Legacy of the Wizard - Nintendo NES

The game chronicles the story of the Worzen family and their attempt to destroy an ancient dragon named Keela that is magically entrapped in a painting within an underground labyrinth. To accomplish this goal, they must find the "Dragon Slayer", a magical sword that is protected by four hidden crowns. The player must use the unique abilities of each member of the family to regain possession of the crowns and destroy the evil Keela. Like many games of its era, the story of Dragon Slayer IV is explained almost entirely in the game's instruction manual. The game itself contains very little text, and does little to add to or even to explain the story of the game.The Worzen family consists of six members of three generations, plus the family pet, which resembles a small dinosaur. The player takes control of the members of the Worzens and their pet, sending them one at a time into the vast underground cavern filled with traps, puzzles and monsters, in search of the four crowns, while periodically returning to the family household on the surface to change characters and to obtain a password. Each member of the family, which consists of the father, mother, son, daughter, and the pet, has different strengths and weaknesses to contribute to this goal. Some characters have seemingly powerful strengths, but each is offset by proportionate limitations. For example, the father has the strongest attack power, but cannot jump as high as the rest of the family. The mother of the family has relatively weak attributes, but is the only one who can use specific magical items required to find one of the crowns. By discovering and utilizing each character's strengths, the player travels through the extensive dungeon, eventually fighting four bosses to gain the crowns.The game's vast labyrinth has five major sections, four of which contain a boss who guards one of the crowns, and the fifth which contains the final boss. Each section has noticeably different characteristics and different background music, and was designed with one particular playable character in mind. The crowns cannot be acquired without the player utilizing the family members' specific skills to get through the sections of the dungeon. Therefore, each playable character must be used at some point in order to complete the game. For example, one section may be blocked with bricks that can only be destroyed by the mattock, so the player must use the character who can use the mattock to get through such an area. After all four crowns have been acquired, the family's young boy can use the magic of the crowns to find the Dragon Slayer, and then use the magical sword to slay the evil Keela.As the player runs through convoluted passageways, he will encounter an endless supply of monsters. Each character can fire shots of varying strength to defeat these monsters, but attacking uses up the character's magic power. Most of these monsters drop items when defeated, such as keys which can be used to open locked doors and treasure chests, bread which restores the player's health, potions which restore magic power, and sometimes poison which harms the player. Money can also be collected from defeated monsters, and then spent in shops and inns located throughout the dungeon.The characters in Dragon Slayer IV must utilize several magical items in their quest. These can be acquired from chests or bought in shops that are sometimes located in very impractical locations. Item effects include restoring the character's health and magic power, boosting attack power or range, or environmental effects like enabling the character to fly or move special bricks. Some items can only be used by certain characters, and since accomplishing the goals requires the use of these items, it is up to the player to determine which character must be used to regain each crown. Acquiring these items and finding how to properly use them is the essence of Legacy of the Wizard.

I started collecting NES games last year and this was on the cheaper end of the spectrum. As a child I didn't like this game because it is mildly complicated and confusing and as an adult I am still not a huge fan. This game relies heavily on having access to the manual and OF COURSE the re-seller trend on Amazon DOT com is to part out every aspect of the game, no one sells the complete thing unless it's for a lot of money.Anyways - better NES games out there.

Everything was good. As described and what expected. Came w in time. Would definitely recommend or purchase from again.

Adorable little game. My wife liked it since she was a kid. Hard, but fun.

