Wizardry III: Knight of Diamonds (Famicom) Walkthrough — Every Key Location, All 5 Legendary Armor Pieces, and B1F–B6F Maps

The Famicom version of Wizardry III: Knight of Diamonds is one of the easiest games in the series to get wrong before you even start it. First, this “III” is actually the second scenario of the original — the Japanese releases swapped the numbering. Second, where the original demanded a maxed-out party imported from the previous game, the Famicom version was rebuilt so you can play it with freshly rolled characters.

The backbone of the game is a chain of keys. The Rusty Key becomes the Ebony Key, the Ebony Key becomes the Monastery Key, and eventually you reach the Master Key. Skip a single link in that chain and the next door simply won’t open. Everything between the surface and B6F is, functionally, one long handoff puzzle.

This guide walks you from B1F down to B6F with coordinates for every stop, and includes all six actual floor maps. It also covers where the “Magic” guardians hiding the five pieces of legendary armor are stationed, and the exact conditions for the Demon Lord — the secret boss that exists only in the Famicom version.

On my first run I dropped into B6F having missed one piece of the legendary armor, and the dungeon politely threw me back out. The final door does not open unless your gear is complete. Don’t repeat my mistake.

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What kind of game is Wizardry III: Knight of Diamonds? It says “III,” but it’s scenario “II”

The Famicom version of Wizardry III: Knight of Diamonds is a first-person 3D dungeon crawler released by ASCII on March 9, 1990, for 6,500 yen. The original title is WIZARDRY KNIGHT OF DIAMONDS, and it corresponds to Wizardry 2 on PC.

The Japanese Famicom releases have their numbering swapped. Famicom II, Legacy of Llylgamyn, is the original third scenario; Famicom III, the game covered here, is the original second scenario. When you go looking for walkthrough info, always confirm it by the subtitle “Knight of Diamonds.” Searching for “Wizardry 2 walkthrough” will drag in articles about an entirely different scenario.

What stands out is that the Famicom version is not a straight port. The balance was heavily reworked and the maze itself redesigned so newcomers could play with freshly created characters, and on top of that the game folds in extra monsters from the fourth and fifth scenarios plus new spells from the fifth. The better you know the original, the more you should approach this as a separate game.

Is it okay to start with new characters? Imports from the previous game and the Famicom rebalance

The short answer is yes: freshly created characters work just fine. A Turbo File is not required.

The original Knight of Diamonds was billed as an expert-level add-on scenario, built around transferring high-level characters who had already cleared the first game. Tough monsters show up immediately, and level 1 rookies simply don’t survive. The Famicom version rebuilds that premise. The balance was tuned so new characters are viable, and the layout of the maze itself was reworked. That means this is a perfectly reasonable entry point into the series.

Of course, if you own a Turbo File or Turbo File II, you can import characters from Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord and Legacy of Llylgamyn. Carrying a party you’re attached to straight into the next dungeon is a real treat for anyone who has followed the series. But the difficulty was never built around imports, so there’s no reason at all to skip this game just because you don’t have the hardware.

One warning carries over from the first two games: save data corruption is still a real risk. A lost character is gone for good. On original hardware, be careful when plugging and unplugging the console, and if you’re on a port or an emulator, back up often.

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The backbone of the game: understanding the chain of five keys

Boiled down, this game is a puzzle about handing keys off. Each key you find gets traded somewhere else for the next one. The order is fixed, so there’s no skipping ahead.

Here’s the chain.

1. Grab the Rusty Key on B1F at E7 / N12
2. Trade the Rusty Key for the Ebony Key on B1F at E17 / N6
3. Trade the Ebony Key for the Monastery Key on B2F at E3 / N10
4. Use the Monastery Key to pass the door on B3F at E13 / N1
5. Trade the Mithril Key for the Master Key on B4F at E4 / N4

A second chain runs alongside it. Defeat the Kobold King to obtain the Blood-Stained Badge, then trade it for the Strange Emblem on B2F at E14 / N18. Without that emblem you can’t get through the passage on B1F at E10 / N0.

