Legacy of the Wizard (NES) Playthrough
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 พ.ค. 2023
- A playthrough of Brøderbund's 1989 action-adventure game for the NES, Legacy of the Wizard.
There were many nonlinear, pseudo-RPG adventure games making their way to the NES in the late eighties, but few were ever as revered - or feared - as Legacy of the Wizard. It quickly garnered a reputation for being one of the toughest NES games out there, and that reputation was well earned. If you were still craving a challenge after conquering the likes of Zelda, Milon's Secret Castle, and Blaster Master, you wouldn't have been disappointed with Legacy of the Wizard.
Remember how many times it showed up in Nintendo Power's "Counselors' Corner" column?
Legacy of the Wizard is a port of Nihon Falcom's 1987 MSX2 game "Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family," and it was developed in-house by Falcom themselves. (As far as I know, it was the only NES game that Falcom worked on directly. Most of their console conversions at the time were outsourced to Compile and Advance Communication.) It also features a soundtrack by two absolute legends of FM synth, Yuzo Koshiro and Mieko Ishikawa.
Since it's the fourth game in the Dragon Slayer series, it has ties to several other games you may already be familiar with. Hudson's Faxanadu was an NES/Famicom-exclusive spin-off of "Xanadu: Dragon Slayer II"; "Sorcerian" (Dragon Slayer V) was ported to MS-DOS and localized by Sierra Online; and "Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes," the sixth in the series, was ported to the TurboGrafx-CD and localized by Hudson.
Legacy of the Wizard is a puzzle-platformer that stars the Drasle family (Drasle = "DRA"gon "SLAY"er), a family that lives in a log cabin situated right near the mouth of a cave teeming with monsters. Grandpa Drasle, the titular wizard, long ago sealed a dragon away in those depths and saved the kingdom, but the seal is now beginning to weaken. The only weapon that can defeat the dragon is the Dragonslayer sword, and so the remaining Drasles set out to search the caves for the four crowns that protect the sword.
The game world is an enormous, sixteen-story deep labyrinth, and it is divided up into areas tailored to the talents of each individual family member. These areas are filled with items that will enhance a specific person's abilities, but since a character's items are not usually found in their own area of the labyrinth, a lot of careful planning and coordination is needed in order to get everyone to their respective crowns.
Once Xemn (dad), Meyna (mom), Lyll (sis), and Pochi (the family's pet monster) have collected the four crowns, brosef Roas can use them to find the legendary sword and finally, to challenge the dragon.
Legacy of the Wizard is an intricate, sadistic jigsaw puzzle that demands your focus and dedication. The trial-and-error nature of the gameplay can feel directionless and frustrating at first, but it becomes less intimidating as your repeated failures start to give rise to a better understanding of the game's inner workings.
The experience is a slow burn, and everything about it, from the combat to the platforming, and even simple navigation, is brutal, but each victory, however insignificant, feels like a meaningful achievement when it's so hard won. I love the way the gameplay loop is structured, and the dungeon design is surprisingly varied considering the scope of the game world.
I have to admit, it took a long time for me to warm up to Legacy of the Wizard, and I never did learn to embrace it completely. The controls are awkward and fussy (those block puzzles... argh!), and the stiff platforming and sloppy hit detection mimic the feel of an 80s PC action game to a fault. I enjoyed the game for its ideas and for the flow of the level design, but the rough edges knock it down several pegs. It did a lot of things well for its time, but as a complete package, Legacy of the Wizard has not aged particularly gracefully.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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Oh god I absolutely loved this game as a kid. Never finished it, but the music and the idea that you can choose your character was just so fun.
Legacy of the Wizard is the perfect choice for anyone who played Milon's Secret Castle and thought to themselves, "Wow, this game would've been so much better had they only made it 10x harder."
Damn right. This game is why I love games. You should play La Mulana next!
@@bigduke5902What is that? Is it an NES game?
@@NintendoComplete It's a PC game that imitates the playstyle of a MSX game. It's full of cryptic puzzles.
@@BaximusGotcha, thanks.
Yes it was but the music in Legacy of the wizard was annoying. But Milan secret Castle was great and the music was much better❤
Ah, my childhood. I could never make it past the second crown, because I never fully understood how items worked, like Xemn's gloves. That never stopped me, as I stopped and started from the beginning so many times. Took me 20 years later to actually sit down and complete the game, but I felt accomplished when that happened.
