Legacy of the Wizard

Legacy of the Wizard
Also known as: Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family (JP) Developer: Nihon Falcom Publishers: Namco (JP), Brøderbund (US) Bandai Namco (EU/AU) Platform: NES Released in JP: July 17, 1987 Released in US: April 1989 Released in EU: June 18, 2020 (Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2) Released in AU: June 18, 2020 (Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2) This game has unused music. This game has a hidden sound test. This game has regional differences.

Legacy of the Wizard is a port of the fourth game in the Dragon Slayer series, and one of the few to be released outside of Japan. The game follows the Worzen family (or the Dragon Slayer family) going on a quest to find four hidden crowns in a massive open world to obtain the Dragon Slayer sword and, well, slay a dragon! Also contains a soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro, of Streets of Rage fame.

Sound Test

On controller two, press and hold Up + Right + A + B then on the first controller press Down + Left + Select. If done correctly, a sound will confirm correct code entry. You can now cycle through the songs by moving the cursor over the picture on the wall and pressing A.

Unused Music

The 10th track in the sound test was not used anywhere in the game. It may represent a theme for Roas, who did not have a dungeon area of his own.

Regional Differences

To do: Is there more? Note title screen copyright information differences in version included in Namco Museum Archives Vol 2, including screenshots

Japan	US

• The original MSX2 version has different music for Pochi's theme, the four crown bosses each have their own unique music, and there is an additional post-credits track. The MSX port is missing the unique boss musics, instead having a single tune for all like the Famicom/NES versions, but Pochi's music and the post-credits tune are retained.

• The MSX2 and MSX versions lack the large horizontal-scrolling rooms of the Famicom/NES. Instead each room is divided into 4 screens, but monsters and changes will still be active in the whole room like in the Famicom version. The enemies which can hide behind a wall until you touch them are not hidden in the MSX2/MSX versions, presumably due to a lack of sprite hardware feature to support this visually.

• The MSX2 version had several rooms that were significantly different than in the other versions. Lyll's dungeon was the most different, having a large section arranged in screen-width columns.

• The Famicom has an ending scene where the family walks back to their house after defeating the dragon. The MSX2 and MSX versions instead go directly to the credits after the defeat of the dragon, but after the credits finish, both have an extra piece of music that plays. In the MSX2 version, this music is accompanied by random still shots from the dungeon, similar to the random demos that play on the title screen, but as still images rather than a live demonstration.

• The MSX version has numerical display for health, gold, etc. instead of the graphical red and blue bar displays used by the MSX2 and Famicom versions. This has an advantage for the boss fights, as many of them have too much health to display on the graphical indicator which maxes at 109, and will not show your progress against the bosses until you have brought their health below this level. The MSX version also caps gold at 100 rather than 109.

• The dragon is redrawn for the MSX version with slightly different animation and colouring. It also behaves differently than in previous versions, automatically advancing slightly every time it is hit. The NES version deals 2 damage per hit to the dragon, rather than 1 in the MSX2 and MSX versions, resulting in a shorter battle.

• Shop prices are generally higher in the MSX2 version, and most of the shop contents and item placement in the dungeon is changed in the Famicom version. The MSX version follows the Famicom version, but has more minor changes to shops and items.

• The MSX2 version has the title text breaking down the brick wall as the program starts up, and shows an animation of each family member walking past with their portraits.

• Family names were changed slightly. Maia and Royas became Meyna and Royas in the English version. Grandparents Geera and Dawel became Jiela and Douel. The dragon Dilguios became Keela.

• The game credits in the MSX2/MSX versions both end with "Dragon slayer Famiry QUINTET", but this is replaced with "Dragon Slayer 4 QUINTET" on the Famicom, and "Legacy of the Wizard" on the NES.