As a kid, there were a couple of games that stood out as perfect to my undeveloped brain. There was Club Penguin, Webkinz, Minecraft, but one is completely different from anything I’ve ever played: Wizard101. While an evil corporation shut down Club Penguin, I outgrew Webkinz, and Minecraft is a seasonal game, Wizard101 continues to be a game I find myself coming back to over and over.
What IS Wizard101?
Wizard101 is an MMO (Mass Multiplayer Online) RPG (role playing game) where you take on the role of a wizard. Your goal is to take on the spiral’s most evil characters, fighting through worlds that have been torn apart by these evil forces. You learn spells as you level up, facing more challenging enemies as you advance, learning more backstory as you go.
That’s pretty much the dictionary definition of Wizard101. Let me tell you what my personal definition of Wizard101 is. It’s a game with a community that never quits, people that have genuine care for the game and will support it no matter what. Wizard101 is more than just a game fighting enemies, there’s so many other aspects that make the game what it is.
There’s seven main schools one can start out on: Balance, Death, Life, Myth, Storm, Fire, and Ice. Each school has a specific building in Ravenwood in Wizard City, aside from the Death School Building in Nightside (no spoilers). As you advance, you’ll be ready to learn Sun, Star, Moon, and Shadow spells from Celestia beyond. Wizard101, as it currently stands, has 17 worlds, not including expansions to older worlds.
Why is Wizard101 So Replayable?
On the Wizard101 subreddit, people always ask what keeps players returning. The mechanics of Wizard101 are really simple. Fight enemies, talk to NPCs, fight bosses, rinse and repeat for every section of every world. Once you get an AOE spell (area of effect: attacks all enemies), you blade, secondary blade, AOE. You can pretty much use this strategy for the entirety of the game up until Azteca when boss cheats get much harder. Hearing this, one would wonder, why should I play this play all the way through if the mechanic is so simple and repetitive?
- There’s a variety of side quests that offer different gameplay. Maybe you’d enjoy taking a break from the sweaty nature of repetitive tasks. You can go fishing, learn crafting (very overpowered later in the game), decorate your house, collect animuses (hard to explain), and so on. You don’t need to always grind the main storyline.
- Actually listen to the dialogue and soak in the situation. Most players don’t do this, and granted, neither do I, but Wizard101 has an ongoing storyline. I won’t spoil what happens for anyone interesting in playing, but the voice acting is top-tier. The characters have stories to tell, and the game feels less like a rinse-and-repeat.
- Every character you play as is different. I have one maxed out wizard (Fire school) and have enjoyed beating the game. However, once you beat the game, you get a thirst for more gameplay. So, I make a new wizard on a different school and play. What’s so amazing about this is that every run you meet different people that are also questing at the same time. You get to play different game styles (healer, hitter, support) and learn unique spells to your specific school. Plus, after so many hours on maxing a wizard, you forget about the earlier parts of the story.
The Drawbacks
Wizard101 is not a cheap game; I would strongly argue it’s the very opposite. It’s an investment. I have been playing Wizard101 since 2011, since I was eight years old. Without a thought of doubt, I’ve definitely spent well over a thousand dollars on this game. Over the span of thirteen years, that’s not too crazy.
You can play the game for free up until Cyclops Lane or Firecat Alley. Without a membership or buying crowns to purchase areas, that gives you roughly three to four hours of gameplay. It’s definitely not enough to determine if the game is worth a month of investment or heap of money. Because I have been playing for so long, I took the more expensive route and purchased every single area in Wizard101. It’s just short of two hundred dollars to buy every single area in the game, although that might not be up-to-date.
I have also spent money on buying henchmen (when I was younger, I struggled with bosses on my own) and bought exclusive packs. I was a child, after all, so I forgive myself and move on as I’ve made worse choices with money. If you have the money, I recommend buying every area. Memberships force you to play as much as you can within a timeframe. With crowns, I own every area and can play as much as I want now.
Summary
Wizard101 continues to be an essential game in the MMORPG realm. It also continues to be an essential game in my life. There’s a vibrant community of players that continue to dive into the game, as well as players like me that come back for the nostalgia and stay for the gameplay and camaraderie.
While KingsIsle is a struggling group, I have faith that Wizard101 will continue to grow and be a dominant force in the world of games. I’m extremely happy to spend time playing, even if it requires I grind for hours for a set of armor.
I’m changing the format of titles so as not to include a date. There will also be a change of cover photos, as I want to bring more relevant photos to the front.
Awesome article! Hope to read more in the future!