The character designs are amazing. Dorothy is absolutely adorable and her character icon gives-off no thoughts, just good vibes. Also, whoever decided to make Tinman a steampunk automaton knight is a genious!
I love Dorothy's running animation so much. I love the way she leans into her turns when she really gets going and the way she stumbles when coming to a stop. It's so satisfying!
The designs are fucking phenomenal. I'm a sucker for Dorothy especially but the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion all feel recognizable even with the twists on them. Glad this video just happened to come through the algorithm cause I really want to check this out now.
The Strawman pretty much has the face of The Scarecrow’s original book illustrations, but with a pipe. It’s everything else about him that’s different.
This looks so lovely. Why do I suddenly want more classic stories adapted into RPG's now? Give me a christmas carol with Scrooge and the 3 ghosts of christmas as the party members.
Video games definitely make for interesting fantasy adaptations of timeless stories. They usually catch my eye. All I can think is "how are they going to reinvent the story" whenever I see them and that draws me in further.
@@mistakesregretsandimperfec7740 Sigh... I maybe the cursed shit both Ironmouse said about Jax from Digital Circus as a theory, and Selen/Dokibird corrupting the shit out of Rosemi with fucked up but maybe still hilarious stories. :p (She hates the modern Lorax to death for unexplained reasons in a clip and hated it more because of Selen, LOL. XD But then Selen also mentioned some kind of "acid attack" story and other stuff, and it's like, what the actual fuck. ._. That's fucked up. D:)
It would appear there's one reason the English localization was officially licensed for the movie: the magical shoes. While they're visibly distinct from the Ruby Slippers, they're still red, and the rightsholders are notoriously litigious about adaptations that take elements original to the movie (they were silver in the book). So Xseed took the risk of the game looking like shovelware simply for being a licensed game in 2009, and got it licensed by WB even if it's not actually based on the film and is its own adaptation.
Yeah, a lot of people don't know that Oz was a whole book series that had lots of other good-guy characters that could've shown up, like Scraps the Patchwork Girl or Jack Pumpkinhead.
They should definitely do that if this ever gets a sequel or remake (probably won't ever happen but I like to dream). Plus there's tons of typical rpg roles ideas they could use for each character like Dorothy being some kind of Healer for example.
@@Moonshine568 So far as Dorothy goes, I thought they could have done way more with her and Toto - I mean, it's cute that she can pet him and all, but that's about the extent of their relationship. In the books, he's one of several pets she winds up having - there's him, Billina, Eureka the Pink Kitten - plus, in 'Wizard', she also commands the Winged Monkeys for a while. Clearly, animal companions are kind of her thing; you could do something with that in a game. So here's what I would have done/would do in a sequel: at first, Toto is just a minor auxiliary member of the team; he bites enemies for a tiny amount of damage and functionally just acts as an extra attack for Dorothy. But each witch has a 'familiar' animal, and once they're defeated, they go over to the heroes' side, and Dorothy can swap Toto out for any of them in battle. That could give you access to a bunch of iconic Oz animal characters - the Woozy, the Queen of the Field Mice, Flipper the Ork, etc. They could have some nifty attack abilities and such (like, the Field Mice do Toto-sized amounts of damage on their own, but the Queen summons a lot of 'em at once; the Woozy is a damage sponge, and so on), and when the last witch is defeated, she gives you the Golden Cap - and the Winged Monkeys! So by the time Dorothy goes up against the final boss, she's essentially become a witch, herself - an animal witch, and as such, quite powerful in her own right. A lot better, I'd say, than as-is, where she's reasonably underpowered straight through the game.
@Psycopathicus Honestly that sounds pretty cool, It does fit Dorothy's character quite well to randomly befriend different creatures. After all she did befriend many others around her, Plus thinking of her as an accidental Summoner is kinda funny
This game seems to serve a younger audience as the first JRPG experience or so. It seems charming and inviting enough to garner interest, with mechanics JUST deep enough to not be daunting. I woulda loved this as a kid. I'd like to see a series based on this JRPG Oz game tbh.
Sigh... I personally never liked those movies but also never really grew up with the cheesy cartoon much or got attached (same with Thunder Cats or He-Man, etc., though I saw a handful enough of Scooby Doo, but meh. :p) And yet... a good enough cinematic RPG of giant robo stuff sounds like it might be interesting... sigh... idk. :? Like, the mom bothers me and the humor of stuff like that is personally more cringe to me than funny. ._.
