During their visit, XSEED gave RPGamer an exclusive look at Oz, and though it might not be a game for everyone, it was definitely unique. The story begins with Dorothy already in Oz, and in order to save it, she must defeat four witches of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter in order to return to Kansas.
GoFanboy writes: "The DS has been the system of choice for developers who want to put out a game and not stress. That is to say how many other consoles would you want to put out a RPG based on the Wizard of Oz? Not a lot. The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road is one of those games that sticks out from the pack as a fantastic game that could have been so much better if it was on another console.
Even with that thought in mind, I still think Beyond the Yellow Brick Road is a great game. The game for starters can please two different sets of people. You have the Wiz fans who more than likely will flip out and then you have RPG fans, who love anything with the three letters R-P-G in it."
BrightHub writes: "While many of the younger generation may not remember this great movie, it's probably one that they will see sooner or later. For those of us who truly loved the movie, this game seems to be a ray of classic light on the Nintendo DS. And, while it does have some downsides, the Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road offers some fun game play, cute graphics, and a feel-good time."
1UP writes: "The Wizard of Oz name probably brings to mind memories of the Lollipop guild and catchy tunes from somewhere over the rainbow. XSEED's role-playing game on DS uses the fondly remembered franchise's moniker, but it seems to have taken the mantra "follow the yellow brick road" a bit too seriously.
Outside of a few nods to the classic story (like characters Dorothy, her dog Toto, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, and, of course, the titular Wizard), the game only bears a thin resemblance to the original tale. You spend the majority of the game as Dorothy following road after road on a quest to repossess magical winged eggs from the four "evil," seasonally themed witches (spring, summer, and so on). Each witch has her own kingdom made up of three areas, and collecting the eggs allows you to infiltrate them: find the egg in the first area to move on to the second, and find the egg there to move to the third where you'll fight the witch in a boss battle. Rinse and repeat."
Well seems the engine of the game is solid. The combat goes to first person view which is pretty cool. I think the combat structure sounds pretty good. You have 4 points to use each turn and each of the 4 characters uses a set number of points to do their thing.
Emerald City sounds like just one of the towns you'll get to run around in and buy up supplies :)