Let's Compare ( Wizard of Wor )

Video Locations:
arcade 0:24
Atari2600 2:06
Bally Astrocade 3:21 ( The Incredible Wizard )
Atari 800 XE 4:34
Atari 5200 5:49
DOS 7:04 ( Wizard of Wor 98 )
Commodore 64 8:19
windows 9:35
Creds 11:38
Description Source:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizard_o...
Wizard of Wor is an arcade game from 1981, developed by Midway. Other systems it was ported to include the Atari 800, Commodore 64, the Atari 2600, Atari 5200 and the Bally Astrocade as "The Incredible Wizard". The title of the game is often misspelled as "Wizard of War". The game was released as part of the compilation game Midway Arcade Treasures 2 in 2004.
Gameplay
Wizard of Wor is an action-oriented game for one or two players. The game takes the form of several maze-like dungeons infested with monsters. The players' characters, called Worriors, have to kill all the monsters. Player one has yellow Worriors, on the right, and player two has blue Worriors, on the left. In a two-player game, the players are also able to shoot each other's Worriors, earning bonus points and causing the other player to lose a life. Team-oriented players can successfully advance through the game by standing back-to-back (such as in a corner) and firing at anything that comes at them.
Each dungeon consists of a single-screen rectangular grid with walls and corridors in various formations. The Worriors and the monsters can travel freely through the corridors. Each dungeon has doors at the left and right edges, which connect with each other, making the dungeon wrap around. Whenever a door is traversed by a player or monster, they deactivate for a short period, making them impassible. A player who exits the door can pop back through the door immediately when the Worluk or Wizard is in the dungeon.
The enemy roster. All point values are doubled in a Double Score Dungeon.
The various monsters include the following:
Burwor: A blue wolf-type creature. It also looks somewhat similar to a squirrel.
Garwor: A yellow Tyrannosaurus rex-type creature. Has the ability to turn invisible, thus it can only be seen with the radar.
Thorwor: A red scorpion-like creature. Also has the ability to turn invisible, thus it can only been seen with the radar.
Worluk: An Insectoid-type creature.
Wizard of Wor: A blue wizard.
Normally, each dungeon starts filled with six Burwors. In the first dungeon, killing the last Burwor will make a Garwor appear; in the second, the last two Burwors are replaced by Garwors when killed; and so on. From the sixth dungeon on, a Garwor will replace every Burwor when killed. On every screen, killing a Garwor causes a Thorwor to appear. There will never be more than six enemies on the screen at once. From the second dungeon on, after the last Thorwor is killed, a Worluk will appear and try to escape through one of the side doors, ending the level. Killing the Worluk turns the next level into a "Double Score Dungeon".
The Wizard of Wor will appear in or after the 3rd dungeon once the Worluk has been killed or has escaped (depending on how many men you have lost). After a few seconds the Wizard will disappear and teleport across the dungeon, gradually approaching a Worrior. The Wizard remains in the dungeon until he shoots a Worrior or is killed. Killing the Wizard of Wor will also create a double score dungeon for the next dungeon. He uses a speech synthesizer to taunt the player.
Through levels 1-7, the player is referred to as a "Worrior". After dungeon 7 the Player is referred to as a "Worlord". The "Worlord Dungeons" are more difficult because they have fewer walls. Eventually, with Dungeon 13, there are no walls.
There are two special dungeons with increased difficulty. The 4th dungeon is called "THE ARENA" and the 13th dungeon is called "THE PIT". The Arena has a large open area in its center, while the Pit has no interior walls at all. A bonus Worrior is awarded before each of these levels.
Each dungeon begins with a dramatic rendition of the five-note opening from "Danger Ahead"-the theme to the radio and television series Dragnet-with the fifth note only playing on the "double score dungeon" screen.

[@wingnut4427]

The astrocade was an amazing little machine for it's time. It's such a shame that it didn't sell too well. Indeed The Incredible Wizard was an awesome port. I really enjoyed it. :D

[@MrLuridan]

I loved the Astrocade version...I would play this all night, never die!

[@VirtualVernon]

The Bally Astrocade is amazing!!!