The music for this game is absolutely incredible and was composed by the legendary Michiko Naruke, Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata, whose credits altogether include Final Fantasy Tactics, Ogre Battle and Wild Arms.
I actually remember playing this game when I was a kid. My 4th grade teacher showed it to me and the rest of my class close to the end of the year and I really enjoyed it. A friend of mine happened to have it and I was amazed that such an old movie even had a video game. I don’t remember all of the story, but I do remember enjoying it and that each character specialized in fighting certain enemies. I was also a fan of the character design. Dorothy, the scarecrow, the tin man, and the cowardly lion all had such unique looks, and it was cool to see these classic character interpreted in this way
Well if any old movie like this had an RPG, Wizard of Oz does make sense to an extent, as it's a classic fairy tale. :p Some people love that type of sweet fantasy magic. :? It's still weird, but I can only imagine you can do much weirder than this. :p Like, a Casablanca game, idk. :?
I googled Riz-Zoawd because it didn't click right away that's the Japanese title of the game, and I was caught off guard when I came across the cover art for the soundtrack and it had Dorothy and Flora laying in a field and holding hands like they're from a yuri manga or something. lol
I love how games like this just leap into existence 16 years after the fact. Ain't no way this game existed when I was playing DS games, I must have hopped timelines or something
I remember randomly catching this game on a rom site back in the day and immediately falling in love with the artstyle and character redesigns. Sadly, that alone didn't last me through the whole game and I put it down after the first area.
Same, I had seen this game in bargain bins for YEARS, and I never got it because I thought it would just be shovelware, but then I was looking up hidden gem DS games out of curiosity one day last year, and I found out it was actually a full-fledged JRPG, and I was pissed that I missed out on it. lol
You should check out the indie game A Short Hike, if you haven’t already! It’s based on that jagged DS polygon look. one of my favourite recent indies.
@@adamcraig919 Hmm... I don't remember it being DS looking, but that is an interesting cute game. :? Anyways, the only oddly 3D DS games I can think of at the moment, since a lot of what I have is like Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest reboots, and Radiant Historia, it's like, hmm... Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, etc. :p Which is nice at best, but also kind of too mainstream, with arguably questionable gameplay. :p Nothing that feels more like this, I think. :? Heck, KH just felt like badly ported N64 graphics, but one I can try and put up with. :p It did not feel pretty, going through stupid rehashed worlds again though, etc... But I do love the story of Roxas well enough, so I thought, whatever. :p
So nice to find a channel that doesn't yell at me, just chill vibes from someone passionate about cool games! I've always been curious about this one, but could never afford it. Got it on my R4 for a rainy day though :-)
I remember seeing images from this game 10 years ago and thinking "This looks way to good to be a DS game", so I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thought that! Considering the technical wizardry at work, pun intended, for the environments, I'm surprised more people don't know about the game.
RIZZOAWD MENTIONED!!!!! Literally it’s a definition of “hidden gem” not only bc of how niche it is but bc of how it’s locked on the ds + touch screen controls!! Praying this gets a port/update on switch w how creative it is
Honestly, there are plenty of public domain classics ripe for the RPG treatment. Heck, Chopin, a famous composer, got Eternal Sonata, a heavily slept on rpg from the ps3. Imagine an rpg based on Around the world in 80 days. Fogg would be the well rounded character, maybe the tank, Aouda would be the healer, Passpatout would be a jack of all trades (probably a rogue archetype for all his previous jobs), and Fix could be a ranger with his police pistol. I’m thinking a steampunk esque world, but i’m not sure what fantasy like elements to add to warrant a final boss, but you could have a time limit ala majora’s mask.
Early in the video: "I never really found a niche for the Lion..." Later in the video: *specifically describing a niche for tactically using the Lion to spread damage between three people*
9:55 That's really interesting. I remember using the Lion more than Tin Man because he was more versatile and let me use Dorothy or Scarecrow or both (or neither), and while he did less damage than Tin Man, he didn't have the accuracy problems. I recall a number of times I selected Lion and Dorothy twice so I could get in two heals on a tough fight without Dorothy being quite as vulnerable. Ah, I see you had similar experience later at 21:20 Of course, I played this game way back when it first came out, so everything is from 15 year old memories. I beat the game, but I remember my biggest frustration being wishing I had more signpost options, because navigation was really tough in some of the later maps. 17:50 You and me both... The true forms really are meant to be postgame superbosses you have to grind a lot to get strong enough to beat. I recall a few other superbosses around too, like that wandering black ghost.