You’ll also pick up the Mithril Emblem on B3F at E11 / N7. Between that and the Mithril Key, there are a lot of similarly named items to keep straight. Treat “keys” and “emblems” as two separate systems in your notes and you’ll make far fewer mistakes.

Where are the five pieces of legendary armor? Beat the “Magic” guardians

There’s a second collection track you absolutely cannot ignore: the five pieces of legendary armor. Each one has a guardian, and you don’t get the gear until the guardian is dead.

And the final door on B6F will not open unless you have all five. The trigger is having them equipped. Wandering down to the deepest floor with a gap in your kit just means getting turned around, so collect everything first.

Here’s a fun detail: the Magic Sword and the Magic Helmet both sit at E16 / N3. Same coordinates, one floor apart. Kill the one on B3F, then head to the identical spot on B4F. It’s a layout that sticks in your head.

Also worth noting: Murphy’s Ghost appears on B1F at E3 / N17. It’s the same infinitely respawning XP piñata that everyone remembers from Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, and it works exactly as well here for early leveling. If you started with new characters, grind properly at that square before you go deeper.

B1F to B6F walkthrough: a step-by-step guide with coordinates

From here, we’ll follow each floor by coordinate. The notation is “E# / N#”, and every floor is 20 squares east-west by 20 north-south.

B1F: the Rusty Key and Murphy’s Ghost

• E0 / N0 — Stairs up to the castle (your base)
• E3 / N17 — Murphy’s Ghost (leveling spot)
• E7 / N12 — Obtain the Rusty Key
• E15 / N2 — Magic Armor fight
• E17 / N6 — Trade the Rusty Key for the Ebony Key
• E10 / N0 — Passage that requires the Strange Emblem
• E5 / N5 and E16 / N2 — Stairs down to B2F

B2F: where the keys and emblems tangle

• E3 / N10 — Trade the Ebony Key for the Monastery Key
• E9 / N9 — Passage that requires the Rusty Key
• E10 / N9 — Passage that requires the Blood-Stained Badge
• E14 / N18 — Trade the Blood-Stained Badge for the Strange Emblem
• E7 / N1 — Passage that requires the Mithril Key
• E14 / N1 — Magic Shield fight
• E0 / N0 and E18 / N1 — Stairs down to B3F

This is the floor where people get stuck. Four separate passages demand a key, and there are plenty of secret doors on top of that. Keep the map in front of you and check which key you’re currently holding before every move.

B3F: the Mithril Emblem and the 5,000 G.P. escape

• E11 / N7 — Obtain the Mithril Emblem
• E13 / N1 — Passage that requires the Monastery Key
• E14 / N6 — Return to the castle for 5,000 G.P.
• E16 / N3 — Magic Sword fight
• E17 / N3 — Passage that requires the Master Key
• E12 / N12 — Stairs down to B4F

The escape at E14 / N6 is worth memorizing. 5,000 G.P. isn’t cheap, but as insurance for getting out of the deep floors alive, it more than pays for itself.

B4F: the Master Key exchange

• E4 / N4 — Trade the Mithril Key for the Master Key
• E9 / N11 — Return to the castle
• E16 / N3 — Magic Helmet fight
• E7 / N12 — Stairs down to B5F

B5F: the floor that demands MALOR

• E9 / N4 — Magic Gauntlets fight
• E10 / N6 — MALOR required
• E16 / N7 — Watch out for status ailments
• E8 / N4 — Stairs down to B6F

B5F contains a spot you cannot pass without MALOR, the teleport spell. If your Mage isn’t high enough level, this is where you stall out. There’s also a one-way trick: you can move from E7 / N11 to E7 / N12, but not back, because the return side is a wall. The floor is full of one-way geometry, so a careless step means a long walk around.

B6F: alone, and fully equipped

• E1 / N2 — You can only pass alone
• E1 / N3 — You can only pass with the legendary armor equipped
• E1 / N4 — Teleports you to B1F E14 / N14, where your full set is traded for the Rod of Nilda
• E2 / N18 — Demon Lord fight (a secret boss exclusive to the Famicom version)

This is the climax of the game. At E1 / N2 you have to disband the party and go in solo. Then, to get through E1 / N3, you must be wearing all five pieces of the legendary armor. If anything is missing, this is where your run turns around.

