+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | W I Z A R D O F W O R | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ GAME: WIZARD OF WOR PLATFORM: ARCADE GENRE: ACTION CREATOR: BALLY MIDWAY Copyright 1980 AUTHOR OF THIS FAQ: Kevin Butler AKA War Doc E-MAIL: kevinb(at)technologist(dot)com FAQ VERSION: 1.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS UNIT I: INTRODUCTION 1. Legal Stuff 2. Version Information 3. Acknowledgements 4. Welcome 5. Overview UNIT II: GAME INFORMATION 6. The Game 6.1 The Controls 6.2 The Playing Fields 6.3 Scoring 6.4 The Dungeons 6.5 The Monsters UNIT III: STRATEGIES 7. Playing the Game 8. Quirks in the Game UNIT IV: CONCLUSION 9. Conclusion _______________________________________________________________________________ To find a particular chapter or subchapter do the following: 1. Highlight the chapter or subchapter name you wish to find. 2. Press CTRL-C 3. Press CTRL-F 4. Press CTRL-V 5. Press CTRL-F 5. You will arrive at the desired chapter or subchapter. _______________________________________________________________________________ ************** ********************************* U N I T I ********************************** ************** +=================+ | 1. LEGAL STUFF |============================================================ +=================+ This guide may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advanced permission from the author. Use of this guide on any other web sit or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All content in this guide is Copyright 2004 by Kevin Butler. Only the sites listed below have permission to publish this work or to display it: www.gamefaqs.com www.cheats.de faqs.ign.com If you wish to put this guide on your site, e-mail me and ask. Save yourself the headache of putting up with lawsuits and whatnot because you failed to ask a simple "Can I post your guide on ?". If you wish to use info in this guide, please acknowledge that you have done so. If I don't respond or I say no, accept it as fact. This especially goes out to Dave at www.cheatcc.com since he has a habit of taking guides without permission. In addition, do not modify this guide in any way whatsoever to suit your purposes. The latest version can always be found at www.gamefaqs.com. If you see this guide on any other site then the one listed above, please e-mail me. If you wish to ask questions or give input to this guide, please e-mail me. Just have Wizard of Wor as the subject so I know it isn't another kooky vendor trying to sell me hair gel or another XXX site telling me I have new friends. +=========================+ | 2. VERSION INFORMATION |==================================================== +=========================+ Version 1.0 1/27/04: A guide is born. +======================+ | 3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |======================================================= +======================+ The following are a list of people or organizations that have made this FAQ possible: My wonderful family (who has had to put up with the tapping on the keyboard) Bally Midway for making a great arcade game GameFAQ's for putting up this FAQ +=============+ | 4. WELCOME |================================================================ +=============+ Welcome to my FAQ for Wizard of Wor. Since the game has you continuously killing monsters until all your men are killed, there is no walkthrough per se. Instead it will be broken up into the game itself and strategies for survival. Input is appreciated along with constructive criticism. If you wish to e-mail me thoughts on this FAQ, better ways of doing things, other strategies, etc., feel free. Make sure you put Wizard of Wor as the subject. If you don't, I'm liable to discard the e-mail as spam. +==============+ | 5. OVERVIEW |=============================================================== +==============+ 1980 was a major year for arcade games. Pac-Man made its debut and the craze swept the nation. In addition, powerhouses such as Atari, Cinematronics, Stern, and Williams also put out major games such as Battlezone, Star Castle, Berzerk, and Defender. There was a lot of competition to contend with for any arcade game manufacturer. Bally Midway has been one of the most successful partnerships in the arcade game industry. Bally had been putting out pinball and slot machines since the early 1930's while Midway has been putting out arcade games since the early 1970's. In addition to this partnership, lucrative deals with Japanese arcade giants such as Namco and Taito brought us Space Invaders and Pac Man. Bally Midway continued to collaborate on games and one of the results was Wizard of Wor. Although the game proved to be popular, it was constantly in the shadow of the major arcade games of the year. Still, it developed a loyal core of people which enabled it to develop some staying power. You played a Worrior who must eternally go through mazes and defeat the monsters. The names of the monsters harkens back to tales told during the dark ages while your Worrior is equipped with the finest future weapons such as a laser gun. In addition to the monsters, you also had to deal with the Worlocks and even the Wizard of Wor himself. The action is fast-paced and there is never a dull moment. Good luck keeping your Worrior alive. *************** ******************************** U N I T II ********************************** *************** +==============+ | 6. THE GAME |=============================================================== +==============+ Wizard of Wor is a two-dimensional, above view style game. In addition, the Worrior that you control is shown from a side view to further complicate things a little. Your goal is to successfully kill all the monsters in a dungeon so that you can advance to the next dungeon. As you progress through the dungeons, the monsters become quicker, smarter, and more aggressive. You may player in one-player mode where the computer will assist you or in two-player mode where a friend can help you out. The mazes are designed to test your skill and