Wizardry - Labyrinth of Lost Souls being localized!

[Jeneki]

Obviously you're gonna have to play the alignment trick to get all these characters in the same party (saving in the dungeon and having another party find them.)

I never tried that before. The way I used to do it used random encounters that didn't attack right away. If you attack anyway, there's a small chance that a good character may shift over towards the evil side. If you let them go, characters may randomly shift to the good side.

[CMoon]

You can do this as well (I'm trying to change my ninja to neutral this way), but it might take a long time.

Made it down to the 4th floor in both dungeons and starting to get pounded a bit. Had good luck acquiring some strong weapons and the samurai's attack-all skill is pretty damn nice, especially followed up by two other heavy hitters.

Anyway, great game so far. Don't know how long it will keep me busy since I've been busting through the floors pretty quick. Definitely worth the download + DLC price.

[CMoon]

Wow, this thread might become another one of those where I just post to myself.

Put a couple more hours into it today. Level 5 in Trials and 4 in Shiin. Shiin is definitely harder. There's a good weapon to grind for in the 4th level of Trials where 4th in Shiin has plenty of good drops, but I haven't got them yet. I'm enjoying the slow crawl right now and in no rush to finish the game, though I'm already hoping online sales + minimal translation = getting a US release of the next title. I know you guys are hoping for a physical copy, but I'm hoping for any copy with English. Please!

[cj iwakura]

If you need help, there's a pretty active thread at another board I frequent.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=432151

Registering there is hell, but keep tabs. Lots of helpful hints that we've pieced together.

[CMoon]

Grrrr! Several days later and I'm starting to get really pissed off at this game. I don't mind the $20 I spent, but later on, everything in this game becomes dependent upon random drops from monsters. Chests scattered throughout the dungeon are totally worthless. Hint to programmers: unless you don't want players to have those nice items in the game, don't make the drop rate so low that dozens of extra hours need to be spent grinding to get said item. Ultimately, weapons end up being far more important than character level, hence my rage! No way to get the weapons except through rare drops from rare enemies. I'm not giving up on this game, but my interest has definitely been halved. Maybe the sequel to this isn't so heavily based on random drops?

[Ganelon]

That's the way all JP Wizardry games I've played within the last decade have been for better or worse, where most chests just contain random items around your level and the endgame rewards finding rare item drops slightly more than pure grinding.

The sequel plays the exact same way and so do all the other JP Wiz games on the market nowadays. One of the more ridiculous situations I've faced was spending around 15 hours just finding the rare drop key to the final boss in Inochi no Kusabi.

[CMoon]

Rather dashes my interest in more of the same. The question remains: Why have the Japanese developers ignored all the Wiz games after 5?

[Ruldra]

Does anyone knows if the add-ons for this game are worth paying for? One of them is $8 and apparently adds another dungeon, while the other one is $5 and opens some doors in the Dungeon of Trials.

First one seems like it's worth buying. Second one sounds like a rip-off.

[CMoon]

I bought all the DLC, but ultimately gave up on the game. I love the idea of dungeon crawls, but as stated earlier, the whole game became about getting extremely rare drops (apparently much more rare than the titanite slab drops in Dark Soul's New Londo Ruins). Spent the better part of 5 hours grinding for said drops with no such luck. Seriously, the Etrian Odyssey games are MUCH better than this, and of course, Wizardry 6-8 are much better than Etrian Odyssey.

I'd spent a long time hoping these games would get brought over (you can see my enthusiasm across the course of this thread), and now my interest has been completely lost in this series. I think the only ones left who understand Wizardry work for Atlus.

[Ruldra]

So you don't recommend this game? I was planning to buy it soon.

[CMoon]

I enjoyed the game for a while, but got to a certain point where I was having problems progressing because I didn't have the right weapons/armor which were all extremely rare drops. That said, I spent an hour today grinding for ore in Dark Souls, but there are things I can do to greatly increase the chance of drops. That can't be done in this PSN Wizardry game. You may be very lucky with it and enjoy it, but I hit a wall where I was just grinding for hours and not getting anywhere.

[cj iwakura]

The game is good, but it feels kind of lacking. There's games on the DS and PSP with far more depth to both the plot and exploration. You'd think more could be done with a PSN game.

That said, I enjoy it for what it is, and it has good music and artwork(sparseness aside).

I bought the Red Sister expansion, and the new arc seems interesting, and I hear it's real tough.

Fair warning: the main game's final boss? Difficulty spike ahoy.


Oh yeah, and the sequel looks way better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WcBF8pSJew

I hope we get it here.

[Ruldra]

Thanks for the input guys. I liked the demo so I'll buy the game despite the grinding, but I'll hold off buying the DLC until later.

Tell me, is it possible to beat the game without resorting to guides? I know there are a lot of secrets (like the class requirements), but I prefer to go and discover stuff by myself.

