A lot of people probably see The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road
as a game for younger gamers, but I think that even the most experienced RPG fans could enjoy this game, especially those who are also fans of The Wizard of Oz (obviously).The game starts out similar to the movie, but with anime-style graphics. Dorothy must travel along the yellow brick road to reach the Wizard's castle. Sadly, there are no munchkins in the game. Along the way, you meet the Scarecrow, the Lion, and the Tin Man. It takes maybe an hour or so to reach the Wizard and you can only save in Oz's Castle, so you shouldn't start the game unless you have time to get to the save point.
The game has gotten some criticism for the plot being different from the movie, but if you actually pay attention to the second half of the title, "Beyond the Yellow Brick Road," you would expect the game to take place mostly AFTER Dorothy and the gang have traveled along the yellow brick road. From my understanding, the game is based more on the books than on the movie, though I've never actually read the books.
After you reach Oz's Castle, he will instruct you to go to different areas of Oz to find magical eggs so that he can take the power away from the "evil" witches. Once you get the egg in one area and clear the stage, you will be able to go on to the next stage. Each area is named after a season (there are three stages per season, with the exception of Winter) and you must fight the corresponding witch at the end of the last stage in each season. I'm not going to spoil the game, but there is still more you have to do after beating the last witch and getting the 10th egg.
The controls in the game are done entirely by using the stylus. You move by moving the stylus on a track ball on the screen and input commands in battle via buttons on the touch screen. This is useful if you don't feel like actually holding the DS while playing.
Each character has it's own affinity, which means that they are each best against certain types of enemies. Ghost-type enemies are weakest against Dorothy, water-type are weakest against Scarecrow, shell-type are weakest against Lion, and plant-type are weakest against Tin Man. Yeah, I'm not sure how the game developers picked these elements or why a certain character is better against each one either. The affinities do seem kinda random. A lot of the monsters can be killed with one attack. For the first few stages, the enemies seem to be interesting, but you quickly realize that new enemies are simply the same monsters you already saw in a different color.
Each character also has a "ratio" number and you can have up to 4 each turn during battle. Dorothy's and Scarecrow have a ratio of 1, Lion 2, and Tin Man 3. So, for example, you can have Dorothy attack 4 times, Lion twice, Tin Man once and Scarecrow once, Lion once Dorothy once and Scarecrow once, or any other combination that adds up to 4.
Aside from saving the game, you can ask to be healed and buy and sell items in Oz's castle. After you complete each Season, there will be new equipment for each character available to purchase with your coins. Each character can have a weapon and armor. You can also find some weapons and armor in treasure chests in various stages, but the purchased ones seem to be better.
The game is insanely easy, but it's still fun and addictive. I would recommend it to gamers of any age or skill level. Well, female gamers anyway. I don't really know a lot of men who are into the Wizard of Oz. It might not be very challenging but you will still have fun playing and will want to continue playing until you beat the game, which shouldn't be hard as it only takes about 20 hours or so to complete.
The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road
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