Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom is the fifth scenario in the Wizardry series of role-playing video games. It was published in 1988 by Sir-Tech for the Commodore 64, Apple II, and IBM PC compatibles (as a self-booting disk) . A port for the Super Famicom and FM Towns was later developed and published by ASCII Entertainment in Japan. Wizardry V was released in the US for the Super NES by Capcom in 1993, and subsequently re-released for the Satellaview subsystem under the name BS Wizardry 5. Plot Following from the events of Wizardry III: Legacy of Llylgamyn, Heart of the Maelstrom begins after a period of peace brought about through the use of L'Kbreth's Orb is shattered when the powers of chaos literally begin to emerge into the world. These unnatural energies are especially focused in a series of tunnels beneath the Temple of Sages in Llylgamyn, fittingly called the Maelstrom. Adventurers, namely the player party, are recruited to journey into these caverns and track down a means of summoning a being known as the Gatekeeper who can seal these chaotic energies once more. Unfortunately, he has been imprisoned by a rogue sorceress known as the Sorn. The party begins by searching for G'bli Gedook, a high priest and guardian of L'Kbreth's Orb. He instructs the party to venture deeper into the caverns. After traversing down to the eighth floor, the party must appease four beings known as the Card Lords by bringing them their respective suit. Once this task is accomplished, the party can venture to the Heart of the Maelstrom and the Gatekeeper may be summoned. As this occurs, the Sorn and her own party of adventurers strike, prompting a final battle. With her defeat, the Gatekeeper awards the party the Heart of Abriel. They return with this to the surface and order is restored to Llylgamyn. Development Wizardry Vs design was based on a game that Bradley had previously written and pitched to Sir-Tech. Sir-Tech asked Bradley to rewrite the game to fit into the Wizardry franchise. This was finished in 1986, but Wizardry V was held back for two years while Wizardry IV: The Return of Werdna was completed. After Wizardry IV—which did not upgrade its graphics from the first game in the series—sold very poorly, Sir-Tech advertised Wizardry V as "breaking away from the Wizardry system of the past". Reception The game was reviewed