The world of RPGs has decades of history and runs deep. There are countless spins on tried and true traits of the genre. Gameplay elements are remixed and experimented with, and the deep storylines are sometimes spun on their heads. Of course, some RPGs feel rote to play or are unoriginal. But even that begs the question, “Where did all of these ideas originate from”? Back in 1981, a seminal piece of software was released on the Apple II home computer. That little game was the first of its kind when it came to RPG video games. That legendary work was Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord. Digital Eclipse has poured years of blood, sweat, and tears to usher this classic into the modern era while paying it the respect it deserves. Now, delve in and explore the Maze with our Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord Review!
Upon creating a save file and starting a new game, a smooth camera motion zooms into the castle town that is visible on the title screen. After this seamless transition, you start your adventure within the city; the Mad Overlord’s castle protectively and domineeringly looming over… Text boxes spilling with some light lore and tutorials greet you, welcoming you to the world of Wizardry.
The Mad Overlord’s Castle Town – A Bastion for Prospective Adventurers
This city will prove invaluable. It shall act as a safe haven along with housing a few establishments that will be invaluable to your continued plunges into the depths of the Maze. On the far left lie the Training Grounds. Countless adventurers begin their journey here, hoping to return for greater power one day. A peaceful Inn rests next to the Training Grounds, offering weary and beaten souls a chance for respite. At times, the need for rest is ignored, as the bustling Tavern is nearby. Adventurers meet and greet as they replenish their spirits over foaming tankards. A solemn temple sits slightly away from the hustle and bustle. Gentle hymns within the temple implore the gods to save those who have had their threads prematurely cut. Nestled opposite of the Training Grounds is a quaint shop that offers necessities such as gear and draughts. Finally, on the edge of town sits the entrance to the maze. The scent of death and an aura of despair waft around that god-forsaken place. Despite this, it seems as if this pit calls for the brave, begging to be explored and conquered.
What a quaint town, huh? It offers every facility you will need to delve into the Maze and survive. You can create characters at the training grounds and change their classes once they meet the stat requirements. Resting at the inn will replenish your party’s HP and Spell Charges, ensuring that you’re fighting fit for the beasties lurking within the Maze. Visiting the Inn also allows you to level up your characters, assuming they have a suitable amount of experience. Visiting the tavern allows you to hire adventurers to save time from painstakingly creating your own at the training grounds. Plus you can organize your party here. The temple offers only one service, and that is to revive killed party members. This comes at a fiscal cost, which isn’t always worth it. The Maze may contain countless treasures and equipment to adorn your party with, but that’s not easy to acquire early on. Luckily, you can rely on the local merchant to provide you with what you need. If you have the necessary gold, that is.
If you’ve played any Dungeon Crawling RPGs you’ll be more than familiar with this style of hub. It’s basically a fancy menu (in this version, at least, as it is a literal menu in the original). You’ll be spending an ample amount of time making preparations for your Maze expeditions. I have a few qualms with aspects of the menus, which is vital with a menu-based hub. The specific menu I have in mind is the shop menu. I legit have no clue how to shuffle between item categories on a controller. I’m playing on PC, so I just swap to the mouse so that I can easily click between category tabs. I find this beyond strange, as every other party management menu works just as you’d expect. Besides that, I find it amazing that everything here is still in RPGs to this day. Forming a party, spending stat points, purchasing items, and even reviving at church… These are integral mechanics in legendary RPGs like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Some of these may have fallen in and out of fashion over the years, but the base that this game formed is stronger than diamond. And we haven’t even dove into the combat or exploration mechanics!
The Ruthless Proving Grounds – A Maze Filled to the Brim with Misery and Treachery
Your party carefully trudges forth into the great pit-like entrance. Weathered stone stairs lightly crumble beneath their feet with each step. The light of the world above fades with each step downwards. Finally, a lone doorway marks the end of the stairs and the beginning of the Maze. These ‘Proving Grounds’ created by the Mad Overlord Trebor harbor bloodthirsty monsters, cryptic puzzles, and obstacles designed to impede those without strong constitutions. Each step into the encroaching and unforgiving darkness triggers your fight-or-flight instincts. The corpses strewn about emanating the stench of death only exemplify this feeling… Only adequate preparation, quick wits, and a lack of foolishness will allow your group to proceed. Not unharmed, but proceeding nonetheless. Can you guide a party through the depths to fell the traitorous wizard Werdna?
