I currently own Wizardry 6 through 8.
I was told that they're pretty brutal, but groundbreaking RPGs that were a direct inspiration for games like Dragon Quest.
So, where do I start from here?
There really is no reason to go back and play the super old stuff unless you are super hardcore about it.
The unfortunate thing is outside of the stuff thats on the PC, if you are looking for console titles, there isnt too much to choose from cept for a few scattered here and there.
Most of the other Wizardry games on consoles / handhelds came out in Japan and were never localized for the most part.
If you want something that is the closest thing to Wizardry but not called Wizardry and localized look into the 2 localized Elminage games.
Elminage Gothic on Steam and then the FUBAR localized version fo the first Elminage game by UFO.
Back to the topic of Wizardry you could also go look through here.
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/wizardry/wizardry13.htm
Also as others have mentioned, while it is not the vanilla formula for a Wizardry title, one of the more unique Wizardry spin-offs has been the Busin series or "Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land" in the West. Was on the PS2. So might be hard for those to play who do not have a BC PS3 or PS2, unfortunately. But at least the title is localized so its not as if you need to read Japanese or jump through hoops to put on some sort of English patch.
The usual pic when it comes to talking about old Wizardry.
*not my pic
Bunch of stuff written by the guy who did that map I think? Anyways the pic came from his blog site.
https://richardgoodness.wordpress.com/tag/wizardry-6/page/2/
If you insist on playing something older and on a handheld system, you could go after the following title "Wizardry Empire III: Haō no Keifu" on JPSN forget how much it costs though. But as usual will be all in Japanese. Do not really suggest going after the actual PSP copies of the game as it has some sort of weird premium in Japan and is quite expensive even used.
There was a PS2 version before the PSP one, but chances are of you having a PS2 that can play JP games Id imagine are slim, so am suggesting the PSP one instead which also has a digital version available. Plus if you are really hardcore you can play it in wireframe mode for the dungeon lol
Anyways once again do not suggest going backwards in the series unless you are a true hardcore fan as other members have mentioned too a lot of the mechanics and whatnots will feel archaic to some and eventually will cause said players to stop playing or get turned off to the series.