developer: Sir-tech Software, Inc.

Publisher: NEXOFT Corporation

Genre: RPG

Exploration: First Person

Combat: Turn-based (Party)

"We've gathered in great swarms to answer the call of our lord Trebor. Our singular quest is to confront the wizard Werdna and return with the amulet. Simple, right?"

*Plop*

Why would anyone subject themselves to this grueling, unforgiving game? I don't remember it being this hard on the PC when I played it about 15 years ago. I have maps of all floors to prove I beat it (I haven't peeked). Yet, here I am, writing a post on my first session, and I'm basically at square one.

My first party with some good HP despite single digit bonuses

Everything started well enough. I created new characters quickly, without worrying too much about stats, and decided upon the above party. I figured two clerical spell casters, one mage, three fighters for the front line, and a thief would lead to great victories. Little did I realize the wizard doesn't get cleric spells right away. I outfitted them with the best I could buy using the limited resources of just their initial gold.

I entered the maze and set about mapping the first level. I only got to the second room before one of my fighters died.

Encounter rates seem to rise considerably when entering doors

I finished off the battle, and realized I had no way of gauging my party's strength. The slimes and skeletons seem easy enough, but the kobolds I just faced nearly slaughtered me. Resurrecting just one character takes 250 gold for a level one character. To put that into perspective, after the four fights and with the gold left over for equipment purchases, I had 300 gold. It also takes 10 gold / hit point to recover at the inn, although I think I found a way around this. Well, as long as I don't die too much I should be able to eek out a meager existence until I gain some levels.

Well, that didn't work out...

With no money to resurrect these characters, I decided to recreate them and head back out, but I ran into a problem. I couldn't add my cleric anymore. That's strange, he just disappears as soon as I added my fighters. Did they not get along? Wait a minute, when did Durian become evil? I moved past it at the time, but in review of my recording I found the point he turned.

Skeletons are unnatural, but attacking "friendly" skeletons is bad

In my zealous pursuit of gold to resurrect Zatoichi, I attacked a few friendly encounters. Doing this turned Durian evil. Well, with my front line decimated and my cleric unwilling to travel with my goodly wizard, I decided to recreate my entire party. This time I was going to spend some time rolling up better stats.

My wizard already had a good roll of 17 bonus points, so I kept her around. All others had single digit bonuses, which I took quickly since I wanted to dive right in. Even after getting 16s through 18s for my new party I didn't notice a marked improvement. I stuck with the same names for this group, except for my cleric I picked his twin brother, Dorian. (I still have Durian as I might find need for an evil party.)

A higher vitality than last time, but less HP

Before disposing the of bodies, I looted the gold, but left the equipment. I know gathering gold from new characters is looked down on, but what's the consensus on taking from departed parties? I don't plan on creating characters purely for gold drops, but how much of this practice should be shunned? I haven't come to a decision, but since Lohlieth was a part of the original party, I didn't see much harm. Still, it's a lingering question.

Adventuring begins anew, and I spend some time grinding out some fights in the lower right room where enemies seem a little more manageable than other rooms. I do my best keeping everyone healed, and only Dorian spends nights at the inn to recover spell points so he can heal the rest of the party, saving some gold. 

A fighter or two dies, but this time I have the funds to raise them quickly, and most of my party reaches level two. It didn't seem strange then that I found a new enemy.

I missed the sign when all three fighters missed

I should have ran. I didn't. I mean it could have been a fluke, missing three times in a row. I should have ran when Fujimoto died the following round. The enemy's name changed to Highwaymen, and I realized this happened in the past too. I wonder if I've now learned what they're really called, or I killed the Man in Chain in front and now the Highwaymen are next in line.Would I always know what a Highwayman looks like?

I killed one, so I should be able to take on the rest...

Instead of running, I pressed on, and threw all my chips in when my last two fighters fell. My best laid plans came crashing down. Kreiggul was going to be Lord, and Zatoichi a samurai while Fujimoto would remain a fighter. Lohlieth, the only remaining member of the original party met her end at only level 3. It would take the gold of 6 new characters to resurrect her. Both Gullynets were great thieves, never failing to disarm a trap.

Alas, the adventure ends

Now, the next session will start like the last, character creation. I wonder if I should bother with the high stat bonuses. I wonder if I should bother retrieving the bodies of the fallen party, and to what end. I wonder if I should have some extra fire power by dropping a fighter for a full mage. The default party has two fighters, one cleric, two mages, and a thief, so maybe that's a more balanced group.

In any case, I hope my next outing is a bit more fruitful. I'm curious to know what the readers here consider acceptable gaming of the system. Three areas come to mind, making new characters purely for gold, retrieving bodies of past characters purely for their gold and equipment, and creating characters until high bonus point values are reached. What are your thoughts on these areas? I can think of one more hypothetical that doesn't need an answer right away: creating characters to equip items to see if they're cursed or have ill effects.

Looks like I'll need a reserve of names, so let me know your favorite class and I'll pair you up for the next adventure.

Session Time: 1h30m (Total Time: 1h30m)

Game 12: Final Fantasy (NES) - Rating

Combatant
Combat offers some surprising strategy due to characters not re-targeting an upright enemy after their intended victim falls. This ensures planning goes into each attack and spell in hopes that they all find their mark. The alternative is adopted in future releases of the game, so I know I'm not the only one to find my party literally beating a dead horse more than a little annoying.