[@scottbreon9448]

That was actually a clone and not an official port though. Even had a different name

[@RetroDawn]

@@scottbreon9448 Which was ironic, since Bally made the arcade original, and the Astrocade was the same hardware as the Arcade, just with 1/4 the RAM, and, thus, 1/4 the resolution. But The Incredible Wizard was made by Astrocade, as they had bought the system from Bally, so they didn't have the rights to the name.

[@robertatkinson6864]

@@scottbreon9448 It's not a clone. The name was changed due to licensing issues once Bally got out of the home video game business. They spun off and sold the Astrocade division to another company. It was one of the last games Bally had in development for the Astrocade before they spun it off. Google it.

[@seanwilkinson3975]

Played in a dark, smoky arcade circa 1981, Wizard of Wor was as pants-crappingly intense as today's Five Nights at Freddy's. That theme pretty much sang "die, die-die, die...DIIIIEEEE"...and, of course, the Evil Stephen Hawking/Wizard voice synthesizer. "One bite from my pretties and you'll explode...HA HA HA HA!" And you just had to love the entire wacky concept, summarized by the Wiz himself - "Worrior, while you developed science, we developed magic."

[@rachel112263]

Sean Wilkinson My "dark, smoky arcade" was the Student Union at the University of Maryland in 1981. lol I was instantly addicted to this game and now have an upright arcade WOW in my house. I love the Wizard's voice, especially when he calls me "Warlord."

[@MackenzietheCollie]

Rachel Kuperberg Where did you get an arcade machine of this game? It's not probably that common of a machine to come by is it?

[@scottbreon9448]

Berzerk was kind of like that too though

[@Ledkino]

The good old days. I still remember my and my brother play Wizard of wor on the Commodore C64 but on the big color TV from our parents. Home alone. The Worluk appears in the Game. My brother and me scream in panic 😂😂😂

[@ericspero996]

I loved this in the arcade as a kid and I was really happy with the Atari 2600 port. Me and my brother played for hours and hours. Such great memories

[@catfishkempster]

I absolutely loved this game in the 80s (well, I still do, actually). The first home version I saw was the Incredible Wizard on the Bally Astrocade. Now there was a undervalued game system!

[@EvilCensor]

I have the Upright Cab and still prefer the C64 version.. when you look at all these different version it's quite something to note that (perhaps) bar the actual Arcade version - the C64 version really blows all other version out of the water.. including that awful Windows (I assume) home-made version.

[@kingsleyzissou1120]

Yeah the Commodore 64 was a nice unit at the time.

[@SchardtCinematic]

My Dad and I played this on my C=64 alot together. This seeing this reminds me of my Dad.

[@theyamo7219]

The only thing missing was the epic Wor voice.

[@scottbreon9448]

8-Bit Retro Rulz Technically if you had the magic voice cartridge, WOW actually did have the voice. However, the cart was never properly marketed and there was only a handful of softwares that supported it...the only games I'm aware of were WOW and GORF

[@macca2379]

i remember playing this with my brother back in the 80's. Great game and great memories

[@AdrianGeorgeNicolae]

Excellent. I wanted to request this to you. This is my favorite old-school arcade game.

[@agateplanet]

The best my friend.

[@silenceofthehills]

Love old games like this!

[@bestfrogs247]

Thank you for posting the video!

[@SP_Sour]

I love how the Atari 800 and 5200 versions play the opening in a different key.

[@AgentM79]

There isn’t a bad conversion of this game to be had! Even the 2600 version played well. I give the home version nod to the Bally Astrocade, of course. In the 1980’s, Astrocade was the closest thing you could get to the arcade machine on WIzard of Wor. The sound and multi-color sprites were amazing. Not surprising, as a limited version of the actual arcade hardware powered the Astrocade.

[@HiroPlaysGames]

I'd take the original arcade version or The Incredible Wizard on the Astrocade any day. :D Awesome comparison video!

[@stufaryde8819]

Despite this being a simple game. It's still a great game to play. C64 version rocks. The 2600 version wasn't too bad considering. Besides the machine didn't have many 2player co op games.

[@MetalSonicodraco7342]

Stufa Ryde That's the point, really C=64 kick ass the background music/sound whatever...is...creepy... I LOVE THAT!

[@stufaryde8819]

MetalSonicodraco7342 Years ahead of it's time eh? Disappearing enemies with only your radar to find them, accidently shooting your buddie. Then running like hell to get away from him/her.

