Legacy of the Wizard, originally released in Japan as Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family , is a fantasy-themed action role-playing platform game released for the MSX, MSX2 and Famicom in Japan and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the United States. Legacy of the Wizard is an installment in Falcom's Dragon Slayer series, and one of only five Dragon Slayer games that were localized outside Japan. The game was an early example of an open-world, non-linear action RPG, combining action-RPG gameplay with what would later be called "Metroidvania"-style action-adventure elements.
North American box art
Metroidvania is a sub-genre of action-adventure games and/or platformers focused on guided non-linearity and utility-gated exploration and progression. The term is a portmanteau of the names of the video game series Metroid and Castlevania, based on the template from Metroid (1986), Castlevania II (1987), Super Metroid (1994), and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997).
Screenshot of the 2013 Metroidvania game "Guacamelee!"
Koji Igarashi is credited with establishing defining features of the Metroidvania genre.
In Guacamelee!, the player gains the ability to temporarily turn their human character into a chicken, allowing them to pass through low-height corridors and discover secrets.