Among all the recent revolutions in RPGaming, from online play to graphics that are virtually indistinguishable from prerendered video, it is refreshing to return to the roots of RPGaming. One cannot go much further back than the birth of the Wizardry series, a series which ASCII has recently brought to the Game Boy Color in Japan. ASCII's updated versions of the first three Wizardry games, Wizardry, Wizardry II: Legacy of Llylgamyn, and Wizardry: Knight of Diamonds, will support updated maps, a more coherent storyline, and the ability to transfer character data between the three games, reducing the tedium of leveling up.

Playing Wizardry is truly returning to RPGaming's roots, implementing one of the first job change systems, the searching for and identification of items, and the fact that death means something -- for if your high-level character dies, they are not guaranteed a safe return to the world of the living. Wizardry II: Legacy of Llylgamyn takes place several generations after the end of the first game, but also supports the balance of alignment -- good, evil, or neutral. Having good and evil characters in a party will hinder that party's progress, for they will not be able to stand each other long enough to stay together. Some dungeons, however, require a certain alignment to enter. Wizardry: Knight of Diamonds expands on the previous two games with a new storyline, more traps (such as warps), and new maps. The three games found a simultaneous release in Japan on February 23, but no North American release is planned yet. These three games represent the first days of PC RPGs, and RPGamers, both old and new, should be able to find something to enjoy in these classics.