I got this for Xmas one year out of the blue. Had no idea what to do or where to go but I played it anyway cause I liked the music 😅
Yeah, music is always a highlight in Falcom's games.
This is one of the most cryptic games I ever played. Brøderbund was good at that! (e.g. The Battle of Olympus)
I got this game as a present when I was six and I spent years never knowing what I was supposed to do.
This game's platforming makes Hollow Knight's White Palace look user friendly.
U Can Beat Video Games introduced me to this one last year. This looks like a fun, open-world 8-bit adventure. I like how the whole family is needed to utilize the unique abilities of each character, and the how the boy is useless until you find only he can wield the sword to defeat the final boss.
I absolutely loved this game as a kid. So many pleasant memories 💕❤️
I remember watching my dad play this when I was younger, and through those great family moments I learned a good majority of my curse words
1:50 love that
Holy hell in a handbasket, i rented this once, I remember the family select screen, nearly became a forgotten memory. Also Oh shit moment look at the camera at 1:57
One of my all-time favorite NES games. You didn't get a sense of exploration like this that often on the system. Figuring out where to go and with who, learning how to use their kit of items, and beating those bosses that could burst you down in seconds... it's a real tough cookie to break, but it's something I go back to frequently.
Also, as someone who likes drawing maps of games as I play, which is usually reserved for RPGs or dungeon crawlers, LotW was one of the few side scrolling adventure games that I was able to map in detail. Each death brought a few more screens into the fold until I had them all, labeled with secrets and who went to each section of the labyrinth. Didn't get much better than that.
As a kid this game gave me such a sense of wonder. I remember I had no idea where i was going or why, but my entire goal was to get to a room I hadn't seen before every time I played. It really felt massive and mysterious.
I think you really captured what made this game so great! It was HARD! But I didn’t care! Haha
Omg thank you it’s been 35 years since I have played this. I’m so happy I think I’m going to cry 😭
this is from my childhood
Played the hell out of this, back in the day, but never got terribly far.
I was in my late 20's when this came out and fell in love with it. After renting it for weeks I finally bought a copy so I could complete the game. Years later after moving to my own place I would play that Inn screen music to fall asleep to.
Despite the difficult game, I always had a ton of fun exploring the massive world of the game. So many different places and monsters, along with the items to collect. If only the devs ironed out the platforming and said platforms like the cloud puzzles.
The OST is fantastic! So many to listen to as you explore the dungeon.
I had no idea that this was related to Faxanadu until I happened upon the Dragon Slayer series.
Music by the legendary Yuzo Koshiro! (And Mieko Ishikawa)
I adore the Inventory/Inn music. So relaxing.
He looks like a pissedoff Bubble Bobble dragon
Cryptic and eerie but hidden gem of a game for sure. Though somebody should have warned that it's basically a metroidvania RPG where you control 4 characters and each one has an item that is useful in a very specific portion of the map.
3d dot game heroes makes reference to this game.
I loved this game!! Nice to know I remember so much h😊
I remember being a friend's house watching him play this. I had to go in about an hour and he pointed out it wouldn't take that long to show me the final boss. Obviously that didn't happen.
This is the kind of game (like Metroid and Zelda 1) that to this day make you wonder how anyone managed to finish without a guide or someone telling them where invisible walls and such were.
That title song definitely starts to rip into Legend of Zelda a bit.
I absolutely adore the music for the Inn/Inventory Screen. In 2008 I used Fruity Loops to compose my own remix of it.
I must have rented this game a dozen times back in the day. I never knew what the hell was going on, though. No manual. Somehow, it was still fun anyway.
I remember back in the day roaming around aimlessly not having a clue where to go or what to do. Had to use the Game Genie to cheat my way to the ending in order to see it.
Try playing Super Pitfall on the NES back in the day 😅
This game definitely shouldve been in "THE WIZARD: movie!!!!
I respect the hell out of this game but the block pushing is unbelievably frustrating and unforgiving. I do not recommend playing this without rewind if it's your first time.
I've had to hit the reset button after trapping myself in those spots so many times. It's such a buzzkill when that happens, especially because it's so easy to accidentally move a block into a dead-end position.
