Dark Wizard

From Sega Retro

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  • NTSC-U
  • NTSC-J

DarkWizard title.png

DarkWizard MCD JP SS Title.png

Dark Wizard
System(s): Sega Mega-CD
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd. (JP), Sega of America (US)
Developer:
Supporting companies:
Distributor: Tec Toy (BR)
Peripherals supported: CD BackUp RAM Cart
Genre: RPG[1], Simulation[2]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega-CD
JP 		¥6,8006,800 G-6005
Sega Mega-CD
US 		$49.9949.99[3] 4651
Videogame Rating Council: MA-13
Sega Mega-CD
BR 		062110
Sega Mega-CD
KR 		GD0009JG

Dark Wizard, known as Dark Wizard: Yomigaerishi Yami no Madoushi (ダークウィザード 蘇りし闇の魔導士) in Japan is a Sega Mega-CD turn-based and grand strategy RPG.

Story

Three hundred years before the opening of the game, the high priest of the Kingdom of Cheshire tried to disturb the balance of good and evil by summoning the dark god Arliman. Sabrina, Goddess of Light, saved the Kingdom by giving great powers to two of Cheshire's leaders who defeated the high priest and helped the King's high wizard, Gilliam, to entrap Arliman in a magical jewel. One of these two leaders, Armer, became ruler of Cheshire, succeeding the previous king, and establishing a bloodline as that which would carry through to King Armer VIII at the game's beginning.

Following the events of Arliman's capture, Velonese, the high wizard's top apprentice, was discovered to have been practicing forbidden spells. As punishment, the spell of immortality was cast upon Velonese, and he was given the task of guarding the imprisoned Arliman for eternity on the Island of Raven. Over the years, the essence of Arliman emanated from the jewel, corrupting Velonese and transforming him into the Dark Wizard. His anger towards Gilliam and the kingdom of Cheshire grew, and he used his knowledge of forbidden spells to summon four demon generals to conquer Cheshire while he attempted to free Arliman.

The player takes on the role of one of four playable main characters, prince Armer IX, cavalry leader Robin, sorceress Krystal, or vampire Amon, and must re-conquer the land that has already fallen into Velonese's hands and find a way to defeat him and prevent Arliman's resurrection. The four main characters feature largely different stories; however, every game begins with the King's death and the player character becoming the new ruler of Cheshire. There is no canonical link between the four characters and their stories, and Armer IX, while seemingly the rightful heir, has only a cameo in the other scenarios.

Gameplay

The game is a role-playing game involving turn-based tactical battle scenes taking place on a map with hex tiles. Players take control of one of the four playable commanders, each with their own attributes, abilities, and available units, and attempt to wrest control of the fictional kingdom of Cheshire from a treacherous wizard named Velonese using magic and recruitable armies. Gameplay is similar to SystemSoft's Master of Monsters series.

Two of the selectable characters have a law alignment while the other two have chaos. Alignment decides how a unit can be promoted and what kind of spells and equipment the unit can use.

Players can take control of towns and other cities in the map and purchase items, recruit unique characters, or simply gather information.

Leaders

There are four available leaders to pick from. Since the English manual does not explain what these stats do, below are rough estimates.

  • Alignment: The character's view of the world. Affects what kind of units they can summon, hire or promote.
  • Command: Determines how large an army a leader can have on the field in battle.
  • Leadership: Seems to affect troop performance.
  • Intellect: May affect how much experience is gained after battle.
  • Belief: May affect whether or not the player will get bonuses when praying in towns.
  • Luck: Affects critical hits and overall better gear.
  • Economy: How much money a leader can get every turn.
  • Magic: Affects how much damage spells can do and overall magic points.
Darkwizard MCD JP SPArmerIX.png
 Armer IX / Wynrick IX (聖王ウェンリーク9世)
The only surviving heir to the Chesirean throne, this leader is above average in all areas and a great physical fighter. Poor selection of spells, but they can still be helpful if the player needs them. Good economy. Can recruit Marie (Mage) and Dianna (Warrior) as unique characters. Great for beginners.
  • Alignment: Law
  • Command: 60
  • Leadership: 60
  • Intellect: 60
  • Belief: 90
  • Luck: 20
  • Economy: 60
  • Magic Strength: 60
Darkwizard MCD JP SPRobin.png
 Robin / Shion (聖騎士シオン)
Former cavalry commander of the Chesirean Army and all around cutie. Highest combat skills, leadership and command but economy is mediocre. Average yet still useful magic. Can recruit Kail (Priest) and David (Warrior) as unique characters.
  • Alignment: Law
  • Command: 70
  • Leadership: 90
  • Intellect: 65
  • Belief: 65
  • Luck: 90
  • Economy: 30
  • Magic: 30
Darkwizard MCD JP SPKrystal.png
 Krystal / Imelda (妖術師イメルダ)
A scantily-clad, slightly psychopathic and vengeful sorceress who takes command of the kingdom after murdering King Armer, mistakenly believing that he is responsible for her sister's death. Poor leadership and command means her army will be medium sized at most. She has the best spells and highest magic points in the game, but because of her low health it is strongly recommended to keep her out of combat. Possibly due to a bug, she gets significantly less money compared to Armer and Robin despite having the highest economy stat. Can recruit Marcus (Warrior) and Katrina (Priestess) as unique characters.
  • Alignment: Chaos
  • Command: 30
  • Leadership: 40
  • Intellect: 90
  • Belief: 50
  • Luck: 65
  • Economy: 80
  • Magic: 90
Darkwizard MCD JP SPAmon.png
 Amon (闇傀儡師アモン)
A vampire who murders King Armer then takes his place, ready to conquer the entire country for his own nefarious goals, and the only truly evil character in the game. Very powerful magic just like Krystal. While he can summon a lot of monsters, a few of them, such as liches, are actually useful. Terrible economy means the player will have to be very careful about hired troops. Keep him away from the frontlines and keep blasting spells. Can recruit Susan (Mage) and Andrew (Warrior) as unique characters. The hardest character to use.
  • Alignment: Undead / Chaos
  • Command: 50
  • Leadership: 55
  • Intellect: 50
  • Belief: 0
  • Luck: 10
  • Economy: 20
  • Magic: 90

