Wizardry - Knight of Diamonds - The Second Scenario (USA)

Wizardry - Knight of Diamonds - The Second Scenario is the direct sequel to the legendary role-playing game Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord. This installment continues to challenge players with a new, perilous, and mysterious dungeon. Your primary objective is to retrieve the Staff of Gnilda to restore peace to the kingdom.

Players can import characters created in the first game or start a fresh adventuring party. The character creation system allows you to choose from various races such as Human, Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, and Hobbit, and diverse character classes including Fighter, Mage, Priest, Thief, Samurai, Lord, and Ninja. Each class and race possesses unique stats, skills, and abilities, significantly influencing your party's strategy.

Gameplay primarily revolves around first-person, grid-based dungeon exploration. The dungeon is divided into multiple levels, each featuring complex pathways, hidden traps, secret doors, and fierce monsters. Players must manually map out the dungeon or memorize routes to avoid getting lost. The interface is simple yet effective, displaying crucial information about your party and the surrounding environment.

The combat system is turn-based, where you and your party confront hostile creatures. Action order is determined by speed stats. Players issue commands to each party member, from physical attacks, spellcasting, to defending or fleeing. Spells are divided into Priest spells (healing and support) and Mage spells (offensive and control), requiring spell points to cast. Winning battles grants experience points and gold, helping characters level up, enhance their stats, and learn powerful new skills and spells.

A distinctive feature of Knight of Diamonds is its emphasis on equipment. Rare and powerful items are often found from monsters or in treasure chests. Collecting and equipping the right items is key to overcoming difficult challenges. The game is renowned for its high difficulty, requiring players to carefully consider party composition, resource management, and combat tactics. Character death is permanent, although resurrection is possible for a cost, adding to the challenge and tension of each adventure.