strategic abilities as you attempt to make it to higher dungeon levels. It is kill or be killed in this fast-paced game. ____________________ / 6.1 The Controls /__________________________________________________________ -------------------- The controls on this game are pretty easy. In addition to learning how to move, you must also learn how to tap the controls to change your Worriors direction. It will take practice and some time to get used to them. - A four way joystick for moving left, right, up, and down (tapping the joy- stick left, right, up, and down just turns your Worrior without moving him). - Fire button __________________________ / 6.2 The Playing Fields /____________________________________________________ -------------------------- The playing field for Wizard of Wor is pretty simple in its layout. You will have the maze itself. Centered at the bottom is the radar with players one and two on the right and left corners respectively. I have included an example of what this field looks like: +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | MAIN MAZE | | | | | | | | | | WORRIORS-> | | LEFT | | DUNGEON # OR NAME | | +-----------------------+ /\ | | | | -|| | | | | /\ | | +-------------+ | RADAR | +-------------+ | | | PLAYER #2 | | | | PLAYER #1 | | | | SCORE | | | | SCORE | | | +-------------+ +-----------------------+ +-------------+ | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ You control your Worrior on this screen. _______________ / 6.3 Scoring /_______________________________________________________________ --------------- Scoring in this game is pretty simple: Burwor (Blue Monster) : 100 points Gurwor (Yellow Monster): 200 points Thorwor (Red Monster) : 500 points Yellow or Blue Worrior : 1000 points Worlock : 1000 points + Double Score for Next Dungeon Wizard of Wor : 2500 points You start the game with one of the following set ups: For one player: You get 2 or 3 Worriors for one quarter. You get 5 or 7 Worriors for two quarters. For two players: You get 2 or 3 Worriors for three quarters. You get 5 or 7 Worriors for four quarters. You get a free Worrior either after dungeon three or four (Arena) and another one at dungeon 12. ____________________ / 6.4 The Dungeons /__________________________________________________________ -------------------- The dungeons in Wizard of Wor are arranged in random order. This basically means that you won't encounter the same pattern of dungeons on multiple games. There are, however, two dungeons that will always appear in the game: The Arena always appears at dungeon 4. It looks like this: +----------------------------------------------+ | | | ---- +---- ----+ ---- | | | | | ----| -------+ +------- |---- <-| |-> ----| ---+ +--- |---- | | | | | +---- ---------------- ----+ | | | | | | | | | | | | -------- | | | | | | | | | +----------------------------------------------+ The Pit appears at dungeon 13 and every six dungeons thereafter (i.e. 19, 25, 31, etc.). It is basically the playing area without the maze. It is a wide open area like this: +----------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | ----| |---- <-| |-> ----| |---- | | | | | | | | | | | | +----------------------------------------------+ The rest of the dungeons are randomly generated by the game. Below, I will show what a few of the dungeons look like: +----------------------------------------------+ | | | | | ---- + ---- ---- + ---- | | | ----| ---- + + + + ---- |---- <-| | | | | | | |-> ----| +---+ | | | | +---+ |---- | | | | | | | ---+ +--+ +--+ +--- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------+ + + +-------- | | | | | +----------------------------------------------+ +----------------------------------------------+ | | | +---- +---- ----+ ----+ | | | | | | | ----| + +---- + -------- + ----+ + |---- <-| | | |-> ----| + + + -------- + + + |---- | | | | | | | | +---- ----+ | | | | | | | ----- | | ----- | | | | | | ----- + + -------- + + ----- | | | | | +----------------------------------------------+ +----------------------------------------------+ | | | | | + + ---- -------- ---- + + | | | | | ----| + + ----+ -------- +---- + + |---- <-| | | | | |-> ----|---- | +---- ----+ | ----|---- | | | | | | | + +---- + -------- + ----+ + | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | + ----- ----- + | | | | | | +----------------------------------------------+ ____________________ / 6.5 The Monsters /__________________________________________________________ -------------------- There are five different monsters (or Worlings) you can or will encounter in Wizard of Wor. They are: Burwor: The blue monsters. You can always see them. Every dungeon starts with six Burwor. Garwor and Thorwor: The yellow and red monsters. You can only see them on radar or if you are in the same passageway as they are. They have a breath weapon in addition to their normal attack. You start off dungeon 1 with one of these monsters. The number goes up by one for each successive dungeon until you have a maximum of six per dungeon. Worlock: Appears after dungeon 1. Moves quickly around and tries to go out the warp tunnel. Killing one gives you double scoring in the next dungeon. Wizard of Wor: First appears in dungeon 5. Tends to teleport around the maze and throw lightening bolts. Cycles through periods of being in the maze short and long periods of time. **************** ******************************** U N I T III ********************************* **************** +======================+ | 7. PLAYING THE GAME |======================================================= +======================+ When you start the game, your Worrior will be in a safe area in the bottom right or left corner of the maze. You will have ten seconds to stay in your safe area before you are forcibly ejected. - Take a quick look at the maze before you go into it. Know the locations of the monsters and also find areas that will be suitable for defending your- self. The Burwors will already be roaming around. In the later levels, a couple of Garwors and Thorwors will also be in the maze. - When playing in