Think I may replay Wizardry 2: Knight of Diamonds, but need to decide on a version. What I am considering:

Apple 2:
* Characters need to be imported from Wizardry 1, and a character who can cast Malor is *mandatory*. Fortunately, it's easy to reach high levels in Wizardry 1 thanks to a glitch, and I can avoid breaking the game too much by casting Haman or Mahaman and intentionally losing a level (and most of that 100 million XP).
* Copying characters and their equipment can be done with some disk copying shenanigans.
* Running away teleports you randomly, rather than just moving you back a square.
* No automap.

Sony PlayStation:
* Characters, again, need to be imported, and Malor is mandatory. There are some level 10 pre-made characters, but unfortunately that's not high enough to learn Malor, so these characters would likely need to be transferred to 1 and leveled up there (and I note that Makanito doesn't work well on giants in this version of 1, so leveling up to high levels is not that easy).
* An automap is available, and costs nothing to access.
* Some quirks, like Makanito being subject to spell resistance, back row enemies being targetable with physical attacks (makes multiple groups of Fuzzballs, in particular, easier to deal with), and teleporters not teleporting light.
* No autosave, so don't need to fight that if I have to reload.
* No way to duplicate characters.

Super Famicom:
* Based on the Famicom version of the scenario. In particular, the dungeon has been re-arranged, monsters from Wizardry 1, 3, and 4 have been added, and you start with new level 1 characters. Malor is not needed until the end (and it's possible to use the Magic Armor or Sword fight to level up quickly).
* Stat caps are now racial base + 10, instead of 18 across the board. The stats, and hence the races, aren't balanced, with Intelligence and Piety being useless once you get all the spells.
* Spell list has been re-arranged somewhat, with a few spells taken from Wizardry 5.
* Automap requires a Dumapic cast to access (though there's an item that casts it for free), or for Malor to be cast (though the cast can be cancelled and the spell point retained).
* Can easily back up saves with the Turbo File option (which doesn't use a physical Turbo File).
* One annoying bug: Characters with high Agility may act late in the round due to a bug.
* No way to duplicate characters, at least not one that retains their level.

Game Boy Color:
* Based on the Famicom version
* Dungeon floors have been shrunk down from 20x20 to 16x16. On the other hand, 4 floors of post-game content have been added.
* Attack spells are affected by Intelligence (yes, even Priest attack spells), and healing spells by Piety. This also applies to items, which is significant because of KOD's equipment that casts spells for free.
* Automap works like in the SFC version, except that you can't cancel Malor to avoid the spell point cost.
* Stats increase or decrease at level up significantly less often. This, combined with the point about spells being affected by stats, makes training ground class changes less attractive this time around.
* Agility bug is still there, but only affects Hobbits, as no other race can increase that stat high enough for it to be an issue.
* Can back-up saves and duplicate characters, but not their equipment. (You can invoke items without losing them, however. by taking advantage of this,)

So, any thoughts?

I remember playing Wizardry 2 on the NES without needing to import characters.

If I were to play again, I’d do the PlayStation version. However, I’d more likely just play Sorcerer #2, from the iOS fan made clone series of Wizardry.

I actually did play the GBC version, then later the Sega Saturn version.

(The SS version is almost identical to the PSX version, I believe. Biggest differences are that the SS version has the bonus dungeon (which may not be worth it) and an auto-save feature, while the PSX version is easier to emulate and has the advantage of being able to transfer to Wizardry 5 (though PSX Wizardry 5 has a bug that makes BACORTU do nothing, so I don't recommend that version; if you get New Age of Llylgamyn, get it for Wizardry 4, not 5).)

One thing, however, is that the SS version, which is based on the original computer versions (not on the NES version) is disappointingly short, and doesn't have that thing where you go to deeper levels to reach other areas on earlier levels than the NES version does.

Worth noting, before anyone asks, that the NES version (and SFC and GBC versions, which are based off the NES version) does not feel dumbed down; in fact, it honestly feels harder to me because you start at level 1 and aren't likely to get level 13 until it's time to fight the gauntlets.

By the way, on the SS version I had a scary moment where I tripped a teleporter trap on the cave floor. I was worried that I had been teleported into rock, but fortunately that didn't happen,and I wasn't teleported that far, but it was still scary, as anyone who remembers that floor (With all its solid rock) should know.

Maybe I'll discuss my thoughts on the SS bonus dungeon, and the quirks of that particular Wizardry scenario, at some point.

Or, on the Apple 2, you could just get absurd amounts of XP with the identify glitch. Get 100 million XP in Wizardry 1 this way, then transfer to Wizardry 2.

(Incidentally, I'm thinking that, for future replays of these games, I might consider hacking the shop to have infinite supplies of every item, as otherwise most of the items, particularly high end items, tend not to see play at all.)