You know, one of the first times I heard the term hidden gem was on a very old SupraDarky Best VGM video for Cecil's Garden in Napple Tale. :p Hazel also introduced me to games like Tasomachi and Gurumin. :? Definitely unique. :p I also looked up Steambot Crhonicles once, and Skies of Arcadia, and finally played Okage (but found it so hard I never beat the final dungeon, especially because of just how infamous money stealing enemies are... and the characters ridicule you for leaving the final dungeon even if you want to buy items or rest up, etc. ._.) Oh yeah, there was also that really strange DS game called Nostalgia...
I was always fascinated when I saw this in Nintendo Power. I had a few copies I would read over and over and this was a page and little section that would significantly stand out. Never thought anything of it because I knew I would never get it and could never find it. It's so fun to see it come back after seeing discussions on Twitter and on here.
ive always meant to look at gameplay of this and i just never remembered. and holy shit this is quite visually impressive as fuck for a fully 3D game on the DS.
I wonder if this game should get a remaster. They probably wouldn't be able to implement the ball mechanic, but I still think it'd be neat to run around an updated version of an already impressive Oz.
The aesthetic and art direction are pretty phenomenal. They really worked their magic on the limited hardware. Alas, it’s borderline impossible to find it online at a reasonable price.
I literally just a couple days ago modded my DSiXL to boot from SD card, and added this game to my library. I’ll have to give this a go. I really love your content homie, keep up the good work.
Hell yeah it’s rare and awesome when people talk about this game, I remember getting it back in middle school at a flea market and Jesus I played the crap outta it 😂 literally one of my favorite hidden gems
Adding to the list of Oz games you've probably never heard of, you should definitely try out Codename S.T.E.A.M on the 3DS. A steampunk themed strategy game made by the creators of Fire Emblem that features famous American literary characters fighting aliens with Abraham Lincoln. The game not only features all four of the Oz crew, but the characters even travel to the Emerald City at one point in the game! The game barely got any marketing despite being made by such a big name AND some people who did know about the game apparently boycotted it due to one of the voice actors being a bad person.
You know who I’d hate to be? The enemies in this game. If I know anything about the wizard of oz, it’s that Lion despite being cowardly is still a lion and tinman can’t feel which means he won’t stop to think when he walks over to crush your skull which is much worse now since he’s the size of a school bus in this game
If this was like the original story, Imagine being the Wicked Witch of the West and seeing this girl who took your dead sister's drip zoom past like a blue Hedgehog high on onion rings. I'd just stay outta her way at this point. Seriously, though, love this game's art style a lot.
I actually considered getting this back when DS games were common at GameStop, because they were frequently doing "buy two, get one free" sales, but it never happened to be close in price to any two other games I wanted...
Well that explains why the game is so pretty, XSEED is pretty much THE company that made Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons, Rune Factory, Sakuna, and many other games, which have pretty much always had great character designs.
Holly changing that "one thing" in her story at the end was really cute and kind of tugged and my heart strings a bit, I wish this game could be remastered and changed slightly because the plot isn't that bad and the art direction of everything is obviously amazing
The 2D art really reminds me of Vanillaware and George Kamitani's art. specifically of Odin Sphere and GrimGrimoire. Can't seem to find who made the art for this game, though.
Wow, I wasn't expecting to learn about a wizard of Oz jrpg, with an anime art style today. But I'm glad I did. And Dorothy's design in this is great. It's ashame that it's locked to a unknown game like this.
just loaded it up on an emulator, an upscaled it, and while the textures are a bit crusty, and a lot of tricks that worked in small scale suddenly are visible, this could totally pass as a switch title giving it a quick once over.
Thank you for this really nice and detailed Review; I enjoyed listening to your opinion on it, and your objective view of the game. I look forward to seeing more of your reviews as I really was hooked by the way you presented the information on the game. Thank you.