[@MetalSonicodraco7342]

Stufa Ryde The funny part is that, and when he tried to kill you, him/her is killed by a enemy. LOL

[@MrMegaManFan]

Still one of my favorite video games. The sound effects, the voice mocking you, the way the game play and the the background sound picked up in speed, the bonus levels, the music... AWESOME. PS: I think the Atari 800 and Atari 5200 versions are essentially the same - even down to the programming.

[@rbrtck]

That's because the Atari 800 and 5200 are essentially the same machine. The 800 was a full computer with 48K of RAM and everything else a computer needs, but otherwise they have the same internal architecture, with only a few tweaks to make sure that the 5200 is software incompatible without matching tweaks (had something to do with rival computer and console factions within Atari).

[@juanjiikari]

Great job! I played the Atari 26oo and the commodore versions. Kind of weird Atari made a version for 2600, 800XE and 5200. I really like the music. See you!

[@bjbell52]

It not really weird. The Atari 5200 is basically an Atari 800 without the keyboard.

[@RandyWaage]

I use to play the Atari 8 bit version with a friend back in the day. It was AWESOME for the time. LOVED the arcade of Wizard of Wor too! And yup... great port on the C64!

[@SettimaLegione]

dont know other versions, but on C64 this game was absolutely FAN-TA-STIC! Playbility was perfect (expecially fun with two players) and sounds created a special atmosphere...

[@scottbreon9448]

Believe it or not there was actually two versions of the game for the C64. The other one was meh though

[@ACanOfBakedBeans]

Scott Breon If you want to get technical, that version was actually for the Japanese Commodore MAX Machine, but could be ran on a C64.

[@SchardtCinematic]

My Dad and I played this alot on my Commodore 64. Best conversion ever.

[@thejackal007]

Ok, that explains why it seemed a little slow. :) That flicker is rough, no doubt. I also haven't heard of the Astrocade until now. Hope to see more games from it in the future!

[@loneshewolf74]

I had the C64 version as a kid and really enjoyed it. The arcade version seriously creeped me out with it's "dun dun dun" music, organ Dragnet Theme intro, and of course the Wizard's voice. Dot dot dot dot.

[@TMS5100]

astrocade rulez!

[@dallase1]

The Bally Astrocade sound was the best in music and sound effects but looked like those Coleco Mini Arcade color table top Games that looked like little Arcade Cabinets and The Windows version was just the C64 version ported.

[@MackenzietheCollie]

7:10 HOLY CRAP! I LOVE THOSE BLUE DRAGONS ON THE DOS VERSION!!!!!!

[@TheClansega]

More Astrocade please!

[@tobikomi5018]

In the arcade version, the voice synthesis reminds me of the Gottlieb Pinball Machine called, Black Hole.

[@RothmanHarv]

Bryan Ness It's the same speech chip. Votrax SC-01-A

[@tobikomi5018]

Ohh! Thanks!

[@MartyM.]

+Bryan Tobikomi Ness They were used in a number of arcade machines and also the Speak 'N Spell toys. And also I think a few old home computer add-on speech synthesizers.

[@Success2gether]

Wow, Windows is identical to Commodore 64! Didn'e expect that!

[@wingnut4427]

Honestly. It didn't appear that bad during recording. However, Camtasia can only record up to 60 fps. and the flicker rate on the atari 2600 was unknown to me. It would have been a hit and miss situation no matter what I changed it to. Atari did this to have multiple animated sprites on the screen at once. With it's limitations. this was the only way to achieve that. But in real time it doesn't look that horrid.

[@Stellatusmoon]

Off course commodore 64

[@ACanOfBakedBeans]

Of course, not OFF course.

[@dalecummins689]

The ColecoVision version released by Team Pixelboy is really great

[@atarileaf]

The Bally version really impresses me, especially the sound. The Atari XE/5200 versions look a little disappointing, the monsters don't even move their legs, its like they're floating along. I would think those systems would be more capable than that, wonder if it was lazy programming. Great video as always, I always refer to your vids when looking for various ports of old arcade games :)

[@virtuafighter3]

Atari 800/520 needs to try harder - agreed. The sound effect on the 2600 in the background is spooky. C64 has the edge easily.

