Dark Wizard - Yomigaerishi Yami no Madoushi (Japan)
Sega Mega-CD
🇯🇵
Reviewed in 1993
80
✪ Reviewed on January 14, 2023
72
Japanese version of Dark Wizard with the same tactical depth. The original title is often preferred by collectors for Japanese texts and period packaging. Same masterpiece.
Your verdict
Category
Tactics1 player12+
Description
Four heroes from opposing factions clash in an epic conflict blending turn-based strategy and RPG on Mega-CD. Published by Sega, released in Japan in November 1993. Turn-based tactics with four independent playable scenarios, unit recruitment, colossal strategic map. Japanese edition.
Dark Wizard - Yomigaerishi Yami no Madoushi review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
3/5
Story
★★★★★
"Solid"
The Japanese edition foregrounds its four protagonists from the selection screens onwards: each gets a banner, a dominant palette and a stance, so the choice of scenario is made on an image before it is made on text. Ornamented frames and calligraphic lettering surround the narrative scenes and give the whole the bearing of an illustrated book.
The original release pairs its voiced dialogue with themes attached to characters rather than places: a single melody returns whenever a hero speaks again, transposed according to the gravity of the moment. The CD format allows seamless transitions between map, dialogue and combat, giving the campaign the audio continuity of a serial.
Gameplay
"Solid"
Fun
"Pleasant"
Addictiveness
"Engaging"
Difficulty
"Difficult"
Lifespan
"Massive"
Four heroes with opposing destinies offer as many independent scenarios, each unfolding its own turn-based battles across a colossal strategic map. Recruiting units, powering them up and replaying each side multiplies the hours. That branching structure, generous and demanding, earns the title a stubborn reputation as a sprawling tactical RPG.
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
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Collector interest
Dark Wizard, a Sega tactical RPG with a demanding strategic loop and gorgeous painted backdrops, one of the format's few substantial thinking games. Its collector interest lies in that rare ambition on Mega-CD and the lasting demand from 16-bit tactical-RPG fans, attentive to the Japanese and Western versions. The original Japanese edition is the case purists favour.
An underrated gem
Carried by animated cutscenes and full voice acting, this tactical RPG offered four heroes with intertwined fates, each opening a separate campaign across a sprawling map. Stuck on a costly, niche Mega-CD, it made little noise. A bit slow at times, it will nonetheless satisfy patient strategists after generous turn-based battles.
Is Dark Wizard - Yomigaerishi Yami no Madoushi still worth playing in 2026?
An ambitious Sega tactical RPG on Mega-CD, Dark Wizard pits four heroes of opposing camps in an epic conflict blending turn-based strategy and character progression. The choice of protagonist, the crossing scenarios and the voiced cutscenes leaning on the CD format give a real scope, rare for the genre at the time. The presentation has aged and the pace asks for patience. An overlooked gem for fans of turn-based tactics and narrative RPG on Mega-CD.