![Hunxho - Ball Forever [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nki9ZTF9Uls/mqdefault.jpg)
in defense of the wolf enemies, there is a segment in the book where the tin man kills 40 wolves, if anything it's canon-compliant
And dragons show up in book 4, so those are as well.
what do mean there's a stunning wizard of oz RPG and I've never heard of it
I've played it
@ I think I have to too!
I've seen it at a gamestop years ago but I never bought it.
The DS had a little bit of everything almost every niche can be found on it.
There's also Tingle trip of love that was based on Wizard of Oz as well on ds
The character designs are amazing.
Dorothy is absolutely adorable and her character icon gives-off no thoughts, just good vibes.
Also, whoever decided to make Tinman a steampunk automaton knight is a genious!
Bro, I clicked on the vid for the character design alone
I agree
Fullmetal Alchemist fans would LOVE him!
@@TheTrueUltimateGenLifeformDorothy's design with the black lacey accents are just breathtaking. I want a dress like that 😭
what i'd give to see the Tik-Tok of Oz redesign
I love Dorothy's running animation so much. I love the way she leans into her turns when she really gets going and the way she stumbles when coming to a stop. It's so satisfying!
She's so graceful!!!
Sonic: Gotta go fast!
Dorothy: Hold my Toto...
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who fixated on her running cycle lol 😅. It is oddly satisfying to watch!
The designs are fucking phenomenal. I'm a sucker for Dorothy especially but the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion all feel recognizable even with the twists on them. Glad this video just happened to come through the algorithm cause I really want to check this out now.
It looks like an Atlus game big time
The Strawman pretty much has the face of The Scarecrow’s original book illustrations, but with a pipe. It’s everything else about him that’s different.
This looks so lovely. Why do I suddenly want more classic stories adapted into RPG's now?
Give me a christmas carol with Scrooge and the 3 ghosts of christmas as the party members.
there is a christmas carol themed metroidvania where you use the ghosts as stand-like abilities, its called ebenezer and the invisible world
Hamlet RPG 🍷🗿
Makes me think of Arm Joe, tho that one is a fighting game.
Red Riding Hood RPG where you threaten the Big Bad Wolf into joining your party or die. :>
Video games definitely make for interesting fantasy adaptations of timeless stories. They usually catch my eye. All I can think is "how are they going to reinvent the story" whenever I see them and that draws me in further.
art direction: the game
I absolutely love the art style of this game, but also I think Strawman would have been a specific kind of adored character on tumblr.
Tumblr sexy man material LMAO
Oh nooo, not the sexymen mafia! 😂
@@mistakesregretsandimperfec7740
Sigh... I maybe the cursed shit both Ironmouse said about Jax from Digital Circus as a theory, and Selen/Dokibird corrupting the shit out of Rosemi with fucked up but maybe still hilarious stories. :p (She hates the modern Lorax to death for unexplained reasons in a clip and hated it more because of Selen, LOL. XD But then Selen also mentioned some kind of "acid attack" story and other stuff, and it's like, what the actual fuck. ._. That's fucked up. D:)
Strawman as the next Tumblr Sexyman
It would appear there's one reason the English localization was officially licensed for the movie: the magical shoes. While they're visibly distinct from the Ruby Slippers, they're still red, and the rightsholders are notoriously litigious about adaptations that take elements original to the movie (they were silver in the book). So Xseed took the risk of the game looking like shovelware simply for being a licensed game in 2009, and got it licensed by WB even if it's not actually based on the film and is its own adaptation.
Also I think, if the music playing throughout the video is from the game, the game's OST uses a good amount of the movie's musical motifs.
The ratio system would benefit from a larger cast of characters to choose from.
For sure! it's a neat idea that could be more fleshed out
Yeah, a lot of people don't know that Oz was a whole book series that had lots of other good-guy characters that could've shown up, like Scraps the Patchwork Girl or Jack Pumpkinhead.
They should definitely do that if this ever gets a sequel or remake (probably won't ever happen but I like to dream). Plus there's tons of typical rpg roles ideas they could use for each character like Dorothy being some kind of Healer for example.