[@thejackal007]

My first question was going to be about the 2600 flickering, but I see you covered that. :) This is easily within the top 10 of my favorite games for the 800. The Bally version looks easier than the rest. Not sure but your 800 version sounds a little slower than what I remember. I thought it was closer in speed to your 5200 (I'll have to dig mine out and see).

[@TheLoveMario]

OK, WHY THE HELL DID KZbin SUDDENLY DECIDE TO PUT THE QUALITY OPTION ABOVE SUBTITLES AND SPEED?

[@wingnut4427]

And yes ! The Atari 2600 version flickered that way back in the day. I recorded it at 60 fps & it still missed frames.

[@sglider]

Always liked the 5200 version, but the C64 version is just amazing. Clearly the best. For the time, the Astrocade's sound effects were very impressive. That Wizard of Wor 98 is just a total abomination and the sound on the windows version is pretty bad.

[@wingnut4427]

I'll add them as they come up but there aren't many ports that made it to the astrocade.

[@colecovisionlives3139]

The ColecoVision version is the best. It looks and sounds incredibly close to the arcade. The ROM is 4X the size as the C64 version.

[@ldolphin34]

What is the highest recorded arcade score on the coin op? I made it to Dungeon 45 by myself and 61 with a partner.

[@MW-cx3sb]

That DOS one SOUL LESS

[@JLJones0664]

Ahh, so Wizard of Wor and Gorf are on the same hardware (arcade)!

[@MattMcIrvin]

It had special circuitry just to make twinkly sparkle effects.

[@DanZero77]

So glad you didn't do the version on Midway Arcade Treasures 2. On the GameCube and PS2, it runs WAY faster than the original. The PC port is fortunately unaffected.

[@TFWKnightconvoy]

winner and still champion.. Standard Arcade!

[@wii1245]

Had this game on Commodore 64 computer.

[@Riffraffgames]

omg the msdos version.. love killing self with own bullet. Looks like someone made that version based on a a vague memory of the game it's so off. Bally Astrocade version was awesome.

[@wingnut4427]

the 800 version You saw here was in Pal mode. I couldn't get the NTSC version to work. But yes.. the flicker rate in the 2600 was an eye killer.

[@wingnut4427]

it is. But it was altered a bit in a vain effort to take advantage of the sound abilities in newer computers. Obviously it fell flat on it's face.

[@CornerBoy]

I actually have an alternate version of Wizard of Wor on C64. I think it was actually programed by Commodore.

[@yaywhewclips242]

I still play this on my PS3 Bally arcade compile. & just played the 2600 version on my original console (not a pc app).

[@yaywhewclips242]

correction Midway

[@wrestletube1]

2600 version is pants until the last enemy when it stops flicking then it's really good.

[@aranlally3058]

9:36 Thaat's a very cheesy start-up... "Hey"

[@f0r3v3r_]

8:20 Memories....

[@wingnut4427]

Agreed ! If the Astrocade had been marketed better it would have destroyed Atari & Mattel back in those days & could have probably held it's own quite well against the colecovision. Not only that But The video Game crash might not have happened at all !

[@Progearspec]

Hmm at first i thought it was the emulation when i saw that.Still since you stated it plays that way on the 2600 id say damn ! I wonder if that port could have been done better,or it's hardware limitation's would have stop that ?

[@cravenlestat7006]

Anyone that has ever played this on Atari 2600 is still having seizures to this day.And when you turn on a light they get insta-rabies and attack you.The only cure is to live at and work from home with a strobe light going at all times.

[@Ninten70]

The Maze of this game looks Similar to Pac-Man and the "Level Start" Intro on the Atari Consoles Sounds just like Donkey Kong when he Kidnaps Pauline.

[@atariandre5014]

The C64 version looks definitely very good. Maybe for once, the C64 has the edge here over the A8 when it comes to classic arcade conversions. However, the speed of the A8 (version) makes it overall a more enjoyable game IMHO.

[@thisisrob8750]

A8 version?

[@atariandre5014]

@@thisisrob8750 what do you mean ?

[@atariandre5014]

@@thisisrob8750 yes the Atari 8 bit computer line version, you know the Atari 400/800/600XL/800XL/130XE/65XE/800XE/XEGS machines. Because this is a pretty long term this range of compatible machines are usually referred to as “A8”.

