If you want a non-restrictive game system, you could try Morrowind. That game even lets you create your own spells and magic items (without modding)! Of note is that the game is rather lacking in anti-exploit mechanisms, so you can use potions to raise your stats into the thousands or (with some patience) even millions (when the normal limit is 100). Also, you can fly (with levitate spells), jump across the entire map (watch out for falling damage!) and many other things. (Of course, the game may not always behave sensibly under stress; having a speed too high can cause you to clip through walls, for example.)

Morrowind is better than later games in the series in this sense. Oblivion puts limits to prevent exploits (that doesn't mean there aren't any!), while Skyrim took away the Spellmaker (which is the feature that got me in to the series in the first place).

Was 6-8 even ported to Japan? (I mean obviously they were) but if they shunned the mechanics, I assume it didn't take off very well.

Isn't Wizardry 6 linear? As the game won't let you proceed until you do certain tasks and the areas are done in certain succession, as well as areas you can't go to yet have much much stronger monsters barring you entry.

As I said it is my impression. And wild whores couldn't make me play a game with ainme artwork anyway.
Also, I'm getting mixed signals from people who have played JRPG. Most of what I'e heard hints and grindy and linear games, but sometimes with good combat systems.

This game has a very special place in my heart.
Too much micro-management with perfect levels if to speak about non-restrictiveness. By non-restrictive I usually mean very high level caps, no level scaling, etc. And I also prefer controlling party, and if not turn-based, then at least with ability to pause.
Those issues usually arise because people are spoiled with not being pressed to actually learn game systems. Also if to speak about "grind", for me western games without respawn feel grindy without any replayability - in almost all cases you have to clear entire maps (because Exp and Gold are valuable and finite) and after that you are left with lifeless world. Word "grind" is way overused, and some people like this kind of games exactly because they can just "grind" a bit in it after tough working day - some mindless monster-killing to relieve some stress and relax. A lot of western games seem to deny this.

Isn't every single video game like that? Even the open world ones. You can't get to the island before you have a ship. You can't enter the final dungeon before you learned the spell to break barriers.

From what you say, Wizardry 6 does exactly what is expected from RPGs. You aren't expected to go anywhere you want from the very beginning, otherwise the whole sense of the game is lost. New zones, locations, dungeons - they all come partially as reward for progress, and partially - as incentive to progress. These elements are definitely lost in recent Western games, which is another reason why I am not so much excited about them.

Also it seems that you didn't play earlier Wizardries? Because they were basically progression from one dungeon floor to the next with increasingly more powerful enemies and increasingly more powerful loot. I am afraid that if you expect Japanese continuation of series to be something like WIzardry 8, you might be disappointed, they are much closer to the classic WIzardry than last games from Sir-Tech, thankfully, because for me, Wizardry 8 was colossal disappointment.

I wasn't complaining ^^; I was making a counter argument to someone from earlier complaining how Japanese games are too linear "Unlike Wizardry" so I was saying that Wizardry 6 IS linear.
I have no issues with the gameplay at all.

And no sadly, I only played what I can get on GOG, but when the original 5 are released you can be assured I will be buying them immediately :)

That's great. Then you just can't pass on Elminage Gothic.

I should probably point out that you will want/need to play Wizardry 1 before Wizardry 2-4.

Wizardry 2 expects you to transfer high level (13+) characters from Wizardry 1.
Wizardry 3 requires you to transfer characters, but their level doesn't matter since it will be reduced to 1.
Wizardry 4, which is not like the rest of the series, expects you to know some things that a newcomer would not know. (It's also not what I would call easy.)

Thanks :)

http://tetramera.deviantart.com/art/Collab-Wizardry-Portraits-383150362

I don't get it, the person calls Wizardry a good series, then goes on to criticize it and call it a bad series O_o

That person hailed Wizardry 8, but hated all previous WIzardries. No wonder, because WIzardry 8 is Wizardry in name only. That phrase is especially hilarious "...and no romance option. totally bad game", which shows once more that Western games (especially RPGs) went off the rails way too far.