[cj iwakura]

Very much so, but the final boss is going to rock your world if you don't know certain skills or have a very defensive build.

[cj iwakura]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=36568464

So yeah, I'm spearheading a pseudo-kickstarter to get us the sequel localized.

If anyone who enjoyed the game or dungeon crawlers in general wants to help us out, it sure couldn't hurt.

TL;DR: buy the game, and if you bought the game, buy the $4.99 Red Shadow of the Sister DLC.

[Ruldra]

A nice effort, but ultimately I don't think this will help. Anyone interested in the game already bought it at this point. The guys over at Xseed should've made up their minds already if the sequel will get localized or not.

Quote from the Xseed forums moderator Wyrdwad:

Can't talk about sales numbers, I'm afraid -- AngrySalesMonkey will thwack me upside the head if I do! I'll just go with my usual line, which has so far applied to pretty much every game we've released since I joined the company: it didn't flop, but it sure won't be buying us any solid gold houses either.

I think your best bet is PM him and ask about it. If he still gives the usual "we're still thinking about it" line, then it probably ain't coming over.

Also, if the sequel is indeed coming over, we need to wait more. It took them two years to get LoLS localized.

[Ganelon]

I applaud the effort but I'm not sure why we should bother with the sequels when Students of Round, Meikyuu X Blood Reloaded, and all the Elminage games for every platform are all much more polished. Even UnchainBlades ReXX, which is due for a release, was a better idea. Yeah, nothing beats a real, licensed Wizardry title but having already wasted so much on Acquire's endless DLC that are later combined into full price retail packs with exclusive bonuses, I don't think I want to support Acquire any more for this game. I do look forward to the next retail Wizardry release though, despite the spotty track record.

[cj iwakura]

I agree, I'd love to see any of those come out here, but this is an established thing, and I think it has a better chance.

And I've played the sequel's demo.

It looks damn good.

It'd be a crime to leave it behind.

[E. Randy Dupre]

I've only really got into this genre with Atlus' localisation efforts this generation - the EO series, Dark Spire, Class of Heroes, etc - and LoLS. Any recommendations for other games that I should look into playing? I know about the main SMT games. I'm looking mainly at console or handheld releases, because of potential compatibility issues with PC games. Need to be localised, too - either EU or US releases - as I'm not big on playing stuff that I need a translation guide to enjoy fully.

[Jonathan Ingram]

I've only really got into this genre with Atlus' localisation efforts this generation - the EO series, Dark Spire, Class of Heroes, etc - and LoLS. Any recommendations for other games that I should look into playing? I know about the main SMT games. I'm looking mainly at console or handheld releases, because of potential compatibility issues with PC games. Need to be localised, too - either EU or US releases - as I'm not big on playing stuff that I need a translation guide to enjoy fully.

Wizardry: Tales of the Forsaken Land for the PS2. It`s by far the best of the Japanese made Wizardry games. Also has a JP only sequel.

Wizardry: Llylgamyn Saga and Wizardry: New Age of Llylgamyn - two Wizardry compilations for PSX and PC that contain the remakes of Wizardry I-V. The PSX versions are JP only, but it`s possible to toggle English text in the options.

I would`ve also recommended Ultima Underworld I-II and Eye of the Beholder I-II, but they have no decent console versions.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

The PSX versions are JP only, but it`s possible to toggle English text in the options.

Wait, wait, wait, what?! Do you mean just like English plot text or actually FULL item/spell/enemy names? I usually think the SNES (fantranslated) is the best console release for playing Wiz I-III or V but if the PSX Japanese release actually allows for complete english text in the options, I will suddenly have to find a copy of this game.

Also, has anyone else played Labyrinth of Touhou? Sure, it's maiden loli themed and not first person view, but it's pretty darn fun for a Wizardry/Etrian Odyssey-inspired doujin, and there's a number of extra bosses from other series' games as well.

[Ghegs]

The PSX versions are JP only, but it`s possible to toggle English text in the options.

Wait, wait, wait, what?! Do you mean just like English plot text or actually FULL item/spell/enemy names? I usually think the SNES (fantranslated) is the best console release for playing Wiz I-III or V but if the PSX Japanese release actually allows for complete english text in the options, I will suddenly have to find a copy of this game.

You can control quite accurately just what you want to change the language for. I actually managed to find copies of both some years ago when I heard about this feature. Made this simple screenshot back then too, the circled parts are the ones you need to change for a full english experience.

[Jonathan Ingram]

What Ghegs said. Here`s what you need to toggle in New Age of Llylgamyn compilation to get English text:

Wizardry IV(note that there are two versions in the compilation - Classic and Arranged; the latter is going to remain mostly in Japanese even with all the options toggled):


The first four options are the language ones. The next three are for graphics(turning them off will allow you to play the game in original graphics). The last option is for enabling in-game auto-map(summoned with L2).

