I have been a huge fan of Wizardry 7 (both the original and the Gold version) for the PC ever since the games were released. I always come back to Wizardry 7 every year or so because it is the most satisfying RPG experience ever.As I am living in Japan and studying Japanese, I decided to try the Japanese release of Crusaders for the Playstation-- I wanted to see if there were any differences, and enjoy my favorite game with a new set of graphics and music. Overall, it seems to me as though the game is exactly the same as the original (besides the reinvention of the graphics, translational differences, and new music), but there are a few interesting differences.
Character creation is much easier and faster. You can cancel the character at any point during creation by simply pushing one button-- as soon as you choose the character's name, race, and gender and see that your desired class is not available, you can instantly cancel the creation and start again, without having to distribute points, choose a picture, seal your karma, etc. Also I've noticed that very high rolls (19-26) come up often enough so that you can create a team of six members using only super-high rolls (23-26) in under two hours! I even threw out some 26-point characters because I didn't like their karma ratings and knew I could just create them again in a few minutes, with another chance at getting the karma I liked.
This game also has a very convenient, and non-intrusive auto-mapping feature that I like more than the one on Wizardry Gold.
You may have read or heard this somewhere, but Bela is also included in this game as an enounter in the Greater Wilds-- if you defeat him, you have the chance to earn some of the unique items from Bane, since it is impossible to import a Bane party on the Playstation. Also I have read on a Japanese site that some extra treasures are sprinkled throughout the game, such as a Diamond Ring in a hidden room of the Dane Tower.
One major change to this version is relations with NPC's. Conversations are conducted through menus and choices, which is nice because you don't have to bother typing anything and there is always a list of suggestions that will provoke interesting responses. However, the problem with this is that if you haven't discovered a password or learned a key phrase yet, it does not apppear on the menu. For example, in New City you have to ask the innkeeper about the weapons shop before you can choose to mention the black market to the Umpani weapons dealer and initiate an exchange. I think this makes the game more challenging and balanced, so that you always have to go through the game in the correct order and you don't have to write down any messages.
However-- my one concern is that I will not be able to take the Legend Map immediately upon entering New City because I will not have learned of the sacrament yet, and thus cannot tell Father Rulae. I don't mind hunting down or buying the map later in the game, but I am afraid that Don Barlone will end up with it, with Mick the Pick and Ratsputin dead, and I will be stuck in the game. Is there any foolproof way to prevent this from happening? Is there a way to attack him once he has it, or make it so that he never has access to the map before I even meet him? I am willing to sacrifice access to his treasure horde in return for the peace of mind of knowing that I won't have to restart my game.
Printer-friendly version of this topic
Bookmark this topic (Registered users only)
They fixed some things that were broken, broke others that were not, and gave us new features (automap).