《巫术 6》是一个突破口——是时候迈出下一步,让我们的冒险更具挑战,告别安全的安乐窝了,是时候勇往直前不再回头了。《巫术 6》保留了传统《巫术》的全部精髓,我们大胆地将地下城探索做得前所未有的深入,但是,猜猜接下来会发生什么?!在游戏的高潮部分,我们并不会到达地下城的最深处,而是打破它的束缚,把游戏内容上升到地下城之外,从系列过去的枷锁中永远解放出来,我们现在做出的改变仅仅是下一作的序曲。
Bane was a breakout – it was time to take the next step, time for our adventures to grow up and leave the safety of the nest, it was time that there should be no going back. Bane retained the full spirit of traditional Wizardry, braving ever deeper into the castle dungeon, but then, what happens?! At the point of climax we reach not the lowest depths, but instead ascend outside the confines of the dungeon prison, freed forever from the shackles of the past, and the end is now the prelude for what is to follow.
大卫・W・布拉德利,
《巫术 6》创作者David D. Bradley,
Wizardry VI's creator
该作另一个改进的方面是开锁和陷阱:《巫术 6》专门为开门锁或开宝箱制作了独立的小游戏。我一直很讨厌 RPG 中的小游戏,因为它们经常让我觉得是与其他部分的核心体验完全脱节的,但我却很喜欢从《巫术 6》开始的每一代的各种开锁和解除陷阱游戏,它们看上去就像是游戏世界中不可或缺的一部分。
说起布拉德利(Bradley)在《巫术 6》作出的种种改进(更棒的 NPC 交互、武器的不同攻击模式、新添加的状态效果等),很容易就能列出一长串。但归根结底,正是这些改动将此系列推向了一个新时代,同时又不牺牲游戏的深度。
但这并不意味着这些转变就是毫无代价的,并非每个玩家都能接受啰嗦的 NPC、能够随地休息的能力以及“探索地下城,返回城镇”这种循环的消失。
Another area the game improves upon are locks and traps. Wizardry VI introduces separate gameplay for both unlocking doors and opening treasure chests. Usually I hate mini-games in RPGs, as they often feel completely disconnected from the core gameplay of the rest of the game, but I always loved the various iterations of lock-picking and trap-disarming starting with Wizardry VI, as they felt like such an integral part of the game's world.
It would be easy to go on with a list of all the things Bradley changed with Wizardry VI (improved NPC interactions, different attack modes for weapons, increased number of status effects, etc.), but all it boils down to is that the changes pushed the series into a new era without sacrificing complexity along the way.
That isn't to say that nothing was lost in the transition. Not everyone enjoyed the verbose NPCs, the ability to rest anywhere and the removal of the “explore dungeon, return to town” gameplay loop.
日本的开发商则更喜欢老式的游戏体验,并且已经将早期《巫术》作品的游戏性打磨得几近完美,他们最好的“地下城 RPG 们”在游戏机制上拥有着与《巫术 6》相同的深度。但他们的游戏世界仍然被禁锢在抽象的迷宫里——尽管这些迷宫设计得如此出色。
而《巫术 6》却摆脱了这些限制,地图呈现给玩家的是具体的场景,这类场景同时又具备了迷宫的特性,足以为玩家们提供挑战。与它的开放世界续作不同,《巫术 6》的地图设计十分紧凑,不同的区域之间以各色各样的路途连接。凭借这样的设计,《巫术 6》没有延绵不绝的地下城,玩家真的会有一种在逐步探索一座巨大的,结构紧密的城堡及其周围环境的感觉。
《巫术 6》不仅仅是一部过渡之作,它采用了大胆的创新并保留住了此系列最引人入胜的元素,以此成功地对传统的《巫术》系列游戏体验进行了重塑。
Japanese developers prefer the old ways, and have polished the gameplay of earlier Wizardry entries to perfection, their best “dungeon RPGs” offering the same mechanical depth that Wizardry VI introduced. But their worlds remain constrained and limited – as awesome as they are – to abstract mazes.
Wizardry VI, on the other hand, broke free from these constraints, with maps that felt like real places yet are still maze-like enough to provide a challenge. Unlike its open-world sequels, Wizardry VI's maps are tightly designed, with many paths between the various areas. Instead of a series of dungeon levels, you really had the feeling of slowly exploring a massive, densely layered castle and its surroundings.
Wizardry VI is much more than a transition piece – it managed to repackage the classic Wizardry experience, by both pushing forward and yet keeping the elements that have always been most appealing about the series.