In the last blog post our adventuring company had turned despicably evil and were setting out to explore the fifth dungeon level.
I entered the fifth dungeon level ready for the fight of my life but was surprised at the lack of fixed and random encounters. Levels two and four (the good levels) had been brutal where combat was concerned. There were constant random encounters and the boss fights to obtain the Staff of the Earth and the Crystal of Evil were extremely hard. Even though experience in this game is extremely stingy, you can count on the difficulty of those two levels and the constant encounters to help increase your experience levels. Conversely, I found the third dungeon level to be extremely difficult to map and navigate but mainly devoid of random encounters. The same, at least in my experience, can be said of the fifth level.
The item to find on the fifth dungeon level is the Crystal of Good. The boss fight to obtain said crystal was very anti-climatic compared to previous boss fights. Once you’ve obtained the Crystal of Good the only other true item of interest on this level are the stairs which lead you to the sixth and final level. There is also a staircase on the fourth level which leads to the sixth level. So whether your party finishes as good or evil you have access to the end of the game without having to worry about switching alignments again. Given the juxtaposition of encounters between the “good” levels and the “evil” levels I recommend that you tackle levels two and four first and then become evil as it seems better acclimated to “grinding” that way.
The sixth dungeon level was difficult to map out as there are a lot of one way doors on this level. However, much like the third and fifth levels, I did not have to deal with many random encounters. The most difficult part of this level is dealing with the dragon L’KBreth. Physical combat with the dragon will find you on the losing end every single time. None of my fighters could touch him and all spell attempts were dispelled by the dragon. I discovered the only way to get past the dragon was to use the Crystals of Good & Evil. If you invoke their power they meld together to form a Crystal of Neutrality. If you have this Crystal of Neutrality in your possession you can then make your way past this stalwart guardian.
Once by the dragon it was a simple matter to map out the dungeon level until you come upon the last and final riddle of the game:
Once you solve this riddle, which seemed the easiest riddle of the entire game, you then find yourself standing before the goal of the entire quest:
A search of the statue strips it of the crystal sphere and places it in your possession.
Once the object of your quest is in your possession and you make it back to the castle you are confronted with the following query:
Even though my characters were still technically evil I did choose to surrender the orb to the sages and received the following message:
This marks the end of the game and grants the characters a victory denoted by an asterisk (star) next to their name alongside their other accomplishments.
Finishing Wizardry III was like saying goodbye to an old friend. This is not the first time I’ve completed Wizardry III; I had done so when I was much younger. In truth, I did not remember much of it nor how the story ended so I found the game just as challenging had I played it for the first time. It reminded me why the series is still venerable even today and a fan favorite. It was the first Wizardry game and it’s subsequent scenarios which got me addicted to computer role-playing games in the first place; especially dungeon crawlers. Revisiting the series is like having dinner with an old friend or cuddling up with a favorite old blanket. Playing the game evokes a strong feeling of nostalgia for me as I’m sure certain games do for others as well.
It may come as a bit of a shock and surprise but Wizardry III now marks the end of any familiarity I have with the series. School, work, family, hence real life, prevented me from even sampling any of the other entries in this beloved series. So when I do eventually get to Wizardry IV: The Return of Werdna (which might take me a couple of actual years with all of the games to play on my plate) it will be with a fresh pair of eyes and the wonder and curiosity of a child. I am counting on these games creating new grand memories for me as I play them for the first time, and I hope dear reader, that you’ll be there right along with me.
I’m now going to journey back in time to 1980 again to play a CRPG appropriately titled The Time Traveler. I hope that not too much “time” has passed before you hear from me again.