Meet both conditions and step onto E1 / N4, and you’ll be flung to E14 / N14 on B1F, where your entire kit is swapped for the Rod of Nilda. From there, just walk home to the castle and you’ve won.

Map guide: floor maps for B1F through B6F

Here are all six floor maps. Each one is 20 squares east-west by 20 north-south, and the gray bands are walls while the red dashed lines are doors. Hover over a marker to see what happens on that square.

Because so many passages in this game are sealed behind keys, some corridors look like they simply stop on the map. Secret doors are drawn as walls, too. When something looks like a dead end, suspect a key or a hidden door before you give up on it. B2F and B3F in particular are chopped into fine little compartments.

Map symbol legend

B1F (Basement Floor 1)

B2F (Basement Floor 2)

B3F (Basement Floor 3)

B4F (Basement Floor 4)

B5F (Basement Floor 5)

B6F (Basement Floor 6)

Who is the secret boss, the Demon Lord? A Famicom-only addition

The Famicom version includes a secret boss that doesn’t exist in the original: the “Demon Lord,” on B6F at E2 / N18.

To face him, you have to march into the deepest part of the maze completely alone. B6F is structured so that E1 / N2 forces you into solo play, and the Demon Lord waits beyond it. You cannot bring the whole party along.

If all you want is to finish the game, you never have to fight him. But since he only exists in the Famicom version, anyone who thinks their party is strong enough should take the swing. Nobody who played a port has ever met this boss. That alone is a reason to pick the Famicom original.

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Can you play Wizardry III: Knight of Diamonds on modern hardware? A platform-by-platform guide

1. Available via subscription or free

None. As of July 2026, the game is not in the Famicom library on Nintendo Switch Online, nor in the PlayStation Plus Classics Catalog.

2. Available to buy individually

3. Available via remaster or remake

Three ports that include Knight of Diamonds have been released over the years. None of them run on current hardware, so you’ll be hunting the used market.

4. Hard to obtain on modern hardware

For the Famicom version itself, there’s no substitute for original hardware and an original cartridge. The Demon Lord exists only in the Famicom version, so if that’s what you’re after, real hardware is the only option.

There is reason for optimism, though. In May 2026, reports indicated that Atari had acquired the rights to Wizardry scenarios 1 through 5. Given how well the Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord remaster was received, there’s a real chance the later scenarios get their turn. While you wait, the first game’s remaster — available right now on current hardware — is a fine way to get used to the way Wizardry does things.

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Wrapping up: Knight of Diamonds only opens for players who respect the order

The Famicom version of Wizardry III: Knight of Diamonds was published by ASCII on March 9, 1990. What’s inside is the original second scenario, Knight of Diamonds, with the Japanese releases having swapped the numbering. Always verify walkthrough info by the subtitle.

Its defining trait is that the Famicom version was rebuilt so new characters can play it. The original assumed a veteran party carried over from the previous game, but here both the balance and the maze were reworked. You can jump in without a Turbo File and be perfectly fine.

The backbone is the chain of keys: Rusty Key (B1F E7 / N12) to Ebony Key (B1F E17 / N6) to Monastery Key (B2F E3 / N10) to Master Key (B4F E4 / N4). Running alongside it is the trade that turns the Blood-Stained Badge into the Strange Emblem.

Then there’s the legendary armor: Magic Armor (B1F E15 / N2), Magic Shield (B2F E14 / N1), Magic Sword (B3F E16 / N3), Magic Helmet (B4F E16 / N3), and Magic Gauntlets (B5F E9 / N4). Without all five, the door on B6F stays shut.

The finale has you walking B6F alone, trading your entire kit for the Rod of Nilda, and carrying it back to the castle. And if you like your odds, go take on the Demon Lord at E2 / N18. He’s a fight you can only have on the Famicom.

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