Main issue I had with this game as a kid. You should not be able to trap yourself so easily. Being forced to reset the game over that is absurd.
@@Steelflight773 If I had a dollar every time I teleported into rock for Wizardry II...
The key to saving yourself was to reset the game before hitting any other button so you reload at the spot before the teleport othewise your game is screwed.
@@billkeithchannelI could never get anywhere in this game as a kid; never found one boss. I always wondered for awhile what it was like to fight the dragon. I ended up looking up a code online years later to beat the game. I cheated but it was satisfying to see the end.
Even my brother could not get anywhere in the game as well. He beat some tough ones without a guide like Shadowgate and Tombs n Treasures.
@@Steelflight773 My friends and I were obsessed with_Shadowgate._ We rented it from a grocery chain in our area *Iggle Video* (Giant Eagle) and it took us an hour to get into the castle. Opening the skull was the last thing we tried and it worked. We kept re-renting it for a few weeks and got hopelessly stick on the well room. It was then I bought this as my very first NES game new from a store. $50 in early 90's money. We scoured the convenience stores for video game magazines that printed game hints. At some point my buddy opened the bucket and we were on our way. We were howling mad at the ridiculousness of "opening a bucket." I guess the open command was out bane.
I bought Tombs n Treasures at a 2nd Hand store. I never completed it. I still have my hand drawn maps on grid paper (Same with Dungeons & Dragons Pool of Radiance) The line that got branded to my brain all these years is "Get Thee To A Nunnery!"
Completeing _Battle of Olympus_ was the most satisfying final stage. You had to complete the stage up side down since your character was invisible but your mirrored black shadow was all you could see.
My favorite waiting for poison bottles to despawn simulator.
Seriously, wtf is that?
@@NintendoComplete Those poison bottle items are dropped soooo frequently by enemies when you have high HP. So annoying.
However, the game stops dropping poison when you're low on HP.
Nice that the game have some kind of sliding scale allowing you to farm up on anything that you have low amounts on.
The size of this game was so overwhelming as a kid.
This is amazing!!!
I remember my mom bought this for us one summer. Very hard to beat. 41:30 The item he'd been trying to avoid is a poison bottle. If you touch it you lost 5 life points.
OMG Nostalgia!!!!
Holy shit I played the crap out of this as a kid
The La Mulana of the NES!
Long ass game. Beat it in '90
love the very end he teleports like mega man
the mother and daughter's dungeons were the most frustrating.
Easily one of the hardest games ive ever played
30 years from now, will Nintendocomplete's kid be NintendoCompleteJr and doing retro long play of switch games?
Easily has some of the best music on the NES, and really fun aesthetics
There has never been a remake for this game has there? Are there any cameo's for other Dragon Slayer titles with the Worzen/Drasle family? Like Ys or the "Tale's of..." Series? Cause this game could use a return to providence. :3 Tower of Druaga got a bunch of remakes and sequels and even an anime.
友達がハマってたな、、
All together now!❤
I think I now see what you were doing... you were getting the needed gear BEFORE getting serious on getting the Crowns.
I don't even remember but if a family member or adventurer or whatever you want to call them dies. Was there any way to rescue or revive them? Either way this was not one of Nihon Falcom's better games that's for certain.
I HATE THIS GAME BACK THEN WHEN I WAS A KID (1990) .. THIS GAME SEEMS TO ME HAS NO ENDING! AND THANK GOD NOW I KNOW WHATS THE FULL WALKTHROUGH HAHAHAH! BUT JEEEEEZ.. MORE THAN 2 HOURS OF WALKTHROUGH?? THIS IS VERY IMPOSSIBLE WHEN I WAS A KID COZ WE WERE ONLY ALLOW TO PLAY ONE HOUR AT HOME! HAHAHA!
Dragon wouldn’t die for shit!!
pochi ftw
the most imposible game to win ever
I said the same thing about _DejaVu._ I had to read an internet cheat walkththrough to finally beat it 30 years later. NostalgiaNES Lite emulator on my Android.
I'm sorry to hear a lot of people didn't get to finish this game. I was twenty-three when I got this game it took me about a week to beat it and I didn't cheat. But it was the most challenging game ever played
I truly love this game when it came out❤ it was extremely challenging but worth it❤ but the music was so annoying seriously the music was too much😮