@@Moonshine568 So far as Dorothy goes, I thought they could have done way more with her and Toto - I mean, it's cute that she can pet him and all, but that's about the extent of their relationship. In the books, he's one of several pets she winds up having - there's him, Billina, Eureka the Pink Kitten - plus, in 'Wizard', she also commands the Winged Monkeys for a while. Clearly, animal companions are kind of her thing; you could do something with that in a game.
So here's what I would have done/would do in a sequel: at first, Toto is just a minor auxiliary member of the team; he bites enemies for a tiny amount of damage and functionally just acts as an extra attack for Dorothy. But each witch has a 'familiar' animal, and once they're defeated, they go over to the heroes' side, and Dorothy can swap Toto out for any of them in battle.
That could give you access to a bunch of iconic Oz animal characters - the Woozy, the Queen of the Field Mice, Flipper the Ork, etc. They could have some nifty attack abilities and such (like, the Field Mice do Toto-sized amounts of damage on their own, but the Queen summons a lot of 'em at once; the Woozy is a damage sponge, and so on), and when the last witch is defeated, she gives you the Golden Cap - and the Winged Monkeys!
So by the time Dorothy goes up against the final boss, she's essentially become a witch, herself - an animal witch, and as such, quite powerful in her own right. A lot better, I'd say, than as-is, where she's reasonably underpowered straight through the game.
@Psycopathicus Honestly that sounds pretty cool, It does fit Dorothy's character quite well to randomly befriend different creatures. After all she did befriend many others around her, Plus thinking of her as an accidental Summoner is kinda funny
"Forgettable"
I mean yeah, it's a WIZARD OF OZ game, but that doesn't stop of having it's own charm and people remember THIS version
This game seems to serve a younger audience as the first JRPG experience or so. It seems charming and inviting enough to garner interest, with mechanics JUST deep enough to not be daunting. I woulda loved this as a kid. I'd like to see a series based on this JRPG Oz game tbh.
I love it when an obscure video game turns out to be a hidden gem. For example, the Transformers DS Games based on the 2007 Movie.
Those games were my CHILDHOOD.
Sigh... I personally never liked those movies but also never really grew up with the cheesy cartoon much or got attached (same with Thunder Cats or He-Man, etc., though I saw a handful enough of Scooby Doo, but meh. :p)
And yet... a good enough cinematic RPG of giant robo stuff sounds like it might be interesting... sigh... idk. :?
Like, the mom bothers me and the humor of stuff like that is personally more cringe to me than funny. ._.
@@indigowendigo8165it is kinda cringey tbh
The Percy Jackson DS RPG.
Oh yeah I played those a lot
The music for this game is absolutely incredible and was composed by the legendary Michiko Naruke, Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata, whose credits altogether include Final Fantasy Tactics, Ogre Battle and Wild Arms.
Ooh, Wild Arms!
This feels very much "Absolutely have this sound design and visuals team work on things", because man those are pretty solid graphics and music.
From the title I half expected the other jaw-dropping Wizard of Oz themed DS game, Ripened Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love
The foliage in this game is resplendent
@@user-wb8iu1hl6i resplendent indeed 🙂
Kewt
I actually remember playing this game when I was a kid. My 4th grade teacher showed it to me and the rest of my class close to the end of the year and I really enjoyed it. A friend of mine happened to have it and I was amazed that such an old movie even had a video game. I don’t remember all of the story, but I do remember enjoying it and that each character specialized in fighting certain enemies. I was also a fan of the character design. Dorothy, the scarecrow, the tin man, and the cowardly lion all had such unique looks, and it was cool to see these classic character interpreted in this way
Well if any old movie like this had an RPG, Wizard of Oz does make sense to an extent, as it's a classic fairy tale. :p Some people love that type of sweet fantasy magic. :?
It's still weird, but I can only imagine you can do much weirder than this. :p Like, a Casablanca game, idk. :?
Im a senior gamedev and Riz-Zoawd's games asset and visuals is one of my favorite to references whenever i start a project
I googled Riz-Zoawd because it didn't click right away that's the Japanese title of the game, and I was caught off guard when I came across the cover art for the soundtrack and it had Dorothy and Flora laying in a field and holding hands like they're from a yuri manga or something. lol
hey, i follow you on socials. love following your progress!!
You can’t just say you’re making something inspired by this visual masterpiece and Megaman Legends, and then just not elaborate
The last games of console life are always interesting peak in quality games.
They use the max power of the console.
