Review: Wizardry 8
Finally, we have reached the last game in the original Wizardry series; Wizardry 8. Interestingly enough, for the first time in the history of the franchise we do not have a fancy sub-name for the game. It’s just “Wizardry 8“. Years ago when I operated Kyler’s Wizardry Den (my old Wizardry fan site), I interviewed one of the developers and asked why the choice was made to break tradition and not give this game a meta-name. I was told that the title “Lords of the Cosmic Circle” was bantered around the office quite a bit, but ultimately, the decision was made to simply leave it as “Wizardry 8“. Personally, I think this was a missed opportunity – but whatever.
When I was a young adult, I waited with baited breath for this game to appear on the shelf. It had been almost ten years since the last Wizardry game was released and I remember telling my girlfriend (now my wife) at the time, “When I get my hands on this game, you will not see me for several days, fair warning.” I gave her this warning because I knew that once I started on this new adventure from Sir-Tech, there would be no going back until the very end.
So you may be asking, why such a long wait between Wizardry 7 and Wizardry 8? Well, a lot happened to the company of Sir-Tech in the years between the two games. It seemed like Wizardry 8 was hit by delay after delay. In fact, numerous legal wranglings and staff changes caused many Wizardry fans to worry that we would never get that promised conclusion to the story of the Dark Savant. But in the end, Sir-Tech delivered.
Wizardry 8 was released during an interesting time for PC gamers. 3D acceleration was in its infancy and there were many competing technologies at the time. This made it both difficult and expensive to produce a 3D accelerated game. The DOS operating system was a thing of the past and game developers now had to work within the confines of the various APIs and programming protocols that Windows provided. As a result, many early 3D games suffered in quality. Wizardry 8 was no exception. The initial release of the game was riddled with bugs. Thankfully, it didn’t take Sir-Tech long to start releasing patches for the game. Sadly, however, the company went out of business before most of the player’s complaints could be fully addressed. Regardless, even after the company went out of business, the game’s developers continued to work on fixing bugs in their personal time and, as a result, a final “unofficial” patch was eventually released.
With all of these delays and corporate issues, many fans worried that Wizardry 8 would be unable to deliver on several of the promised made to fans of the series. But, even with a nine year wait between games, Sir-Tech delivered on nearly every technical promise. Even the option to import characters from the previous game was present and worked as intended. With this option in mind, the beginning of the game could be vastly different depending on the file that was imported.
In this entry, the players have pursued the Savant to the world of Dominus. It is here that they begin their quest to recover three lost cosmic artifacts. If they are successful, the will ascend to godhood where they can change the fate of universe and undo all the evils set into motion by the Dark Savant. This entry marks the final chapter in the Dark Savant trilogy and brings all of the events and subplots from the last two games to their ultimate conclusion.
Like the last two entries in the series, this classic CRPG is played with a combination of the mouse and keyboard. The UI has been revamped, but the overall gameplay mechanics should feel familiar to fans of the series. The game features an entirely new twist on the classic turn-based battle system. While the core mechanics are still present, players are now able to switch between “phased combat” and “continuous combat”. Combat is also considerably more action-based than before, with players being able to see monsters before battle, move in a 3D environment, and being able to position their characters in various ways. When I replayed the game for this review, it had been well over ten years since I last sat down with it. It seems that nostalgia had clouded my memory a bit. These days, I found the combat to be just a tad slow and grindy. The size of many of the enemy encounters seemed excessive. I couldn’t help but feel that the combat needed a little more polish.
But, outside of combat, almost everything else about the game is phenomenal. NPC interactions are now more immersive than ever. Wizardry 8 also features full voice acting for nearly every NPC. Aside from simply being able to talk to NPC and barter with them, some NPCs can now be recruited as full-fledged party members! Over your time with this game, you’ll deal with NPCs often. Learning their backstories and becoming involved in the various factions that are present on Dominus are a big part of the game.