Interestingly, Wizardry introduced party-centric turn-based combat to gaming. Even the combat of this game set the standards for decades to come! You take control of six party members, split in half. Three party members take the vanguard position in the front while the remaining three sit in the back, away from the action. Even the row placement mechanic originated here. The class system determines the actions a character can take. You can’t attack physically from the back row, so put your magic users and healers in the back. This allows them to properly use their abilities while their strong and stout companions take the brunt of the onslaught while retaliating with their own assault. My main complaint with combat comes from the balancing. The game simulates actions with formulas that replicate Dungeons and Dragons. Even down to simulating dice rolls for things like actions, monster group sizes, and enemy HP values. It works, but my unfamiliarity with DnD doesn’t do me any favors. My preference lies with the ever-changing formulas present in JRPGs.
If you pay close attention and learn from your mistakes, you can make it through off of sheer perseverance. Learn the Maze’s layout, learn what enemies do, and be careful! Rashness to level up or explore will lead your part to a certain, yet unfortunate, end. You must plan your combat actions accordingly and beware of traps. There are pits that hurt you, trapped treasure chests, secret passages, darkness that steals your sight, and more. It’s quite easy to get lost in this labyrinth. You can draw your own maps on graph paper if you so wish. It would be the “pure” way to experience the game’s exploration. A minimap is also an available option in this version of the game. It has limited visibility, so it helps while not taking away any surprises. There are also 4 decades’ worth of maps and guides out there on the internet, too. Do what you want, I guess. Just be sure to know your limits and return to town regularly.
I’m not gonna mince ANY words here. This game can be BRUTAL. Even when playing this modern remake, with its offerings and features that make the game more accessible, I found situations where I would be kicked when I was down. Knowledge and caution are your best friends in this game. At first, I thought the game definitely offered some challenge. Enemies come at you in droves and hit hard. It wasn’t anything I hadn’t seen before (ironic due to this game being one of the progenitors of JRPGs). But what came next shocked me. I had grinded my party carefully to levels 3-4. Then I got cocky. I delved even deeper into the maze, thinking that I could handle it. I was wrong. Nearly my whole party got torn to shreds. When I came back to town, bloodied and battered, I learned a harsh truth. It is not viable to revive several party members. The cost of revival skyrockets as you level up. I had no choice but to abandon the bodies of my former comrades and start anew. Wizardry isn’t about a group of unlikely heroes banding together to accomplish great things like the games it would eventually inspire. No, you take control of adventurers of no renown who seek to be recognized. Someday, a group will prove themselves. However, the droves of those who don’t are lost to the annals of history…
LUCKILY, I discovered a monster known as Murphy’s Ghost. This is essentially a proto-metal slime. They are fairly easy to fight despite taking many turns. The amount of experience you gain from this fight is a perfect way to grind in the early to mid-game. Huh, this game even helped perpetuate the RPG loop of Get Decimated -> Learn a Grinding Method -> Profit.
Charms of the Past – Preservation of the Utmost Caliber
Digital Eclipse is a fantastic studio that aims to preserve many of gaming’s greats. Their work on this remake of the first Wizardry is no different. The advertising boasts that it runs the original Apple II code under the hood while the new UE4 assets sit on top. you can even toggle the original graphics to sit on top of everything like a UI element. It’s neat. I also really appreciate the slew of options available. There are several toggles available to the player that allow them to customize their experience. You can even select presets. ‘Modern’ gives you the most QoL, easing players into the game more smoothly. There are also options that turn off these extra functions to create an experience that’s closer to the Apple II original or even the old console ports (NES, Super Famicom, etc.). A lot of effort and love went into this game to retain what makes it a classic while offering optional modernization for accessibility.
I do want to note a few things that are mildly disappointing yet understandable. In the original versions of the game, you had to type in spell names, draw your own maps, and refer to the manual for in-depth information on everything. I understand many of these interesting quirks would be difficult or cumbersome to implement on the console versions of the game. I mulled it over and decided that the dev team really did the best that could. Even offering a port of the original game would only work on PC without heavy alterations. I’m not even sure how they’d tackle replicating the floppy disc and save data elements either… So, great job, guys! Ultimately, the team really did consider how to best proceed in remaking this important piece of gaming history.
One Tale Concludes as Innumerably More Begin…
Wizardry succeeded in defining many aspects of the RPG genre. You’ll be surprised to find deep character creation, solid battle mechanics, and other foundational elements. It’s pretty fun to play this game and point at things you recognize from your favorite RPGs. The combat, exploration, class systems, and dungeon delving are all familiar. Even creative minds like Yuji Horii (Dragon Quest) and Hironobu Sakaguchi (Final Fantasy) reminisce fondly about Wizardry to this day. Heck, ATLUS has even developed many games inspired by Wizardry. Even going so far as to publish a spinoff game! I will say the game has certainly aged. Those who enjoy old-school or more difficult RPGs can easily acclimate, though. It’s almost like having a close friend who you know well, and then you meet their cool grandpa who’s just like them.
Digital Eclipse provided Final Weapon with a Steam copy of Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord for review purposes.