@@giulyanoviniciussanssilva2947 That's totally true! Lots of stuff also gets forgotten toward the end since many people move on
I love how games like this just leap into existence 16 years after the fact. Ain't no way this game existed when I was playing DS games, I must have hopped timelines or something
I remember randomly catching this game on a rom site back in the day and immediately falling in love with the artstyle and character redesigns. Sadly, that alone didn't last me through the whole game and I put it down after the first area.
I didn't really like the track ball
The track ball movement thing seems like it'd make this game pretty awful to control on anything that isn't the actual DS hardware
The aesthetic is why I clicked on this video, so I agree with you on that. It's extremely cozy/pleasant.
I definitely skipped over this one thinking it was just another basic game for a popular IP. Glad you shared it!
Same, I had seen this game in bargain bins for YEARS, and I never got it because I thought it would just be shovelware, but then I was looking up hidden gem DS games out of curiosity one day last year, and I found out it was actually a full-fledged JRPG, and I was pissed that I missed out on it. lol
Theres something about DS era 3D graphics that's just so charming.
You should check out the indie game A Short Hike, if you haven’t already! It’s based on that jagged DS polygon look. one of my favourite recent indies.
@@adamcraig919 Hmm... I don't remember it being DS looking, but that is an interesting cute game. :?
Anyways, the only oddly 3D DS games I can think of at the moment, since a lot of what I have is like Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest reboots, and Radiant Historia, it's like, hmm... Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, etc. :p Which is nice at best, but also kind of too mainstream, with arguably questionable gameplay. :p Nothing that feels more like this, I think. :?
Heck, KH just felt like badly ported N64 graphics, but one I can try and put up with. :p It did not feel pretty, going through stupid rehashed worlds again though, etc... But I do love the story of Roxas well enough, so I thought, whatever. :p
So nice to find a channel that doesn't yell at me, just chill vibes from someone passionate about cool games! I've always been curious about this one, but could never afford it. Got it on my R4 for a rainy day though :-)
@@UnicyclesGameRoom Thanks for the nice comment 🙂
I remember seeing images from this game 10 years ago and thinking "This looks way to good to be a DS game", so I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thought that!
Considering the technical wizardry at work, pun intended, for the environments, I'm surprised more people don't know about the game.
RIZZOAWD MENTIONED!!!!! Literally it’s a definition of “hidden gem” not only bc of how niche it is but bc of how it’s locked on the ds + touch screen controls!! Praying this gets a port/update on switch w how creative it is
Thank you for putting the renders of the characters. As lovable as the low poly models are, they make it hard to appreciate the gorgeous designs.
With the wicked movie, this game suddenly became a topic on Twitter, and now i found this video, amazing
Honestly, there are plenty of public domain classics ripe for the RPG treatment. Heck, Chopin, a famous composer, got Eternal Sonata, a heavily slept on rpg from the ps3. Imagine an rpg based on Around the world in 80 days. Fogg would be the well rounded character, maybe the tank, Aouda would be the healer, Passpatout would be a jack of all trades (probably a rogue archetype for all his previous jobs), and Fix could be a ranger with his police pistol. I’m thinking a steampunk esque world, but i’m not sure what fantasy like elements to add to warrant a final boss, but you could have a time limit ala majora’s mask.
This is what Public Domain characters should be used for,
This really is a hidden gem. I especially like the artstyle.
This is my first impression of you, I'm glad that you showed up in my recommendations. This channel seems pretty chill.
Maybe the Strawman is stong against water types is because the other type of straws suck up water. It's a stretch, I realize. But that's my guess.
@@Boco_Corwin It's something hah
Drinking straw and grass straw aren’t homonyms in Japanese, so I doubt it.
@@thecamobot more likely it's the grass type beats water types logic
BAM the price of the game just rose!
Lmao
Oz is a giant, disembodied ogre head dripping with bling...How could he not be the true final boss?
I'd love to see a remake of this game, with regular controls and more complex battle system/exploration.
I legitimately might play this now, I like the Wizard of Oz a lot and this game looks extremely endearing
Early in the video: "I never really found a niche for the Lion..."
