>>519738231Life is cheap. Adventuring goes hand-in-hand with death. There is much
humor to be found, and also, much danger. Rabbits and ninjas appear alongside dragons to decapitate people in this bizarre world. But the adventurers fight back with their own weapons—the
Muramasa and a blade inspired by a food mixer—then blast the enemy with
nuclear explosions.Thus, Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord was born.
It was followed by several other titles. The Knight of Diamonds, where you
explore a demonic hole in search of a lost suit of legendary armor and a holy
staff; Legacy of Llylgamyn, where you travel to a sacred dragon atop a holy
mountain in order to uncover the cause of recent disasters; Return of Werdna,
which depicts the return of the great wizard who was supposedly slain.
WIZ was brought to Japan, ported to the Famicom, and became a novel,
manga, anime, and TRPG. There was Tonariawase no Hai to Seishun, Llylgamyn
Bouken Kitan...and even a 4-koma manga. They even made Japan-exclusive
spin-off games, and we got our hands on the rights.
For some reason, Japanese people love this strange, brutal, and humorous
world. Its influence is found in many works—anime, manga, games, movies,
light novels...
I myself was one of the people influenced by this franchise, and I’ve written
works that show signs of that influence. Even so, I was only properly introduced
to WIZ back around the time when it got its last port. In truth, I was simply
following in the footsteps of those adventurers who came before me, amazed
at what I saw.
And yet...look at me now.
Before I knew it, I was in a position to be writing a Wizardry novel.
Seriously, I’m not about to wake up in bed soon, right...?
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