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Thread: Dark Wizard

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    Pretzel (Level 4) Natty Bumppo's Avatar
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    Default Dark Wizard

    For those of you who haven't tried this game (or gotten into it - it can be somewhat daunting at first since the documentation in the manual is possibly the worst ever put our with a console game) for the Sega CD is pretty amazing if you like strategy rpgs. The first play through is always dicey - but it gets a lot more fun on subsequent play throughs since the game is pretty complex in a lot of its aspects. The other big drawback is that the AI is generally dumber than a box of rocks - but that is true of most console strategy game.

    On the plus side it has huge armies - a maximum of 40 and of those you have 37 that you can pick what you want in your army - a wide varitey of hired characters of four basic types with four different races - deployed over huge battlefields. And a bunch of summoned creatures (different for each of the four different rulers. Plus hex grid maps and zones of control -it doesn't get much better than that.

    For those of you who have played it - who is your favorite ruler? I prefer Krystal - her dragon rider is the only one that flies and her wyverns are the only summoned creatures that stay useful until the end of the game. (Wyverns are just plain nasty in this game - I know they
    gave me fits when I ran into enemy ones the first time - until I figured out how to deal with them.

    Any comments on this game - this is where you need to be!
    Last edited by Natty Bumppo; 04-20-2018 at 06:21 AM.
    When I come home from a long day in Hell, there's nothing I'd rather reach for than a fire-brewed bottle of Styx Beer. Made from the filthiest waters from our own River Styx. Styx Beer is a third more toxic than any other regular beer. The worst beer - the filthiest beer - the deadliest beer. It's Styx Beer!

  2. #2
    Apple (Level 5) Wraith Storm's Avatar
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    Robin was the only character that I ever made "serious" progress with.

    I remember casting protect on a handful of units and moving them in bunches. I just had to be careful because, i believe if an enemy entered the bubble they would also benefit from the protection.

    I remember finding a secret ninja village and getting a water spider (I assume it was a boat) and it would let my character move over water! It was such a surprise and so awesome and rewarding!

    There was so much to discover, if something on the map looked a bit odd, chances are there was something you could do there either then or later.

    I think one of the things that really made Dark Wizard so unique was that It was an epic strategy game but also had the staples of a JPRG. In between waging war with dozens of units, you were traveling town to town, gathering info, performing fetch quests and returning to previously conquered maps and searching for treasure or bringing a special item to a location to unlock something.

    I really can't think of another game like it. Brigandine certainly has some similarities as well as Master of Monsters. They are great games and replicate the battles of Dark Wizard but neither have the JRPG ties that Dark Wizard has. Its the perfect blend of two separate but similar genres that i feel lend Dark Wizard its uniqueness.
    If a god is willing to prevent evil, but not able, then he is not omnipotent. If he is able, but not willing, then he must be malevolent. If he is both willing and able, then why is there evil? If he is neither able or willing then why call him a god?

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    Pretzel (Level 4) Natty Bumppo's Avatar
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    There is a really cool trick with the water spider. Normally only the ninja can use ti. But at the start (actually anywhere but it is easier at the start) of a battle if you put your characters near each other and have the ninja pass it to one of them and they then pass it on etc etc. they all can walk on the water like they all had water spiders. If you save you lose this effect and it also disappears when you finish the battle. I think you may have to give the water spider back to the ninja when you are done so he can still walk on the water - my memory could be wrong on this part of it - been a long time since I played it.

    There is also a neat trick with the ninja where you can defeat Karmak (the most powerful of Velonese's four demons) without summoning the water spirit. Have the ninja attack Karmak and see how much damage the ninja suffers in the counterattack. Keep attacking until the ninja health points are below what he will receive. Once that happens attack Karmak with other units until his health points drop to one. Normally he won't die if the water spirit hasn't been used on him. But if you then have the ninja attack him - and the ninja has the gunpowder - Karmak will kill the ninja in the counterattack and the gunpowder does its thing and explodes - killing Karmak in the process.


    If you play it again I can give you some little pointers that will make the game easier - not really spoilers per se - just things that I found that make the game flow easier (like where to get money - Cheshire is a really expensive place to live).
    When I come home from a long day in Hell, there's nothing I'd rather reach for than a fire-brewed bottle of Styx Beer. Made from the filthiest waters from our own River Styx. Styx Beer is a third more toxic than any other regular beer. The worst beer - the filthiest beer - the deadliest beer. It's Styx Beer!