Later in the video: *specifically describing a niche for tactically using the Lion to spread damage between three people*
@@TehWolfmanOP Whoops hah you get the idea
9:55 That's really interesting. I remember using the Lion more than Tin Man because he was more versatile and let me use Dorothy or Scarecrow or both (or neither), and while he did less damage than Tin Man, he didn't have the accuracy problems. I recall a number of times I selected Lion and Dorothy twice so I could get in two heals on a tough fight without Dorothy being quite as vulnerable.
Ah, I see you had similar experience later at 21:20
Of course, I played this game way back when it first came out, so everything is from 15 year old memories. I beat the game, but I remember my biggest frustration being wishing I had more signpost options, because navigation was really tough in some of the later maps.
17:50 You and me both... The true forms really are meant to be postgame superbosses you have to grind a lot to get strong enough to beat. I recall a few other superbosses around too, like that wandering black ghost.
Ahhhhh I remember this game!!!!! ❤❤❤ This has so many memories for me!!!
Just saw wicked and I got this game like a long ass time ago. Time to play it
Did you enjoy Wicked?
Hell, yeah, saw Wicked with my wife and enjoyed it immensely.
@@Gloomdrake yes! my girlfriend took me and I had no knowledge of it and was surprised it was a musical. It was so much fun!
"Never in my life have I needed something so much, and never known until I received it."
I love the game’s art style and character designs. I never knew I needed to see the tin man as a steampunk knight until now!
I just found this channel but you've peaked my interest already with the words "Wizard of Oz RPG".
You know, one of the first times I heard the term hidden gem was on a very old SupraDarky Best VGM video for Cecil's Garden in Napple Tale. :p Hazel also introduced me to games like Tasomachi and Gurumin. :? Definitely unique. :p I also looked up Steambot Crhonicles once, and Skies of Arcadia, and finally played Okage (but found it so hard I never beat the final dungeon, especially because of just how infamous money stealing enemies are... and the characters ridicule you for leaving the final dungeon even if you want to buy items or rest up, etc. ._.)
Oh yeah, there was also that really strange DS game called Nostalgia...
I was always fascinated when I saw this in Nintendo Power. I had a few copies I would read over and over and this was a page and little section that would significantly stand out. Never thought anything of it because I knew I would never get it and could never find it. It's so fun to see it come back after seeing discussions on Twitter and on here.
ive always meant to look at gameplay of this and i just never remembered.
and holy shit this is quite visually impressive as fuck for a fully 3D game on the DS.
This, legend of Herculese and Radiant Historia were wild out of no where good RPGs on the DS
I wonder if this game should get a remaster. They probably wouldn't be able to implement the ball mechanic, but I still think it'd be neat to run around an updated version of an already impressive Oz.
You could simulate it by pressing the directional keys 2 times in successions
@@mustacheboyoIt would just be clunky
The aesthetic and art direction are pretty phenomenal. They really worked their magic on the limited hardware. Alas, it’s borderline impossible to find it online at a reasonable price.
I literally just a couple days ago modded my DSiXL to boot from SD card, and added this game to my library. I’ll have to give this a go. I really love your content homie, keep up the good work.
@@chrisbroome6423 Thanks for the comment 😀
24:44 “Nooo…no! My dream, my life! I was going to be the KING of this world!!”
I've played this on my emulation phone and it is in fact cool. And of course I'm sure you know about tales of eternia starting life as an Oz game.
The art, the character design goes hard in this game, I need a DS to play this gem!
Why the character design is so delightful and majestic
"2009, late into the DS's lifetime"
Oof, making me feel old.
I like JUST saw the art of this pop up on twitter and here we have a fantastic video about it!
Loved this title since it came out - shame I never got to play it 😭
Hell yeah it’s rare and awesome when people talk about this game, I remember getting it back in middle school at a flea market and Jesus I played the crap outta it 😂 literally one of my favorite hidden gems
Wow I love the character designs and environments are stunning.
oh man I would have absolutely loved this, my favourite game when this came out was Eternal Sonata - very similar vibes and aesthetic!
Omg I played this game when I was a kid and completely forgot about it
Adding to the list of Oz games you've probably never heard of, you should definitely try out Codename S.T.E.A.M on the 3DS. A steampunk themed strategy game made by the creators of Fire Emblem that features famous American literary characters fighting aliens with Abraham Lincoln.
The game not only features all four of the Oz crew, but the characters even travel to the Emerald City at one point in the game!