Versions

Localised names

Also known as
Language Localised Name English Translation
English (US) Dark Wizard Dark Wizard
Japanese ダークウィザード 蘇りし闇の魔導士 Dark Wizard: Yomigaerishi Yami no Madoushi

Production credits

Main article: Dark Wizard/Production credits.

Magazine articles

Main article: Dark Wizard/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Dark Wizard/Promotional material.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
65
[4]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
70
[5]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
58
[6]
Game Players (US) NTSC-U
76
[3]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
95
[7]
Game Informer (US) NTSC-U
78
[8]
Game Informer (US) NTSC-U
78
[9]
Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J
80
[10]
Hyper (AU)
75
[11]
Joypad (FR) NTSC-U
70
[12]
MAN!AC (DE) PAL
36
[13]
Mega (UK) NTSC-U
45
[14]
Mega Force (FR) NTSC-U
80
[15]
Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-U
76
[16]
Sega Power (UK) NTSC-U
60
[17]
Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-U
73
[18]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
69
[19]
VideoGames (US) NTSC-U
50
[20]
Sega Mega-CD
 69
Based on
18 reviews

Dark Wizard

Mega-CD, JP
DarkWizard MCD JP Box Back.jpgDarkWizard MCD JP Box Front.jpg
Cover
DarkWizard MCD JP Spinecard.JPG
Spinecard
DarkWizard MCD JP Disc.jpg
Disc
Darkwizard mcd jp manual.pdf
Manual
Darkwizard mcd jp surveycard.pdf
Reg Card
Mega-CD, US
DarkWizard MCD US Box Back.jpgDarkWizard MCD US Box Front.png
Cover
DarkWizard MCD US Disc.jpg
Disc
Darkwizard mcd us manual.pdf
Manual
Mega-CD, BR
DarkWizard MCD BR Box Back.jpgNospine.pngDarkWizard MCD BR Box Front.jpg
Cover
DarkWizard MCD US Disc.jpg
Disc

Technical information

Main article: Dark Wizard/Technical information.

References

  1. ↑ File:DarkWizard MCD JP Box Back.jpg
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/mega-cd/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-06-22 19:24)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Game Players, "Vol. 7 No. 6 June 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 76
  4. ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "February 1993" (JP; 1993-01-08), page 22
  5. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "July 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 38
  6. ↑ Famitsu, "1993-11-12,19" (JP; 1993-10-29), page 1
  7. ↑ GamePro, "July 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 126
  8. ↑ Game Informer, "July/August 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 28
  9. ↑ Game Informer, "November 1997" (US; 1997-1x-xx), page 78
  10. ↑ Hippon Super, "January 1994" (JP; 1993-12-03), page 40
  11. ↑ Hyper, "July 1994" (AU; 1994-xx-xx), page 53
  12. ↑ Joypad, "Juin 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 53
  13. ↑ MAN!AC, "06/94" (DE; 1994-05-11), page 55
  14. ↑ Mega, "June 1994" (UK; 1994-05-19), page 38
  15. ↑ Mega Force, "Octobre 1994" (FR; 1994-xx-xx), page 110
  16. ↑ Mega Fun, "06/94" (DE; 1994-05-18), page 99
  17. ↑ Sega Power, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-05-05), page 51
  18. ↑ Sega Pro, "June 1994" (UK; 1994-05-24), page 44
  19. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 86
  20. ↑ VideoGames, "July 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 73


Dark Wizard

DarkWizard title.png

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