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[Vieo]

I just snagged a copy of The Ultimate Wizardry Archives(with it's original box and 255page manual ). After I beat Fallout, I'll probably take a break from the series and since no one wants to tell me how to get Battlespire working, I figure I would try Wizardry.
Are the games setup like Dragon Ball Z where if you didn't see the previous episode you won't know WTF is going on? Or is it like Final Fantasy where each game's characters are unrelated? The version I have emcompases Wizardry 1 - 7 + Wizardry Gold.

So many games, so little time.

 

[Squirrel Killer]

I'd play them in release order, but I'm anal in that way. I had to play Project Gotham Racing 1 before I'd play PGR2, and when I finally snagged Metropolis Street Racer, I put both PGRs on hold until I played that.

 

[BenT]

I - V are all standalone (though you can transfer your party between most of them, I think), while VI starts a storyline that concludes in VIII (which isn't in the collection). IV is the "wierd" one -- you play the bad guy from Wiz I and collect monsters for your party, rather than creating adventurers.

I'd recommend trying I awhile to get in on the ground floor and see what vintage Wizardry is. If you have the stamina to keep going then do so; if not, go to VI or VII. VII's the best on the collection IMO, but can also be a bitch to get running (especially with sound) on anything faster than a 486. There is Wizardry Gold, an updated Win95 version of Wiz VII, but I believe there are good reasons to stick with the original release of VII. Moves faster or something? Better art? Faster interface? I forget.

Ugh, rolling characters in Wiz VII sucks -- you need to go through 20 prompts even on bad rolls. Maybe try to find a character generator program.

 

[Vieo]

Thanks for the advice. That sounds pretty cool. I like being able to transfer characters from one game to the next. The old Lord of the Rings trilogoy that never saw Return of the King, by Interplay was like that I think.

 

[PC Gaijin]

IIRC, you can't create characters in Wiz II or III, so you'll have to carry your party over from a prior game. The early games have a throwaway story. Are you honestly going to try playing the early PC Wizardry games? It's going to be dog ugly and archaic. Might be better (and easier) to play the NES ports or something.

 

[Fragamemnon]

Playing anything earlier than Wizardry 8 on the PC is going to be painful. Wizardry 8 won't be a cakewalk, either.

PC RPGs don't age as well as other forms of videogames, IMO. I'm not talking about the bells-and-whistles 3D engines and what not-I'm referring to the huge gap in base gameplay mechanics and playability features that are absent in older games that are commonplace in newer ones.

 

[golem]

my favorite is #6, and thats where teh storyline more or less starts for 6-7-8.. so u might want to consider playing that one first

 

[BenT]

Playing anything earlier than Wizardry 8 on the PC is going to be painful. Wizardry 8 won't be a cakewalk, either.

Wiz 8's interface is fine, though it's a good idea to get the patch that makes enemies move faster. I don't think VII's mouse-driven system is *too* bad either, once you get past the godawful character generation.

 

[Monk]

my favorite is #6, and thats where teh storyline more or less starts for 6-7-8.. so u might want to consider playing that one first

*thumbs up*