Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls finds a home on PSN
The positively historical first-person RPG series Wizardry will continue in North America and Europe in as modern a manner as can be: a downloadable PSN game for PS3. XSEED is localizing Acquire's Wizardry: Torawareshi Tamashii no Meikyū for the West as Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls. Though the series started in America (in 1981!) in recent years it's been more popular in Japan, with sequels developed by Japanese companies and released only in Japan. That explains why this version looks a bit more anime than the original did.
Players will be able to explore a grid-based dungeon and fight 120 different monsters, all with hand-drawn 2D sprites, sometime this spring.%Gallery-119622%
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XSEED Games To Publish Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls for PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system in North America and Europe
Next Gen Iteration of Popular Wizardry Dungeon Crawler Series to Arrives on PlayStation®Network this Spring
Torrance, Calif. (March 23, 2011) – XSEED Games, an independent-minded publisher, today announced the upcoming PlayStation®3 system title Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls, to be released in North America and Europe in partnership with Japanese developer ACQUIRE. The game was previously released in Japan as Wizardry: Torawareshi Tamashii no Meikyū (Dungeon of Imprisoned Souls). The latest iteration of the long-standing Wizardry series and the first available for Next-Gen consoles, Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls will be exclusively available for download via PlayStation®Network in spring 2011.
"Having the opportunity to work with ACQUIRE to bring over Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls is truly an exciting one for us," said Jun Iwasaki, President of XSEED Games. "We've long admired the Wizardry series as a pioneer of the RPG genre, so with our upcoming release players will be able to experience a defining moment in gaming history."
One of the premiere RPG experiences since 1981, the original Wizardry has a storied history and is credited as "The Granddaddy of RPGs," having been among the first to utilize grid-based dungeon crawling gameplay when it was originally conceived for early PC platforms. Wizardry – the original and its successors - established a basic and classic command-driven battle system with still images of monsters to fight, which would be emulated in later games for years to come. Wizardry was the first to formally introduce an innovative first-person perspective, the fundamental stepping stone leading to one of today's most popular gaming genres. What's more, RPG fans also owe the concept of prestige classes to Wizardry, an important element and basic building block of the modern-day RPG class system.
Following in the grand tradition of the Wizardry series is the very first version available for today's Next-Gen gamers; Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls features a deceptively simple game system complementing deep and involving dungeon designs. Hardcore RPG fans will find an extensive and grueling 1st-person 3D grid-based dungeon crawl experience rendered in high-definition with hand-drawn characters and sprites by famous commercial artist Yuki Hayabusa. Players will develop a party of up to six members culled from a rich mix of five races and eight classes, and prepare to encounter over 120 different monsters.
Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls, developed by ACQUIRE and to be published by XSEED Games, will be available for download via PlayStation Network this spring. The game is currently in production and XSEED Games will share more information in the coming weeks.