[@rbrtck]

This is hardly the only time the C64 conversion of a classic arcade game came out on top over the A8 conversion. Just off the top of my head, _Q-bert_ and _Ms. Pac-Man_ are noticeably better on the C64--try them (on good emulators such as VICE and Altirra if you need to) and see. Also _Dig Dug_ on the C64, despite having strangely vertically squashed characters, looks better than the A8 version, and pretty much plays the same. I think that _Gyruss_ both looks and plays better on the C64. And while neither version of _Donkey Kong_ plays right (Mario is too slow on the C64 and too fast on the A8), the C64 version looks better and more faithful to the original arcade game.

[@Ballowax]

the c64 sounds like bass boost

[@AdamHulbert]

Wow the Windows version looks like they did a straight emulation of the C64, then somehow screwed up the sound

[@whispermason8052]

Man in the Arcade Version Steven Hawking sounds PISSSED!!!

[@enriquecurajr3853]

I love commandore64 with wizard of wor

[@enriquecurajr3853]

And the wizard of wor arcade

[@EnochDark]

dat zapper doh

[@errollleggo447]

arcade or atari 8 bit... wtf did they do to the sound on c64 port?

[@Lofote]

You missed the C64 version with Spech model... even more intense

[@ACanOfBakedBeans]

Yeah, but you can only have speech if you had the SUPER RARE Magic Voice module

[@dancero643]

c64 (Y) (y) (y)

[@nickyjurtz3139]

C64,and Astrocade

[@scottbreon9448]

Astrocade was a clone, not an official port though

[@BMPK]

I'm looking for a game like this but you Vs. each other with same maze idea but you try and find player 2 and shoot, I remember using a joystick. Plz help find it maybe WOR was it not sure

[@erfer666]

C64 version is my fave - even beats the Arcade IMO

[@sethbramwell]

Arcade version is still the best!

[@geilor]

Never saw the DOS Version before. Animations are funny... but was it playable? It looks pretty stale.

[@ChipBailey]

How did you leave out Intellivision? It had the closest to arcade graphics at the time, WITH voice / sound, only surpassed by C64.

[@GamingHistorySource]

It was a home brew that was made after this video was created.

[@19amighista74]

I do not think I think that the Windows version is a conversion from the Commodore 64

[@fandenivoldsk]

The C64 is the best one. In fact, I would argue that it is even better than the arcade original in terms of gameplay.

[@ZylonBane]

The 2600 and 800 ports were really sub-par compared to what the hardware was capable of. The 2600 version's sprite multiplexing could have been much better (think original 2600 Pac-Man vs Ms. Pac-Man), and the 800 version only runs at half the vertical resolution it could have.

[@smyle78]

The only classic version for me is still the C64 version forever.

[@oldstylegaming4655]

7:30 Oof. Did not see that coming

[@oldstylegaming4655]

He just killed himself

[@RetroDawn]

The arcade version pixels are exhibiting smoothing. Perhaps this is from the compression or even the pixel smoothing feature of MAME. It's true that CRT arcade monitors didn't render pixels as distinct on LCDs, but this doesn't look like true CRT smoothing. This section should be rerecorded.

[@hotdoggington6962]

It's hard to think how this could be improved. Add all the better graphics, options, power-ups, and RPG elements you want, I think I'd still choose the arcade or C64 version. I like modern games too but sometimes there's a lot to be said about simplicity. There's just something about that pure state of flow that comes from going for the high score to earn bragging rights when things are simple enough to actually know how much score you're gonna get for each action without needing a calculator.

[@ComfortZoneGames]

You might want to check out my remake. (just check my profile). I have tried my best to recreate the atmosphere and simplicity of the original, but also add modern graphics and sound.

[@hotdoggington6962]

@@ComfortZoneGames Well dang, that looks awesome!!

[@wingnut4427]

a grossly underestimated system indeed for it's time. It's a shame it didn't take off it would have been the atari killer if the marketing had been better.

[@SchardtCinematic]

Why does the Windows version resemble the Commodore 64 version so much except for the gun sound. Everything else looks almost the same.

