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Games That Baffled Me as a Child: Legacy of the Wizard

Posted by Bob Mackey

The most recent episode of Retronauts, about Japanese developer Falcom, brought back some fond childhood memories about a game that wanted to do nothing more than end my short life: Legacy of the Wizard. My fascination with the game was never marred by the fact that I barely made any progress and didn't really understand what I was supposed to be doing--keep in mind that instruction manuals were a luxury with rentals back in the 80s. What really drew me in and made me forget that I sucked on toast at LotW was the game's--at the time, anyway--unique design; I could be very wrong about this, but Legacy of the Wizard seems to be the most complex example of the Metroidvania genre's early years. Sure, there were games out there like Goonies II, but they didn't offer five playable characters and a (relatively) huge world to run around and be murdered in. And, in Falcom tradition, Legacy of the Wizard has a pretty kickass soundtrack--which is preferable to a Cyndi Lauper song on a constant loop.

I'm pretty sure I owe LotW credit for sparking my love of the Metroidvania genre, even though I wouldn't really realize said love existed until Super Metroid came along and made me realize that it was possible to make a game featuring relatively non-linear gameplay that's also possible to finish without the use of arcane knowledge. And while I've since moved on to explore the genre to its fullest, some sick, disturbed part of my brain is trying to make me attempt to play Legacy of the Wizard all over again. Luckily, in our modern Internet times I can work through these sick desires by watching Something Awful Forums member Deceased Crab's excellent video walkthrough (with commentary) of LotW and witness for the first time what it's like when someone actually knows where the hell to go in the game.  It's a scary concept, I know, but we can get through this together.



The playlist for all of the videos in the series is HERE. DC also has a Goonies II video walkthrough that's worth watching, too.

Related Links:

I Would Drink Syke
Whatcha Playing: Guadia Quest
Pole’s Big Adventure: Sega Rides the Retro Train, Takes Advantage of You


+ DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT

Comments

Minor Setback said:

Oh wow.  I must have spent weeks trying to get somewhere in this game.  I don't think I ever even figured out where you're supposed to go first.  I had a friend at the time who claimed he found and beat a boss in LotW, but he had no proof so I didn't believe him!

I can't wait to check those walkthrough videos out!

February 27, 2009 1:34 PM

Peter Smith said:

Holy Moses. I love Legacy of the Wizard so much. The music is amazing and the game world is terrifyingly dense and huge.

I mean look at this:

hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/.../map.jpg

February 27, 2009 5:14 PM

Mary said:

I appreciate the walkthrough. I played this game as a kid and as an adult still found it challenging in finding the impossibly placed hidden doors. :) Thanks for the help!

March 24, 2009 3:03 PM

About Bob Mackey

For a brief period of time I was Bull from TV's Night Court, but some of you may know me from the humor column I wrote for Youngstown State University's The Jambar, Kent State University's The Stater, and Youngstown's alternative newspaper, The Walruss. I'm perhaps most well-known for my bi-weekly pieces on Something Awful. I've also blogged for Valley24.com and have written articles for EGM, 1UP, GameSpite and Cracked. For all of my writing over the years, I have made a total of twenty American dollars. It's also said that I draw cartoons, which people have described with words such as "legible." I kidnapped the Lindbergh Baby and am looking to do so again in the future.

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John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Hooksexup, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

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Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

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