Comments on: Riz-Zoawd: We’re Off To See The Wizard

By: Aoshi00

Aoshi00 — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:53:16 +0000

@Spencer – no prob, I discover you can make Dorothy run more precisely if you don’t need to hold the DS w/ the other hand, like dodging monsters at your whim. ASH plays better this way too.

Riz-zoawd has excellent graphics and an interesting battle system, w/ a Sakimoto Hitoshi (FF12, Odin Sphere, ASH) soundtrack to boot. but it feels repetitive after a while, plus the need to grind to earn coins. I guess a better story would make me more willing to keep playing till the end, w/o feeling like a chore.

The battle theme sounds like DQ, really gets me pumped

By: Spencer

Spencer — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:05:39 +0000

@Aoshi00 – Ah, putting the DS down on the table is better. It feels weird not holding the DS, but it works. Thanks for the tip!

Yeah I see what you mean about the characters too, but it’s as if Riz-Zoawd isn’t a full blown RPG. It’s like a playable light novel with turn based RPG combat.

By: lostinblue

lostinblue — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:01:19 +0000

I want this one, the controls don’t convince me and I’m sad that they aren’t more tight judging from the impressions but I still want.

By: Aoshi00

Aoshi00 — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:56:34 +0000

While the track ball running is sort of innovative, I don’t like it too much especially making sharp turns, or just simply turning Dorothy around. It’s best to put down the DS on the desk, otherwise swiping w/ the stylus continuously gets a little tiring.

Also money is pretty hard to come by unless you clear a stage, so lots of grinding is needed in order to save enough coins just to equip your party w/ the right armors and weapons, which is essential in facing more powerful enemies and the boss. At the beginning I mostly used Dorothy and Scarecrow because Lion and Tin Man’s defense is too low. Things get better after you learn the magic command though.

I finished the spring world and am at the summer palace now. This game has a charming look, but the battles feel quite repetitive and sometimes I just don’t feel like grinding in order to progress, I have put down the game for 2 weeks now.. Perhaps it’s because I’m not familiar w/ the details of Wizard of Oz other than the basic premise.

My main qualm is the 4 main characters don’t interact w/ each other, they don’t have any dialogue among themselves, so it’s hard to care for them. The story isn’t gripping enough that I can’t stop playing.

By: Spencer

Spencer — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:46:51 +0000

@Chuck – Well if you don’t care about the story I think you can get through it. It’s not a deep plot and the rocks/Dorothy/Ghost system makes combat a breeze. In fact you can just coast by letting the game automatically select commands. But, I tend to think this will get a US release one way or another. The production values in Riz-Zoawd are high.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:13:04 +0000

Hey hey, Thanks for the impressions. For my playing knowledge, what level would you put the Japanese at? typical DS rpg with rather easy language? or is this aimed more at someone with high school/adult reading skills?