[@scottbreon9448]

Because the person who made it based it on the C64 version that he grew up with (it's a homebrew)

[@SchardtCinematic]

@@scottbreon9448 that makes sense. Cool

[@RichardCraig]

There's another version for the C64 that I can't find anywhere! I had both versions as a kid, the one here that's nearly arcade perfect, and then a janky port with oversized sprites, ugly sky blue border, and the music was really bad. I've looked everywhere and can't find it... It's terrible but nostalgic.

[@lurkerrekrul]

Never cared for this game that much. It always bugged me the way the player sprite looks like he's lying down when you dace up or down. Anyway, in case I haven't said it before, I really like the way you now label the different versions being shown at the edge of the screen. It makes it much easier when I want to skip over a version I'm familiar with and get to the next one. :)

[@celinesenden4142]

Arcade

[@eyeballbud]

no magicvoice for the c64 version?

[@scottbreon9448]

The magicvoice was rare and hard to get due to the fact that only three titles were actually released for the thing. Plus with the advance in software based speech synthesis, there was no longer a need for a module like this

[@YayAkiba]

Wow, the C64 blows away the Atari 8-bit version out of the water: Graphics and sound.

[@MetalSonicodraco7342]

British1500 C=64 it's the best out there, even kick the DOS poor version.

[@19amighista74]

the c64 version and the windows version are the same!

[@GuitarAnthony]

The MS-DOS version is just...wrong, isn't it? There was indeed a version of this game put out by Commodore themselves.

[@NeptuneReturnz]

It was good of Stephen Hawking to do the voice over.

[@josepzin]

May be a error?!?

[@JohnSmithZen]

Why does the DOS version look so much better than the Windows version???

[@oldstylegaming4655]

2:00 DONKEY KONG!?!?!?

[@aranlally3058]

One hundred and four videos...

[@MMSZoli]

There is a Commodore Plus/4 version too. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWOupoiAeZqFmdE This is not a converted, but completely written by TCFS (so it was a home project by him). I think it is up to the level of some professional made versions. (As you may know this machine had no HW sprites at all) It has a little different style (and music), seems to have only one maze, and there is no speed difference (or increase) in the enemy speed. Really enjoyed the two player mode in my childhood.

[@ACanOfBakedBeans]

That was HOMEBREW. Not an official port

[@maxheadroom22and26]

The C64 version is great, player and enemies just single colored, but good resolution. 2600 is flickering really badly, would hurt to play it for more than 5 minutes. WIN version looks like a C64 port with slow game speed. DOS version is too much changed, doesn't seem to make fun. Bally, 800 and 5200 seem to be pretty ok. But can't compete with C64.

[@agateplanet]

I love this so much. I killed the Wizard on K once and I strobed on to a higher plane of existence. HA HA HA HA.

[@dumiclumic4423]

c64 best

[@legofanguyvid]

Why does the Atari version flash?

[@Akira625]

Due to the technical limitations of the Atari 2600, it's only able to handle 2 sprites on the screen at a time.

[@phj9894]

+Akira625 but they could use some gimmicks to make it not flickering, like dark cavern and berzerk did.

[@SettimaLegione]

because Atari 2600 was extremely limited and must "multiplex" the only sprite it has. Most games are like this on atari 2600... better than nothing anyway...

[@johanbergman311]

Probably the flickering is less noticeable on an old analog TV?

[@ACanOfBakedBeans]

The 2600 only had 128 BYTES (that's less than one Kilobyte) of RAM to work with

[@darkoliven6606]

haha, the WIndows version is a cover of the C64 version and not the arcade.. thats fun. Look at the sprites and the amount of lifes pr. player. Sprites are single colored as in the C64 version.

[@stylis666]

That's because the c64 version is the best! The sounds and the speeds for the monsters, players and the player's bullets are messed up though, so c64 is still the best version.

[@stylis666]

That's because the c64 version is the best! The sounds and the speeds for the monsters, players and the player's bullets are messed up though, so c64 is still the best version.

[@stylis666]

That's because the c64 version is the best! The sounds and the speeds for the monsters, players and the player's bullets are messed up though, so c64 is still the best version.

[@whatthepfpsays4234]

The atari 800 version aint tho.

[@Talamius2]

C64 = 2600 Champ Games Homebrew > Everything else