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    Apple (Level 5) Wraith Storm's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Natty Bumppo View Post
    If you play it again I can give you some little pointers that will make the game easier - not really spoilers per se - just things that I found that make the game flow easier (like where to get money - Cheshire is a really expensive place to live).
    That would be great! I seem to remember a church where you could get infinite Staffs and I sent troop after troop there. I am assuming it was because I sold them for money... its been so long my memory is a bit fuzzy.

    All this talk has really got me excited! I was just flipping through my old notebook that my friend and I had documented all our discoveries and important info in and the memories and nostalgia are too strong to resist. I'm in the middle of playing Breath of the Wild but I might spend the next few days tying up loose ends in that game and find a good stopping point. Then I can hook up my Sega CD get back into Dark Wizard.
    If a god is willing to prevent evil, but not able, then he is not omnipotent. If he is able, but not willing, then he must be malevolent. If he is both willing and able, then why is there evil? If he is neither able or willing then why call him a god?

  5. #5
    Pretzel (Level 4) Natty Bumppo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wraith Storm View Post
    That would be great! I seem to remember a church where you could get infinite Staffs and I sent troop after troop there. I am assuming it was because I sold them for money... its been so long my memory is a bit fuzzy.

    All this talk has really got me excited! I was just flipping through my old notebook that my friend and I had documented all our discoveries and important info in and the memories and nostalgia are too strong to resist. I'm in the middle of playing Breath of the Wild but I might spend the next few days tying up loose ends in that game and find a good stopping point. Then I can hook up my Sega CD get back into Dark Wizard.
    There are staffs and there are staffs.....^____^

    IIRC there are two types of staffs (among other things) found in churches. If you head west after your first battle you will find the village of Nieve - if you pray there (I think five times) the priest will give you a power staff. Not particularly valuable - it only sells for 250g so you have to sell a ton of them. There is way to get 5000 g on a onetime quest in this province - that will tide you over for now. They have another great use though - which is part of the nifty tricks to make play easier that I mentioned.


    The path the game wants you to do is to go further west - Aracna is the weakest of the 4 demons. If you go south instead you will fight Aqua - he is not unbeatable but you may get defeated a time or two - not to fear since each defeat leaves your troops stronger - just don't be afraid to take casualties - no gain without pain. When you finally capture that province you will be able to get living power staffs at the church in Yunas. You can get as many of these as you want and they sell for a good sum of 3750g - which allows you to get a fair amount of money for your needs now - just got to pray a lot. The living power staffs also make a good weapon for your mages and priests at this point. After taking that province you can either keep going after Aqua (which will get you the ninja quicker) or continue west against Aracna for other benefits.

    There are some other ways to get even more money easily - but you won't be there yet (geographically) and in any event you won't need really large sums of money yet.
    When I come home from a long day in Hell, there's nothing I'd rather reach for than a fire-brewed bottle of Styx Beer. Made from the filthiest waters from our own River Styx. Styx Beer is a third more toxic than any other regular beer. The worst beer - the filthiest beer - the deadliest beer. It's Styx Beer!

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    Pac-Man (Level 10) Emperor Megas's Avatar
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    I'm really pleased to see so much talk about Dark Wizard lately. I didn't know anyone else who owned or played it when it was released, and always felt like the only person who enjoyed the game, much less knew about it.

    I only played it once, but for QUITE a few hours though. I never ended it, and I played with Krystal. It's be interesting if I still have a more than 2 decades old save file on my model 2 SEGA CD, which I haven't touched in ages. I just use the X'Eye for SEGA CD games.

    I think I'll give it a much overdue play hrough this summer.
    Last edited by Emperor Megas; 04-20-2018 at 11:10 AM.

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    Pretzel (Level 4) Natty Bumppo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Emperor Megas View Post
    I'm really pleased to see so much talk about Dark Wizard lately. I didn't know anyone else who owned or played it when it was released, and always felt like the only person who enjoyed the game, much less knew about it.

