Comments on: The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road: Dorothy Gets Sonic Speed

By: Aoshi00

Aoshi00 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:58:09 +0000

I think this game might be too hard for kids since you're constantly underpowered, it was hard for me. I have a hard time imagining a kid would find this fun, battles might as well be random since you want to fight all of them anyway to gain experience and coins.

I just can't stand grinding anymore, but recently I've been doing just that w/ FF12 (w/ hunts and all, lots of fetch quests.). I actually did not like that game and in a sense I still don't, but I want to bring myself to finally finish it once and for all before FF13 comes out in Dec.

Unfortunately any DS game that requires sole stylus control would be a strain to your wrist, let alone spinning the trackball nonstop in this long RPG. I suggest you tell her to go straight to the book..

By: matty

matty — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:30:21 +0000

I can understand that. It seems they could have done a lot more with the iconic characters (Arcana Heart 2 tried a little). Since I just bought the game for my niece maybe she'll take an interest and read the story herself to enjoy.

I just hope the trackball is kind to her small wrists…

By: Aoshi00

Aoshi00 — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:58:09 +0000

By: matty

matty — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:30:21 +0000

I just hope the trackball is kind to her small wrists…

By: Aoshi00

Aoshi00 — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 11:00:41 +0000

That's what I meant by the game being mediocre at best, if I like it I would think it's worth $60 even for a DS game (the price of a console game). I totally didn't expect the little to no story and character development for an RPG w/ such a lively cast, an opportunity totally wasted since the 3D graphics is some of the best on the DS. I guess we need to watch this oldie for some true Wizard of Oz goodness,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE8x8qr9guw

By: Ereek

Ereek — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:44:37 +0000

So many good comments. I'm a bit sad that I can't play this yet, but I'll probably bump it a bit higher on my “Do want” list.

By: meikiyou

meikiyou — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:20:46 +0000

this and witch's tale has bad gameplay but pretty visuals…

By: Ishaan

Ishaan — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:56:14 +0000

Yea, more on Witch's Tale next week. I actually love the art. It looks really smooth and beautiful. Once you actually get into battles is when it starts to get iffy. I'll be doing some coverage on our FB leading up to the playtest.

@Aoshi: Yeeeeeeea, that right there is your problem my friend. It's good, but $60 good? How much do you pay for importing Square DS stuff including shipping?

By: tim_mbp

tim_mbp — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:20:42 +0000

I was going to ask how it compares to Witch's Tale. Guess I won't now ;)

By: Aoshi00

Aoshi00 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:06:04 +0000

Like the others I actually liked the game a lot at first, but it's because after I put it down I can't seem to pick it back up that made me dislike it. A truly good game is supposed to be so fun you can't stop playing, something that gets you hooked which I find Wizard of Oz lacking. The signposts get ridiculous later on as each path would keep branching out into more long and linear paths, so there's so much trackball running that feels like a chore. If I could pick up the US version for cheap (not $30) I would give it a second chance. I guess part of my dissatisfaction also comes from the fact I spent $60 on the game.

By: Ishaan

Ishaan — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:43:42 +0000

You know, I think I just like it this much because it's “different.” I don't see myself completing it, but I'm having fun with it so far. There's a lot of interesting ideas in here that would probably work well in other games.

Now, Witch's Tale on the other hand…

By: ShadowYuri

ShadowYuri — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:10:06 +0000

They did leave the intro song in the US version. ;)

Otherwise, I agree with Ishaan, this game is very charming and I love all about it. All of the actions are done very fast thanks to the well used stylus, even if we have to grind, I don't feel like we have time to bore ourselves… But +1 about the coins… Very hard to come by, and this is a little disappointing for me too. Although I do like the way the story is told; it is done with simplicity and some sense of humour. I actually find it quite lovable. But I understand your points! :)

By: Gestahl

Gestahl — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:13:55 +0000

Love this game, one of the best pick-ups this Fall. Btw, yes, the Japanese intro song is there.

By: Aoshi00

Aoshi00 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:19:50 +0000

A couple of points that you brought up are exactly what turned me off in this game, weapon/equipment upgrades are a must to face the tougher adversaries, but coins are hard to come by unless you fight almost all the enemies in any given stage and even then you still don't have enough to have all 4 members well equipped. Also I did expect a more robust narrative and character development since it was based on Wizard of Oz. I did like the DQ-like turn based battles, the battle theme by Sakimoto is even like DQ's too, very epic, but I can't stand excessive grinding in RPGs anymore just for the sake of advancing. The trackball running is fine, but your wrist could get real tired real fast if you hold the system w/ your other hand. what I hated the most was the signposts right before the branching paths, I thought it was kind of stupid to retrace all the linear paths..

I don't know, I liked the battle system and each character's attribute and special moves, even Sakimoto's soundtrack. But everything else, especially the grinding, makes the game get old fast. I had to stop in world 2 (or world 3 I forgot) and had no motivation to bring myself to finish the rest, since the story and narrative was minimal. If there's a good story and intriguing interaction, I would continue to play it. The witch bosses and their cat minions have interesting personalities I guess. I only have the Jpn version, but I don't think this game is good enough to buy the US version again.. come to think of it, I still haven't opened that bonus soundtrack that came w/ the game, music was definitely nice.

I tried hard to like this game, but for me the cons outweighs the pros.. I guess I was really expecting more interaction btwn Dorothy and gang, instead each character was briefly introduced at the beginning and that was it.

By: Ishaan

Ishaan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:58:18 +0000

First-person, yes. Random, no. You can see and avoid enemies.