The party has a good arsenal of attacks from basic hits to spells and magic items that have spell like effects. Healing, buffing, and debuffing also have their place, although only the first of those are really worth the time and effort. A failed stop spell is a wasted turn, and fights are often over before buffs benefit from the turn they take.

Enemies offer a variety of unique challenges from the minor to the obscene. The worst offender are the instant death spells and attacks, but damaging elemental spells seem to hurt my own characters as much as the enemies. This means an early fight against six red gargoyles can end in their favor before I have a chance to react as they all cast fire 2. Another wrench in the mix is the critical hit available to both sides of combat.
Rating: 5

I don't have a horse, but will an asp do?

Admirer
A customizable cast of party members and the ability to pick and choose spells boost this game ahead of all others so far. Class advancement is linear and limited to a single change, but it's possible to forgo this side quest if you prefer a challenge (or just enjoy the more chibi looking sprites). I remember taking all sorts of parties through the game back in the day from all fighters to all black mages. The mixed parties were the easiest ones to get through though.
Rating: 5

The default party

Puzzler
The only puzzling aspect to the game is the story, but we'll get to that shortly. The main quest is straightforward, and only one side quest to advance to the next class profession is available. While not all the steps make logical sense, enough hints are dispensed to avoid being completely lost in the larger world.

There aren't any puzzles to speak of, but there is one hidden mini-game. A sliding puzzle game that once completed adds 100 gold to your reserves. To play, enter the ship, hold the A button and press B 50 times or so. At least it's something to play if you're looking for a different kind of challenge.
Rating: 3

Unlimited gold!

Instigator
Well, there's a main narrative, and it's about on par with other games in this era. It starts out with a simple save the princess quest, and expands into a full blown save the world. After you save the world you'd expect a stock ending, but no, the game continues on. Now, you have to save all of time.

In some weird and hard to follow twist, the game's main bad guy is actually Garland. He's the first boss we defeated, yet we learn that we didn't finish him off. The four fiends sent him back in time, and he in turn sent them to the future so they could send him to the past so he could send them to the future... forever. How is this a time-loop? The game says it is, but I'm not buying it. The epilogue doesn't offer much more insight, so I'm going to write it off as possibly a poor translation yet still mark it down for incoherency.
Rating: 3

Of course, Garland does too... wait, what?

Collector
If only there was more room in the inventory, but alas we have four weapon slots and four armor slots for each character. While each can only equip one weapon, they can have four pieces of armor equipped at the same time. This made for some tough decisions as I ran into chests with a piece of armor that I couldn't see, I only knew it was armor because that's the inventory that was full, and I had to drop one before getting it out of the chest. I dropped my Zeus Gauntlet to get a Cloth, a most unfortunate trade.

Beyond the equipment inventory, the item inventory is rather sparse. There are three different potions, plus three camping accessories, and finally a random assortment of quest items. There's no completion and no real tracking of items. As for spells, unless you have two white mages and two black, then you'll never have all the spells.

The economy stays a vital part for most of the game only if you fill up said spell slots. Even with an all mage party though you'll still have plenty of cash flowing by the end of the game. Some treasures in the final dungeon even spew forth large amounts to no benefit.
Rating: 3

I never did give the Adamant to the dwarf to make Excalibur

Explorer
The world at large is an interesting place with a handful of sights. It opens up at a nice gradual pace. I only wish there were more nooks and crannies that dealt less with the main plot. Everything seems geared toward getting the party through to the current task. It's even interesting to revisit old towns after certain events as some NPC dialogue will change over time.

It's a great feeling once the airship is finally unlocked and the party can soar around the globe. The graphics are consistently good, and the music is varied enough not to get monotonous. Each location has a distinct style with the elf village full of tress and the volcano flowing with lava at nearly every step.
Rating: 5

Poor Erdrick, only 29 years ago and no one remembers the dragon warrior

Final Rating: 24 (40%)

The game offers quite the challenge and it's intriguing to see where the series started. There's some replay value by trying out different party arrangements, but the story isn't one of the strongest aspects. While I'd like to say there are many firsts in this game for console RPGs, the reality is many games came along at the same time or before that offered the same features. Of course, there's one I can say with confidence Final Fantasy did first, and that's the in-game over-world map. I don't believe they kept up that tradition, but I for one enjoyed having it.

The depths to which the manual guided the player through over half the game says something about the confidence in the players. From the very beginning to obtaining the airship, the manual is filled with helpful advice; a necessity I suppose for early console gamers previously unfamiliar with RPGs. In fact the game originally came with two full maps of the dungeons, a stat sheet of all enemies, and a list of equipment and spells. I happy with the score, although I imagined it falling a bit lower. I actually enjoyed the first Phantasy Star a bit more.

Looking at the list ahead Super Hydlide was up next, but I've run into a bit of a snag; my Genesis won't turn on. I need to get around to buying a new one this week. Add in a week or two for shipping, and I think I'll rearrange the list just a bit. I apologize for those looking forward to it. I still want to move on to something I have less experience with, so I've moved Wizardry up to the next spot followed by Crystalis. If I get the console earlier than I expect, then I'll swap Super Hydlide into the next spot.