Customer Reviews

The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Wizard of Oz is a beautiful, lighthearted, and fresh RPG for the DS--and it's a game that I believe both RPG newbies and veterans can enjoy. The game starts much like the original book/movie. Dorothy and Toto have been sucked up into a tornado and dumped in a new land. They travel the Yellow Brick Road, picking up the Strawman, the Cowardly Lion, and the Tin Man along the way, as they travel toward Oz. Once they get to Oz, the premise diverges from the original tale, as Dorothy and the gang are entreated to travel the land and gather all of the magical eggs in various witches' kingdoms, so that Oz can be the ruler of the kingdom. And so a series of quests begins and the real story of this game begins to unfold...

The gameplay in Oz is quite straightforward overall. You use a trackball system on the touchscreen to control Dorothy as she makes her way down various paths. You can control her speed and direction, just in case you want to avoid a particular enemy at a particular time, and being able to affect her speed is important for making necessary backtracking quick and painless. As Dorothy and the gang travel down these paths, they'll encounter many enemies, which you will need to battle to proceed and to level up your team. You use the touch screen to interact with objects, select battle commands, and even teach Toto a few new tricks. The entire game is touchscreen controlled, which makes for a smooth and seamless experience. It feels very natural, once you get used to it.

The battle system is simple but works well. Certain characters have certain affinities, so they do better battling certain types of enemies. For instance, Dorothy is best against ghosts, Strawman is best against aquatic enemies, the Lion is best against shell-based enemies, and the Tin Man is best against plant-based enemies. The game also uses a ratio system, so that the more powerful a character, the fewer times they can be used in battle per turn. It makes a lot of sense and makes battles more interesting--which is good, since you'll have many, many short battles and some lengthier boss battles throughout this game.

The most complex part of the game is navigational, as there are many paths to take (and you'll want to keep track of which paths you've taken and what's there). The game provides signposts, which you can mark with your own system of symbols using icons that are provided (whatever makes sense to you), so that you can keep track of such things, but I wound up making a few maps/notes on my own as well. You'll often encounter gates or obstructions that can only be cleared through the use of various switches, and most of these switches can be triggered only with the appropriate elemental (little spirits of fire, earth, water, and wind that you'll pick up along the way). You'll sometimes have to do some backtracking to open gates after you've gotten the appropriate elemental. But again, because you can move quickly, as long as you keep track of where you're going, backtracking is relatively painless--and often quite fun, actually.

Finally, as I mentioned in the first paragraph, this game is beautiful. The environments are vibrant and lush, and all of the characters and enemies are colorful as well. This is probably the most graphically gorgeous DS game I've ever played. The soundtrack is very fitting as well, and it's not annoying, which is important since you'll be hearing a lot of it. I easily sank 20-25 hours into it before beating the game, and this one's a keeper as I expect to come back to it and tie up a few loose ends.

Overall, this is a fun RPG that is accessible to beginners but also interesting enough for experienced gamers.

I bought this game on a whim and I must say I'm not disappointed with my choice. The game is surprisingly entertaining and overall charming.

The graphics are on the high standards for the DS. The charcters are colorful and wacky as you'd expect from a fantasy story. The battle system is done in first person and you can switch out party members as you please though it's a bit more complicated as a member of your party takes up a certain amount of battle slots and you have 4 battle slots in total. ie: Dorothy and Scarecrow: 1; Lion: 2 and Tinman: 3. So you can have lets say Dorothy attack twice and Lion attack once.

As for the story. There are a few complaints that this game is nothing like Wizard of Oz and that it is crappy because of that. I'll say this: yes it isn't like the original story in any sense. You aren't going to get a carbon copy of the book or film. It is BASED on The Wizard of Oz. I use the term 'based' loosely. The beginning is close to the story as you play Dorothy following the yellow brick road towards the Castle of OZ, meeting up with Scarecrow, Lion and Tinman on the way (you have to battle and win against them before they join your party). Once you get to the castle is where the story sort of deviates quite a bit. There are four witches that you must defeat in order to help the Wiz and in return he will grant your wishes and thus you are sent out in OZ to defeat the four witches (The mother South and her three daughters: North, East and West. All follows a specific season theme too which I though was cute.)

Overall it is a fun game to play if you are looking for something simple and easy. I recommend it for the younger players.

I love XSeed as a developer, as they take risks and produce gems like Retro Game Challenge and Little King's Story. This game is no exception. A turn-based role-playing game (RPG), you start as Dorothy and are soon joined by the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Lion. You explore different levels and different bizarrely themed enemies, collecting armor and weapons for the different characters.

This game is good for beginners and RPG veterans alike. It starts off a wee bit slow, but picks up fairly quickly. The maps can be difficult to navigate and somewhat tiresome the first time through. As you level up the enemies get easier and you can grind through older levels to pick up extra money and then buy better items.

Overall, this is an overlooked gem that is well worth a playthrough.

I got this game for my wife who is a huge wizard of oz fan. She loves this game!!!! I am very pleased with the delivery time and care for the package. My wife likes best about this game is that you are your own character and can name your own dog. she said it doesnt follow the book, but it is very fun to play. :-)

Very beautiful game for DS, and pretty fun too. I very much enjoy this game, there is a lot of emphasis put on the graphics and animation!

