If I recall correctly one of the creators, Robert Woodhead, considered the NES version of Wizardry a good port. My recommendation for a first Wizardry is any of them but 2 through 4. The first one is a good place to start. 6 through 8 are quite a bit more modern and form a trilogy of sorts, but you don’t need to play them sequentially. 6 is EGA graphics, 7 VGA, and 8 is a relatively modern Windows game.
5-7 were all designed by DW Bradley and not the original designers. 5 is kind of a standalone title though and has more in common with the first three than the 6-8 trilogy. After leaving Sir Tech, DW Bradley developed a spiritual sequel to 7 called Wizards and Warriors that I posted about here. 8 is a more modern, 3D take on 7 and is a fantastic game despite DW Bradley’s absence.
Grimoire is another spiritual sequel to 7 developed by a guy who supposedly worked on a failed, early version of 7. The creator has a bit of a… reputation, but he finally did release Grimoire after 20+ years of development. The indiegogo pitch for Grimoire is bonkers and gives you a good idea of what to expect. I haven’t played it yet, but it does seem to be a legit Wizardry game in the mold of 7.
My favorite of the Japanese Wizardry clones that I’ve played is The Dark Spire on the DS. It is in the style of an early Wizardry and is fantastic but old school. The Elminage series also seems cool, but only Elminage: Original has been translated to English. Then there’s Etrian Odyssey, which is better known but also pretty good. Most of the other Wizardy clones from japan are mediocre from my experience. I hear Tales of the Forsaken Land on PS2 is good but I haven’t played enough to confirm. The Wizardrys available on PS3 digitally are bad.
I like Wizardry.
EDIT: the early SMT games are also japanese Wizardry clones and are good.