The game barely got any marketing despite being made by such a big name AND some people who did know about the game apparently boycotted it due to one of the voice actors being a bad person.
Dear lord i love the designs and art style of this. Might have to play it just for that and my love for rpg's.
I remember reading about this in Nintendo Power! I completely forgot about it
Gotta add this to the games I need to play list
You know who I’d hate to be? The enemies in this game. If I know anything about the wizard of oz, it’s that Lion despite being cowardly is still a lion and tinman can’t feel which means he won’t stop to think when he walks over to crush your skull which is much worse now since he’s the size of a school bus in this game
This video was awesome! You should make a video on the Fossil Fighters franchise! It’s one of my all time favorite and niche DS series.
What a vibe of a game, very nice video.
This game wouldn't look out of place as a 3DS title. Those graphics are crazy impressive, and the style is gorgeous.
i had no idea this existed until a fellow of mine (who like me is a fanatic for public domain media adaptations) shared it.
Would have been cool to get a re-rekease of this in time for the Wicked movie release. I think it would have sold well.
Holy cow, I thought I had just dreamt this one up! What an era of games.
Damn I didn't know there was a Wizard of Oz RPG but that actually fits so well. I wonder if I can just give it normal controls on Desmune.
If this was like the original story, Imagine being the Wicked Witch of the West and seeing this girl who took your dead sister's drip zoom past like a blue Hedgehog high on onion rings.
I'd just stay outta her way at this point.
Seriously, though, love this game's art style a lot.
Omg I rmbr playing this game, no wonder it looked familiar
Hey this is great keep finding obscure old game. They all deserve to be remembered in some . Great video 🎉🎉
I think I remember hearing about this game way back whenever new games were coming out for the DS
for a game of the old days, the summer witch is more tanner than the pyro archon in natlan nowadays
Never heard of it i guess, but it looks pretty good.
Some artworks somehow remind me of Wonder Project J.
I actually considered getting this back when DS games were common at GameStop, because they were frequently doing "buy two, get one free" sales, but it never happened to be close in price to any two other games I wanted...
And there’s the legend of Zelda spin-off with tingle that never went to the west that has some wizard of oz nods
The visuals and art design of this game is impeccable. This and Solatorobo: Red the Hunter are probably the best looking games on the DS
Well that explains why the game is so pretty, XSEED is pretty much THE company that made Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons, Rune Factory, Sakuna, and many other games, which have pretty much always had great character designs.
Holly changing that "one thing" in her story at the end was really cute and kind of tugged and my heart strings a bit, I wish this game could be remastered and changed slightly because the plot isn't that bad and the art direction of everything is obviously amazing
The 2D art really reminds me of Vanillaware and George Kamitani's art. specifically of Odin Sphere and GrimGrimoire. Can't seem to find who made the art for this game, though.
@@despairchanpu4700 Now that you mention it, it's definitely similar
As someone who plays guitarron, seeing scarecrow (MY FAVORITE) with a guitarron made me so happy the designs and art in this game are breathtaking
This looks like a 3DS game. The graphics are actually insane.
Wow, I wasn't expecting to learn about a wizard of Oz jrpg, with an anime art style today. But I'm glad I did. And Dorothy's design in this is great. It's ashame that it's locked to a unknown game like this.
The thing that hooked me to this video was Dorothy’s anime design. Is there an anime about the Wizard of Oz?
i didn't know this game exsisted now wish i could be able to play it
That combat system is so cool tbh
I'm guessing the WB credit was bc of the ruby slippers. They were created for the movie, the book having silver shoes instead.
Honestly feels on par with the other games the studio puts out.
Flawed but oozing with personality and creativity.
just loaded it up on an emulator, an upscaled it, and while the textures are a bit crusty, and a lot of tricks that worked in small scale suddenly are visible, this could totally pass as a switch title giving it a quick once over.
How did I not know this existed ? I could use this on my take on "Kingdom Hearts" !
Thank you for this really nice and detailed Review; I enjoyed listening to your opinion on it, and your objective view of the game. I look forward to seeing more of your reviews as I really was hooked by the way you presented the information on the game. Thank you.
The DS often gets dismissed when it comes to visuals, but the handheld was capable of (at the time) impressive graphics, it's very similar to the PS1.