First-Ever Collaboration Between RPG Genre Pioneer and Popularizer: Wizardry & Final Fantasy XI

The long-standing MMORPG Final Fantasy XI Online, still active on PC after 24 years, has announced a new collaboration event with Wizardry Variants Daphne. This partnership marks a significant moment in the history of the turn-based RPG genre, as the Wizardry series and Ultima were crucial inspirations for the creation of Final Fantasy. As Akitoshi Kawazu, an original member of the Final Fantasy team, stated in a 2012 interview, "Although Dragon Quest had already been released, in our opinion, there was still nothing comparable to Ultima or Wizardry. That was the kind of game that interested Sakaguchi, Hiromichi Tanaka, and myself."

For Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy, the Apple II computer served as his "gateway to the video game industry," and Wizardry's influence on the turn-based battles of Square's RPG saga was undeniable. While the announcement from Drecom offers limited details about the collaboration's specifics, further information is expected in future updates.

Wizardry Variants Daphne is a 3D dungeon exploration game featuring artwork by Japanese mangaka Yusuke Kozaki, former Nintendo Power illustrator and game cover artist Katsuya Terada, and music by Hitoshi Sakimoto (known for Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII). It is available on iOS, Android, and PC via Steam. Final Fantasy XI Online, a MMORPG, was originally released in Japan for the PS2 in May 2002.

What is Wizardry?

The original Wizardry game was co-created in 1980 by Andrew C. Greenberg (deceased) and Robert Woodhead. Released in the United States in 1981 for computers, Wizardry introduced elements such as party organization, labyrinth exploration, monster combat, and character development. Its profound impact on subsequent role-playing games led to it often being recognized as the origin of the RPG genre.