Wizardry V:



Some things will still remain in Japanese(like character names and action descriptions), but you`ll be able to play through the games just fine.

I took a few sceenshots:

[Ghegs]

You can rename the characters too, can't you? After that there shouldn't be much Japanese left on the screen.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

It's all so beautiful~

Even if the games don't allow for use of the alphabet in naming, I don't see that as being a big issue. I can't believe I haven't seen more people playing them in English on Youtube or something.

[Jonathan Ingram]

I guess I should`ve clarified the bit about the names. When you recruit new characters into your party their names appear in Japanese, but you can change them into English by toggling the Latin alphabet in the renaming option.

I can't believe I haven't seen more people playing them in English on Youtube or something.

Wizardry is niche. And a JP only compilation of niche games is even more niche.

[cj iwakura]

Funny you should mention, I bought Wizardry VI and VII on the Saturn for a taste of Western Wizardry, and lo and behold...

JP only.

[Ruldra]

I briefly tried the Wizardry compilation on the SNES but that thing looks so bare bones. Apparently there's not a single bit of story, you just pick a group of nameless adventurers and jump straight into the dungeon. The only difference between the three games is the music and a different-looking dungeon.

Is that game still worth playing in this day and age?

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Is that game still worth playing in this day and age?

Honestly, the enjoyment I got from it was more from experiencing how far RPGs have come from their roots. The game itself is pretty bad, even by the standards of the time it was made (playing it at the authentic speed on an original Apple II emulator is unbearable, I cranked it up to max speed when my party hit level 8 or so). Compare this to Ultima I which is actually pretty fun, not to mention playable on the authentic Apple II's speed.

The manual is an amusing read, but even it literally does not describe the plot. Basically, there's a dungeon so make a party and explore it. You only find out the actual plot of the game when you head down to level 4 where you get a paragraph of plot exposition telling you what your goal is to beat the game.

The first game seriously is just this (spoilers ahead, though not really):

1) Make a party, Vit 18s for max HP growth if you can (best stat to dump points in). Vit matters, then Agi for turn order speed, then whatever else (after spending enough in other stats to get a class). 3 Fighters (or Samurai if you get a lucky roll), 1 Cleric and 2 Mages is good (or 2F/2C/2M). A full team with Good alignment might slightly increase the chances of having friendly monster encounters you can ignore (it could just be me though), so also do that.

2) Level up a whole lot. Murphy's Ghosts in the hidden area on level 1 are safe (2 hp if they hit) and give a lot of exp. Switch classes around and such so at least 4 characters know Haman and Malor (knowing Tiltowait/Malikto for quick nuking and Madi for full heals is helpful too). Level 16 will give you enough Haman uses factoring in the level drain to get you to the final boss reasonably safely and be able to kill it, not to mention get enough gold to buy the best shop equips for everyone.

2) Take the elevator to level 4, get past the difficult boss battle (if you're lucky they're friendly to you and you can ignore them) and get an item you need along with a whole bunch of plot exposition (compared to what the manual has anyways).

3) Head down the express elevator, deal with an encounter in the doorway and down the chute a few squares away to the bottom floor.

4) On the way to final boss, use a few Hamans to ensure success on anything that resists magic like Greater Demons, because they'll fuck you up if you slug it out. Kill the final boss; go for instadeath with Haman for best results, silence or remove magic resistance will also practically win the fight as then you can nuke away with Tiltowait.

5) Get magical trinket from boss, cast Malor, warp up to level 1. Exit the dungeon, collect your reward.

You can quite literally beat the game while visiting only 4 of the floors of the game with only shop equipment. The hard part comes from time spent levelling, mapping out the game and knowing where to go. The rest is all filler to explore for trinkets or cool equipment, and getting cool equipment is risky with your strongest/main characters because there's enemies from dungeon level 2 onwards capable of instadeathing/stoning/paralyzing and eating you to death, which will make you lose any cool shit they had along with the time spent levelling them. Unless you can stand a grindfest that makes Dragon Quest/Warrior for the NES look short by comparison, or you really like making your own characters and just hunting for cool equipment with permadeath looming over your head constantly, I can't really recommend the first few games.

You'd be better off with the NES port of Bard's Tale if you want a dungeon crawler like Wizardry; it's got more conventional RPG mechanics, more plot and several different dungeons to explore and is much less frustrating to complete (MP as opposed to spell charges, Wizards learn ridiculously powerful full team healing and all enemy damage spells, no permadeath).

[Mortificator]

The Bard's Tale is better than Wizardry, but still not very good in absolute terms. The Might and Magic games are the real classics of the exclusively first-person turn-based RPGs.