one-player mode, the computer player will assist you to a degree. Use this to your advantage. This will be especially true in the later levels when the invisible monsters are roaming the maze. The computer player can help you by making them become visible. Keep in mind that you can kill off the computer Worrior and they can do the same to you. - Two-player works like one player. Learn to work together and try not to kill each other (unless you are playing a cut-throat competition). - It is easier to turn from side to side then it is to turn from side to up/down. Find the short walls that will only allow monsters to approach you from the side. Also, align your warrior just a little past the corridor walls above and below. This will give you the advantage of seeing invisible monsters in two vice one passageway. - Another advantage of the above is the fact that the monsters will push you back vice kill you. Of course, you must get back into position since the monsters seldom will attack you singly in the later dungeons. - Learn to tap the joystick so you can rapidly turn without moving your Worrior. This will prove invaluable on the later levels when you have to turn back-and-forth rapidly to shoot the enemies coming at you. - Learn to use your radar. Although it doesn't have the maze superimposed upon it, you can get a pretty good idea of where the invisible monsters are and where they are moving to. This will definitely help decrease the chance of being surprised by one of them. - When you are shooting, make sure you are making your shots count. You can only have one shot out at a time. This basically means that until your shot hits a wall or a monster, you have no firepower. So don't fire down long corridors or you may find yourself surrounded by monsters without being able to shoot them. - Your shots can also be negated by the other Worrior's shots, monster's breath weapons, and the wizards lightening bolts. - As the dungeons progress, the monsters become smarter. Not only do they attempt to surround your character, they also move out of the way when you are aiming at them. In addition to becoming smarter, they move much quicker and tend to swarm on your Worrior. - You can use the warp tunnel once during a dungeon. It will also clear out when the Worlock appears. When you use the warp tunnel, it will seal off behind you as you get to the other side. Only use it when you really need to. Don't hang around it since the monsters will also use it to get to your location. - The Worlock will appear after the last monster has been killed. Worlocks usually appear in the center of the maze and move toward one of the war tunnels. Try to seal off the warp tunnel to prevent the Worlocks escape. Also, hit it at long range since trying to fight toe-to-toe with it would be suicide. - After you clear out the Worlock, you may be confronted by the Wizard of Wor himself. The Wizard of Wor teleports randomly about the maze shooting off lightening bolts. This may be the one time when a pre-emptive shot may do you some good since the wizard may teleport into your shot. You can also use the same tactics of creeping out from behind a wall with the wizard since you won't be hit until you are pushed back into the corridor. - If you survive through dungeon 7, you will now be classified as a Worlord. This basically means all the monsters are moving at maximum speed and they are all coming for you. - If you don't lose a Worrior on the dungeons with the Pit, you will be classified as a Worlord Supreme. - For the mazes that are open (such as the Pit) or very near open (such as the Arena), go to a corner to present the smallest possible target and to force the monsters to only come at you in two directions. +=======================+ | 8. QUIRKS IN THE GAME |====================================================== +=======================+ Like all video games, this game has strange things that can occur. Some of these quirks can be detrimental to gameplay, but they are interesting nonethe- less. - While you are playing the game, if you turn the power off and back on quickly, you will start where you left off and your total amount of Worriors left will be at their maximum of 16. - After the dungeon counter (located above the radar) passes 100, it will reset but the first digits will no longer by in synch with the counter. - It is rumored that if you fire a shot and the Wizard of Wor first appears in the exact same spot where your shot is, the game will lock up. **************** ******************************** U N I T IV ********************************* **************** +================+ | 9. CONCLUSION |============================================================= +================+ The Wizard of Wor was definitely a different game when it first came out. Sometimes, one wanted to compare it to Berzerk. Although the basic premise was the same, the gameplay was totally different. Another interesting aspect (re- peated with Gorf) was the ability to "buy" more men. Although this extended one's life, it still caused one to lose a lot of quarters. This game became a real challenge when everything was moving so quickly, you just basically shot quickly in all directions hoping you took something out before it got you. This was one game that could get the heart pumping. Unfortunately, it is very rare to find this machine anywhere. However, through the miracle of emulation, a whole new generation is realizing what we "old" folks enjoyed those many years ago. In addition, www.shockwave.com is bringing many of these classic games back. Check out their site to see what ones are there. I hope this guide helps you in being able to get the most amount of gameplay for this game. If you do have other ideas or thoughts, please e-mail me and share them. Who knows, maybe I'll start a Q&A Chapter in this guide if enough people ask the same questions. Anyway, thank you again for reading this guide. To see other FAQ's I have written please go to: http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/32691.html ~~~ No trees were harmed in the making of this FAQ ~~~