    I only played it once, but for QUITE a few hours though. I never ended it, and I played with Krystal. It's be interesting if I still have a more than 2 decades old save file on my model 2 SEGA CD, which I haven't touched in ages. I just use the X'Eye for SEGA CD games.

    I think I'll give it a much overdue play hrough this summer.
    I don't know why it has never gotten much traction - it is really a pretty amazing game. By far my favorite strategy game. I have played it many many times but I am not sure I have discovered all of its secrets.
    When I come home from a long day in Hell, there's nothing I'd rather reach for than a fire-brewed bottle of Styx Beer. Made from the filthiest waters from our own River Styx. Styx Beer is a third more toxic than any other regular beer. The worst beer - the filthiest beer - the deadliest beer. It's Styx Beer!

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    ServBot (Level 11) Edmond Dantes's Avatar
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    I bought it years ago and played a bit of it, unfortunately strategy games are a "when the mood strikes me" thing. I'm kinda astonished how long all the opening cinemas for each character are. People think long intros started with the PS1 era...

    It did seem a good game but I just wasn't in the mood at the time.

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    Apple (Level 5) Wraith Storm's Avatar
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    Thought some of you might like this. It's a review of Dark Wizard from Sega Visions.

    I have the original Sega Visions issue, but I don't have a scanner. I tried taking pictures with my phone but the lighting was not good. So I found the issue online, stitched the pages in gimp and posted here. Although it appears someone really liked the picture of Amon as it appears to have been cut out. I downloaded this issues from everywhere i could find. 5 different collections and they all appear to be sourced from the original upload because they all have Amon's picture missing.

    If a god is willing to prevent evil, but not able, then he is not omnipotent. If he is able, but not willing, then he must be malevolent. If he is both willing and able, then why is there evil? If he is neither able or willing then why call him a god?

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    Pretzel (Level 4) Natty Bumppo's Avatar
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    I didn't know that existed - but then again I never read Sega Visions. Pretty neat - thanks!

    There is almost nothing collector wise available for Dark Wizard - the original game, the Japanese version, a music soundtrack and a cd of what appears to be a dramatization (in Japanese ) of some sort on cd (I don't have this - but I do the other things.)

    I did find this scan of your article online - and it has the picture of Amon.

    https://fantasyanime.com/garden/cd_m...egavisions.jpg
    When I come home from a long day in Hell, there's nothing I'd rather reach for than a fire-brewed bottle of Styx Beer. Made from the filthiest waters from our own River Styx. Styx Beer is a third more toxic than any other regular beer. The worst beer - the filthiest beer - the deadliest beer. It's Styx Beer!

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    Apple (Level 5) Wraith Storm's Avatar
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    I figured some place out on the interned had a scan of it, but I hadn't come across it before... oh well.

    I also have an issue of GameFan back from the late 90s or early 2000s (Can't remember when they folded) that had a retro review of Dark Wizard. For the life of me I cant seem to find it. Can't find it online either. But if I come across it i'll post it as well.
    If a god is willing to prevent evil, but not able, then he is not omnipotent. If he is able, but not willing, then he must be malevolent. If he is both willing and able, then why is there evil? If he is neither able or willing then why call him a god?

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    Apple (Level 5) Wraith Storm's Avatar
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    I finally found my issue of GameFan that has a retro review of Dark Wizard. It's GameFan Volume 8 - Issue 10 - October 2000

    Bought a flatbed scanner and used Gimp to the best of my ability to merge and crop the pages.



    Another Dark Wizard review preserved! Yay! I love the opening line of the review. It really puts everything into perspective.
    Last edited by Wraith Storm; 05-16-2018 at 09:58 PM.
    If a god is willing to prevent evil, but not able, then he is not omnipotent. If he is able, but not willing, then he must be malevolent. If he is both willing and able, then why is there evil? If he is neither able or willing then why call him a god?

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    Pretzel (Level 4) Natty Bumppo's Avatar
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    For being pretty short, that is a very good review. (Of course I am prejudiced on this subject!)
    When I come home from a long day in Hell, there's nothing I'd rather reach for than a fire-brewed bottle of Styx Beer. Made from the filthiest waters from our own River Styx. Styx Beer is a third more toxic than any other regular beer. The worst beer - the filthiest beer - the deadliest beer. It's Styx Beer!

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