Return of Werdna: Turning the Tables

Although the next game in the series, Wizardry IV: The Return of Werdna, would not be published until 1987, it's similar enough to the first three to merit discussion here. Four years had passed since Legacy of Llylgamyn, and when the game finally arrived, it no doubt took most fans of the series by surprise -- this time, the player gets to be the evil wizard hell-bent on getting his revenge.

The plot is perhaps the only one of its type in the history of CRPGs. In this game's narrative, Werdna (the wizard defeated in the first Wizardry) has awakened, but he's now without his powers and trapped in the bottom of his ten-level dungeon.

Furthermore, all of the monsters and traps that existed to keep out wily adventurers now serve the opposite purpose -- to keep Werdna imprisoned. Getting Werdna out of the dungeon will take time and patience, but the revenge will no doubt be sweet. Thankfully, Werdna is able to summon monsters to help him out, though the players are unable to control them directly.

The Return of Werdna is widely considered to be the most difficult CRPG ever created, and it's definitely a game suited only for veterans of the first three games. The dungeon is resistant to mapping, and there are several brain-stumping puzzles sprinkled throughout.

To make matters worse, the ghost of one of Werdna's slain enemies, Trebor, haunts the dungeon and will instantly kill Werdna if he stumbles upon him. Finally, every save of the game resurrects all the monsters on the current level. Rumors of this game's difficulty have not been exaggerated!

There's also a nice bit of history here that's not often discussed in modern reviews of this game: Sir-Tech used some of the characters from disks it had received from gamers, who either wanted them repaired or sent them to show they had indeed solved the game. The company used some of these purloined characters as do-gooder enemies for Werdna. The game also features three separate endings, the most difficult of which entitles players to the hallowed rank of Wizardry Grand Master.

The first three Wizardry games were quite successful and were eventually ported to the Commodore 64, DOS, and even the NES platform (which features the best graphics). Sir-Tech has published them in a various compilations, starting with the Wizardry Trilogy in 1987 for DOS. The latest publication is The Ultimate Wizardry Archives (1998) for DOS and Windows, which includes the first seven games in the series.

The fourth game is perhaps the least known, since its graphics and audiovisuals were hardly competitive for its release date, and its difficulty level ensured that no one but hardcore fans of the original games could complete it.

Though we'll have opportunities to discuss Wizardry in later chapters, what's important to note here is that Ultima wasn't the only game in town. The Wizardry series was tremendously successful.

Furthermore, Wizardry has been highly influential, even for Garriott (who, as you'll remember, acknowledged that his decision to make Ultima III a party-based game was in response to the popularity of Wizardry). Finally, it's a useful game to have in mind when discussing issues still pertinent to modern CRPGs, such as whether it's better for sequels to allow players to import their characters from previous games or to require players to start from scratch.

Gamers wanting to play these Wizardry games today have few options. If you happen to speak Japanese, you can check out Wizardry Llylgamyn Saga, a remake of the first three games available for Windows, Sony's PlayStation, and Sega's Saturn.

An effort is underway to translate this game into English. Otherwise, the only options are either to track down the old software and a system capable of running it (the NES version would probably be the best choice for this purpose) or to illegally download the games from countless abandonware sites on the web.