The battle system is decent...although not great, you can only see your enemies during battle.

But the story is pretty light hearted and fun overall. :D

Fun game.

Who would've thought the characters from the Wizard of Oz would make a cool RPG? Well, "Beyond the Yellow Brick Road" is a fun and well-designed game where Dorothy and Toto team up with the Scarecrow, Lion and Tin Man to take on the witches who have usurped the Wizard of Oz's power in the land of magic. When you're done defeating the witches, you get a new more powerful enemy to fight.

Characters: The characters are not of the same personality as in the famous motion picture. Dorothy was actually living on her own when a cross in magic powers between two of the witch sisters brought her to Oz. The Tin Man is not of a romantic nature but is rather more like an axe-wielding maniac who cannot form words. He also looks like a tin barrel with a bird head. The Strawman looks like he should be singing "If I only had a Mariachi Band". The witches are also a lot sexier than the Wicked Witch of the West and even Glinda the Good Witch of the North (well, maybe not the Winter Witch). Dorothy and the gang must travel through sections of the different lands divided by the four seasons and defeat a variety of colorful characters in preparation for the boss battles with the witches. Along the way, black cats wearing hoods give them little hints and advice. The gang will also pick up elemental spirit friends to help them get through the stages and run into teachers who train them to gain special magic powers.

Graphics: The scenery looks great! There are waves that crash along the beaches in the land of Summer. The land of Autumn looks very spooky with its jack-o-lanterns, iron rod fences, and tombstones. The Winter land starts with a pretty sunset in the background (or is that the aurora borealis?) and the third level is inside a stunning ice castle. Some of the characters the crew encounters in their travels are really funny-looking. The Hijinx, little fellows wearing tribal masks, are so goofy-looking when they cast a magic spell. Funny-looking big, fat cats will try to grab you during battle. There are giant plants called Mellow Flowers or Big Mouths. When they cast a spell it actually looks like they are taking a dump!

Game Play: It is easy to learn this game right away and the tutorial is very useful. The game play is simple with no walkthrough needed. The hooded cats will also give helpful tips. I learned about buying gold clusters as a way of putting gold coins (you can only carry up to 99 at a time) in the bank from a cat. There are a lot of places to go, but the road marker system works very well. I use the recommendations of the game tutorial on how to use the road symbols and it has worked very well. As your characters progress in the game, they will have the ability to upgrade their weapons and armor at Oz's castle. It is also challenging. The later bosses are tough! It may take a good 30-45 minutes to defeat them. The best fighters (the Lion and Tin Man) can limit how many turns your players get per round. If you are tired of fighting, you can run fast past enemies and usually avoid battle. The game is probably more laid back and simple than a lot of rpg's, but it is not always easy.

Cons: There are several annoying aspects to this game. First, you cannot save a game unless you are at the Oz's castle. If you are traveling in a section and want to quit, you either have to burn a Witch's Gate to go back to the world map or re-trace your steps to the beginning of the section where there is a portal to the world map. Second, you can only move throughout the game using the stylus. The buttons are not used. I wish using the buttons for movement was an option due to hand fatigue. Another thing is that the rare armor and weapons found in the wild through treasure chests are almost never a straight-up upgrade and are only worth a measly gold coin at Oz's castle. The only upgrades I found in the wild were a Soldier Spear for the Scarecrow and Charm Armor for the Tin Man and that is only because I didn't have enough gold coins to buy the newest available Strawman weapon and Tin Man Armor at the castle. Finally, when you purchase new equipment, you do not automatically upgrade. You have to select "Change Equipment" from the menu page and only then do you see how the new armor or weapon increases your stats. I went through a section with outdated equipment one time because I forgot this step.

I opened the yellow brick road and defeated the final boss, but I will not give away the ending. I have found the game to be a lot of fun and recommend it to players who want a more lighthearted but still challenging rpg. It took me quite a while to finish as I worked to raise my characters levels and did a lot of preparation for the final battles.

If you are expecting this game to be like the movie it isn't.... instead you spend the entire game running a few feet and getting stopped to "fight" some strange being. After the first level you should have fought the Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Man who tag along to assist you on your quest. You also reach the "Emerald City" by the end of the first level to find out that you have to find 9 eggs and defeat the four evil witches. Well so far I found one egg and am unable to open the second gate where I know another egg is waiting to be "caught". The good news is that when you defeat the "beings" the first time it seems that you are able to get around them anytime you have to go past them again. See .... when you have to go back to Emerald City to get more potion etc you have to start the level from the beginning instead of being sent back to where you left. This is a little frustrating but you are able to leave yourself a sort of trail by labeling the arrow markers that you cross. I think other than this frustration the game is good for younger people (and adults like me who aren't big gamers). I like games that are somewhat tricky but something that I can win. That being said I bought the game because I love the Wizard of Oz and even four stars might be a little high for big gamers.... I think it is fun.

I really like the Wizard of Oz. I think this game is quite good. I would recommend it to any Wizard of Oz fan.

I purchased this game for my 8-year-old daughter. She seems to be enjoying it a lot. I was looking for something for a girl that was also challenging. This seems to fit the bill.

My kids love this game. They played quite a well. No complaints about this game. Very moving and understanding how to play well. Even my 6 years old son loves this game.