This game was originally released in Japan as Dragon Slayer IV. Since some of the Dragon Slayer games aren't available in North America, it was released under the name "Legacy of the Wizard".LotW is an adventure game that is basically a side-scrolling version of Legend of Zelda. In many ways, it can be compared to Faxanadu (another Dragon Slayer game). It is also a game that is notoriously difficult. Aside from the third and fourth boss battles, the combat is easy, but without a walkthrough, it is extremely easy to get lost.You begin in a house above a dungeon/labyrinth, and your goal is to defeat the Dragon within the Labyrinth. In order to defeat the dragon, you have to collect a Dragon Sword. To attain this sword, you first need to collect four Crowns hidden within the labyrinth. The labyrinth is very confusing and has lots of hidden passages and puzzles, so it will likely take a LONG time to find the crowns. I'd guess that most people haven't been able to complete this game unless they consult a walkthrough. Back when this game was released, my brother and I actually cooperated in our search, and it is unlikely we would have been able to beat it without each other's help.There are five characters (father, mother, son, daughter, pet monster) with different strengths, and you can switch between characters when you return home. There is also a grandmother who gives you a password. Progress in the maze is done Metroid-style. That is, you have to collect new items that give you abilities that let you reach new areas of the maze. For example, the Jump Boots allow you to jump over walls that you could not jump over before. Additionally, most items can only be used by one or two characters, so some areas can only be reached by certain characters. To complete the game, you will need to utilize all five characters (it's technically possible to do it with four, ignoring the pet, but it's easiest to use all five).The maze contains Inns and Shops. The Inns cost 10 gold and let you replenish your life and magic, and also allows you to switch items (but not family members). Each Shop contains two items for sale, and different shops contain different items. Also, shops have different prices, so it may be a good idea to shop around for the best bargain. Also, all but one item can be found in treasure chests hidden within the maze. However, it is often easier to purchase it from a shop. The shops are often as hard to find as the treasure chests, so the shops don't exactly offer an easy way to collect items. You will need to do a lot of exploring.The maze is divided into five sections: four corners and a "hub". Each of the corners contain a crown and you will use a different character to get each crown. Unfortunately, it's quite a challenge, as there are a lot of hidden passages and puzzles, but this give the game a lot of lasting value. Even if you get lost, the maze is huge, so you can always just explore a different corner of the dungeon and seek a different crown.There are five boss battles in the game. There is a dragon, and also a boss guarding each crown. No matter what order you collect the crowns in, you fight the bosses in the same order, so you have to be sure to get the crowns in the "correct" order so you will fight the toughest boss with the toughest family member. I've done it in the wrong order before, which makes the third and fourth boss fights incredibly difficult. Additionally, if you die in a boss fight, you have to start from all the way back home again.The main reason I love this game is the sense of exploration. I can now beat the game in about 2 hours, but it took me a couple of years to beat it the first time, so it's definitely not a quick game. My advice: don't consult walkthroughs. I (with the help of my brother) managed to beat it without one. It seems impossible but it is worth it. The game was actually more fun back when I didn't know the maze by heart. Some other reasons that I like the game are the great music and outstanding controls. The control scheme is excellent, but note that it does take some getting used to. The graphics are okay, but some of the color choices and level layout were questionable.One thing I didn't like was Magic. Every time you attack, it consumes one Magic. So if you run out of Magic, you can't attack anymore. Fortunately, there are several ways to replenish magic.The other thing I didn't like was the fact that it is possible to get stuck. There were a few times when my only option was to hit the Reset button. This was very frustrating.This game doesn't leave a great first impression as it is very confusing at first, but it grew to become my favorite NES game.To save from using long passwords, I would recommend playing this on an emulator (I own the original game, so don't even start). The majority of emulators contain a bug which makes the last boss battle impossible. From my experience, the Nester emulator works. On the other hand, emulator's save states makes the game easier, so you might want to stick want to stick with the (unfortunately long) passwords if you want more of a challenge.

SAY WHAT!!!!! Cool game. BUT $119.00!!!!

This game is great! I'ts very fun...I love the dungeon crawling with a hint of RPG! I totally reccommend this game! It arrived as described! thank you!

it's not like anyone reading this has never played it before....either you know this game or you don't...I just wanted to state the fact that Nintendo is stupid to not have released this on the gameboy advance or insist updated sequels to this game. metroid, mario, zelda, grand theft auto, all have nothing on this game

Works very well. This is my favorite nes game!