Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls - Releasing May 29th
 

Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls will release on Steam May 29th.

Thanks Couchpotato!

More information.

That's a game for me!

Been waiting for this one. :)

This was OK when it launched on PS3 about 9 or so years back, and quite detailed in the way that only the Japs seem to make their party-based dungeon crawlers.

I *think* I enjoyed it more than Wizardry Forsaken Land on PS2, but I gave up around half way through when some of the random "instant death" stuff annoyed me too much. It also became very repetative. If anything, it's main fault is that it doesn't really do anything you haven't seen before in others of the genre, so it felt rather bland. In 2009 on PS3, it effectively had no competition, so that was just fine. In 2019 on PC with many other games available…

Much as I want to say "this'll be great", in truth, the formula has probably been done better by more recent releases such as Labyrinth of Refrain or Stranger of Sword City. I haven't tried Mary Skelter yet, but I'd put Wizardry:Lost Souls significantly above "The Lost Child" which I found to be quite dull (maybe I didn't give it enough time).

Is this <strike>furstrating</strike> complete with no automap I assume?

Oh an it requires DX11 graphics for its 10 year old ps3 age!

When did Wizardry become anime? I was an avid Wizardry fan but must have missed the train 10 years ago!

Bring back the brand in an updated tactical CRPG like D:OS or Pathfinder: Kingmaker!

When Japan stole - er purchased - the ip.

Not really comfortable with this myself, maybe a choice of non anime characters at the start would help.

Count me in!

Ahhh Wizardry the game that made me fall in love with computer gaming. My stupid brother got my party killed when they were lvl 9. This was before I learned the cheat to restore an old game.

Does this game play anything like Wizardry VIII ?

I prefer the Western version of Wizardry. Remember playing the first Wizardry game on an Apple II, such a great game for the time.

No. The first-person view is probably the only thing they have in common.

This is not true. How dare you!

It was already stolen when the Japanese company bought it. The sellers even sold it to themselves as as numbered company before they did that.

It should also be remembered that Wizardry itself is a rip-off of Ubliette a Plato game. That version might have been called Sorcery and the creators have accused Werdna and Trebor of stealing the source code (remember kids, don't let every CS major in college see your source code unencrypted).

However, if you look at their port of Ubliette tp PC that was done 4 years later, you'll see that Werdna and Trebor were real geniuses.

Already answered but yes it's because the IP was bought by a Japanese developer.Source- https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards…usabi/69788648

What the fork, this came straight out of nowhere!!! Instant day one purchase for me!!!!

Sirtek did not own Wizardry, they licensed it from Robert Woodhead and Andrew Greenberg. When Sirtek went bankrupt in the early 90's they sold the IP to Sirtek Canada (themselves) for $50k then moved there to continue on Wizardry 8.

Andrew was suing them for years and the case set some interesting legal precedent that is still reference.

The licensing itself is interesting because software as copyright in the first place was still in it's infancy in 1981 with a noteworthy groups trying to fight it and keep all software public domain. They failed of course but there is still debate over what is property: the code or the look and feel.

Robert went to Japan to promote Wizardry for NES in the late 80's I think and got mobbed by groupies (of the wrong type) - nerd culture was not the big thing it is now. He claims that with his company AnimEgo that he created the Anime market in the US and it really seems he wants to put Wizardry behind him after the legal dispute with his former friends and business partners, Sirtek.

Greenberg and Woodhead sued in New York at the release of Wizardry 8 regarding the sale of the company claiming that it was worth $150k based on themselves being "experts" of the product and not the $50k the third party evaluated at. The judge ruled the latter and awarded them the $39k that was left in escrow.

I can't figure out why they didn't demand they owned the IP as I would think the acceptance of the settlement would mean they gave up their rights.

To give some idea of Robert's obsession with Anime consider his kicktstarter to bring Bubble Crisis to Blu Ray

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects…on-blu-ray-set

Same here, not a big fan of the anime :(

I know they're similar, but this looks a lot more like an Elminage game than a Wizardry game. Elminage is balanced and plays a lot different. I suspect anyone that isn't a fan of the Elminage series won't like this new "Wizardry."

Well, perhaps I'll buy this, perhaps not. But knowing this won't play like Wizardry VIII made me more sad. :(

Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls plays exactly like the old Wizardry titles. It has been criticized for that:

To be fair, Wiz 8 is pretty unique as far as blobbers go. This game is more like the classic Wizardry games but with a strong anime look and the typical Japanese style soundtrack.

It's probably solid if you like that style, but I'll pass.

Yeah, VIII is a really weird pick for a comparison as VIII was the one Wizardry game which had more overworld exploration instead of pretty much pure dungeon diving.

IMHO Wizardry VIII is one of the best blobbers (if not the best) I've played. And, if we forget for a moment its IP confusion, it's one of the games I really really wish for a remake.

What is this SHT?? Elminage Gothic: Reloaded??

Being a hybrid between classic Wizardry and the sensational Elminage could be all sorts of awesome, if done correctly. I'm going to buy this one regardless, if I get burned, so be it!!!

Tis' a flavor of Wizardry, it is a bit dry to the taste and maybe more difficult if possible but we need some..

I was really happily surprised by how good the Japanese Wizardry-clone series Etrian Odyssey is. It's a handheld game, but you can easily play the first three on your phone.

Yes, you play as little cartoon children, but the gameplay is strong, old-school in the good ways with a smoother modern UI.

Sadly, no -- it's not Wizardry VIII. Nothing is likely to be Wizardry VIII again, though I would be thrilled if something were.

We need Wizardry 9.

Or, at very least, a Wizardry VIII properly remade. :)

I would be all over either of those, honestly, Wizardry eight is so darn good I don't need an update to replay that awesome game!!! So my push would be for a sequel of sorts, or maybe an old-school expansion.

It was good…except for those horrible long battles you had to add a mod for or die of old age as each bad guy moved way off in the distance.

I played it recently where I found a way to game the system a bit by hiding in a crevice and taking out groups so they couldn't surround me.

Is there any Wiz VIII's working mod that reduces the respawning rate?

:D The joy of nostalgia:

"'member that great game"
"Yeah, man, that game was great"
"it was the best"
"best ever"
"perfect"
"they don't make'em like that any more"

…

"Say, you member how shit the crap bits were"
"sure do"
"I mod that shit out now"
"me too"
"Ooo, there's a mod to cut out the shit bits? Gimme gimme gimme"

So glorious. So meta. So :D

It would be interesting if you could mod this JWizardry with other Wizardry images to make it look more Western.

Isn't Elminage western in look with similar gameplay?

(I found Elminage very slow going myself, but if an old-school dungeon-crawler with a western look is what you're yearning for….)

It looked okay but I didn't like the broad graphic style.

I enjoyed both the Elminage games for what they are, but honestly they really didn't evoke memories of Wizardry for me. Which is fine, I applaud the creators for having their own vision and sticking with it, both games are well worth playing and will be replayed in the future by me.