Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom

"This is the best RPG I have ever played. Even better than FF7"

Well Wizardry V is one of a great series. Wiazardry V is the best one I have played (all I have played were I, II, and V. If anyone knows where I can get the others on a platform [not PC I dont have one] please email me, it will be appreciated.) This is your typical Dungeons and Dragons game but it is a lot better than that. You must meet with NPC's (non player characters) and get special items if you wish to achieve your goal. You have to save Llylgamyn from the S.O.R.N. an arch demon capable of destroying the entire world. You mist build up your characters and gain a bunch of levels before you can go deeper in the dungeon. There are 9 dungeon levels, each with better items and more powerful monsters than the next. There is even a secret level where you can get incredibly good items and exp. When your characters die, they can be brought back with spells. If the spell fails to revive them, they turn to ashes and are harder to revive. If the spell fails while they are ashes, they are lost forever with no chance of bringing them back. (I know this might be a sort of spoiler, but there is a special pool on level 5 that revives and brings back those that are lost forever.) This is just an incredible game.

Gameplay-(10) The challenge is GREAT! This game took me a few years to beat. (of course I wasnt playing it straight day in and day out) I was hindered by losing my best characters forever and losing items and getting items stolen and other things.

Story-(10) It has a great story and there are over 40 NPC's to interact with and get information from.

Graphics and Sound-(10) The graphics of the monsters are great and the sound is a good dungeon type theme. (after a while my game glitched and there was no sound and things were taken out of the game but I still beat it)

Replay Value-(10) After you beat the game, your characters are...blah blah blah, and you get a mark symbolizing you beat it with those characters. If you want, you can beat the game again with 6 new characters and use all the equipment tht the old ones had.

Buy or Rent- BUY! This is too good to just rent for a few days. It is also long. Even if you played it straight through for a week, you wouldnt even make it to level 3.

Folks, this game isn't your typical RPG like the Final Fantasies. This goes way beyond. This is a must have for RPG fans. And also to my surprise, it isnt very popular. Go get it, you'll thank me for it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 08/07/01