The Black Onyx Translated to English

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Written by BuckGB on April 15th, 2010

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Based on the first-person Wizardry series, the title released for NEC's PC-88/PC-98 microcomputers in 1984 and helped introduce Japanese players to Dungeons & Dragons-style ideas/mechanics. The Black Onyx was later ported to platforms like the NES, MSX, Sega SG-1000, and even Game Boy Color, but it never saw an English edition, as far as I know.

Tokugawa Corporate Forums poster LordKarnov42, however, has translated the PC-88/PC-98 versions to English more than 25 years since the game's original release! He notes that, in his opinion, the PC-88 version is superior as it includes music/sound effects and runs at a playable speed in emulators. He also says his translation is still a "v0.99 Beta", as he hasn't beaten the game yet.

LordKarnov42 has already started work on translating The Fire Crystal, an expansion to The Black Onyx that adds a magic system to the game. Rogers initially intended to include The Fire Crystal, The Moonstone (adds wilderness exploration), and Arena (adds arena battles) into the main game but couldn't due to memory limitations.

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