Even though there’s plenty new in Wizardry 8, there are several Easter Eggs scattered throughout the game for the old school fans to enjoy. For example, Wizardry 8 features an Iron Man Mode, which restores the difficulty level to that of the original five games, complete with permadeath. There’s also a few hidden dungeons to be found at various points in the game. These dungeons strip away all fancy 3D graphics and returns the classic drab dungeons of yesteryear. Good fan-service from Sir-Tech here!
But, even with all of the innovations I mentioned above, there’s a lot of things about Wizardry 8 that leave the feeling that the game was rushed to release. Some areas feature content or storylines that seem unfinished, the battle system seems obnoxiously cumbersome at times, and the enemy encounter rate is frustrating. But, even with its many faults, Wizardry 8 does stand as one of the last true dungeon-crawling RPGs. With the demise of Sir-Tech, the rights to the Wizardry series were purchased by a Japanese developer. Thus began the “lost years” for the North American audience. Game after game was released in Japan, and sadly, only two of them were ever properly ported for western audiences. I intend to cover those two games another time.
Despite its faults, Wizardry 8 is a classic CRPG and one of the last of its kind. It’s a bit of a tough sell for most gamers, but players who enjoy this type of experience will not be disappointed.
Version Reviewed: PC
Difficulty: Variable – The easy setting for the game is very much like the experience provided by Wizardry 6 and 7. Normal and above ramp up the challenge even more. For that enjoy their gameplay on the sadistic side, Iron Man mode restores the challenge of earlier games. This option was a welcome addition in my opinion.
Multiplayer: No.
Story: Despite the long wait between games, Sir-Tech proved that they knew exactly where they wanted to go with the storyline. I had personally feared that the connection between the games would be rather weak. I was pleasantly surprised by the deep integration between the titles.
Originality: There’s a lot of new things here. While keeping the basic game mechanics pretty much the same, Sir-Tech really did a good job at incorporating as many new technologies as they could.. CD quality music, voice acting, and accelerated graphics added a new coat of paint to what is an ancient series.
Soundtrack: As mentioned above, we finally have a CD quality game soundtrack. Complete with music and high quality sound effects. This is certainly a nice addition.
Fun: Many people feel that this game marked the end of an era. First-person dungeon crawlers had become a thing of the past. This title provides the best of the experience. Ambient dungeons, strange creatures, mystery and adventure… it’s all here and it’s a blast to experience.
Graphics: For the first time we have a Wizardry game with graphic acceleration. Of course, by today’s standards the game is blocky and a little stiff. However, at the time, it featured one of the best visual experiences ever on the PC.
Playcontrol: While the UI is clean and clear, I found the controls themselves to be clunky and confusing at first. After a while, things tend to fall into place. But I can’t help but think there could have been a better interface for the game.
Downloadable Content: N/A
Mature Content: Fantasy gore, nudity.
Value: Finding legitimate copies of this game are difficult. Boxed copies of Wizardry 8 often sell for around $50 or more. This is a tough price to pay for such an old game. Fans may find it worth the price, more more casual gamers may not.
Overall score (1-100): 85 – High marks for the final entry in Sir-Tech’s epic franchise. Even today, many old school gamers tend to look back fondly on this title. I am no exception. I feel that with today’s technology, the potential for a truly epic and mind-blowing Wizardry experience could easily become a reality. And while I do enjoy several of Japan’s recent offerings, I fear the good old days are finally at an end.
Original System: PC
Available today on: PC (GOG, Steam) – (Updated as of Spring 2022)
Best Experience: PC – (Updated as of Spring 2022)
Other Reviews In This Series:
Classic Series:
I – II – III – IV – V – VII – VII– VIII
Remakes:
Japanese Era:
Gaiden I – Gaiden II – Gaiden III – Gaiden IV
Wizardry Empire – Wizardry: Dimguil – Wizardry Chronicle – Wizardry Summoner
Tale of the Forsaken Land – Tale of the Forsaken Land 0
Prisoners of the Battles – Absence of Misericordia – Five Ordeals
Wizardry Asterisk – Wizardry Xth
Labyrinth of Lost Souls – Prisoners of the Lost City
Pledge of Life – Heritage of Oblivion
Mobile:
Eternal Crypt BC – Variants Daphne
