What the heck is RIZ-ZOAWD? If you're like me and rely on Destructoid for most of your gaming news, then you may have never heard of it, as it appears we've never mentioned it. Those of you who have quick minds that can decipher anagrams with added hyphens (or those of you who have simply looked at the image above) will have already figured out that RIZ-ZOAWD is an RPG based off of L. Frank Baum's classic children's story, The Wizard of Oz. For me, this is more exciting than the announcement of the first Kingdom Hearts, but I'm probably in the minority.
This is even more so true because the game has actually already been released in Japan to lackluster sales and so-so reviews. This is why a GameFly posting showing the game, which was developed by Media.Vision (best known for the Wild Arms games), shipping in North America on September 30 is a little surprising. XSEED is said to be publishing the game to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the 1939 film. They will also be renaming the game to The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road. We haven't received any news of it from XSEED and hadn't heard back yet when we asked for a comment, so this all has to remain a rumor.
The game is certainly a unique take on the land of Oz, even if its battle system is clearly ripped from Dragon Quest. With clear redesigns of most of the characters and four witches that Dorthy must take on, it is a different Oz, but Oz has been reimagined so many times by now that it's just all the more intriguing to see another take. Another aspect that is different about this game is that the player controls movement through a trackball on the touch screen. You can check it out in the video below -- it looks... annoying. However, the premise and style is enough to get me excited that there is even a chance of the game making it to our shores. How about the rest of you?
Matthew Razak is Destructoid's Associate editor and co-founder of film site Flixist. He began as community member "cowzilla" and was since sequestered to write brainy features material. He lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife.
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Just more proof that Japanese developers have a very tough time coming up with original ideas...:P
And wtf is up with rolling the green ball on the touchscreen to move? WTF!
Anyone else remember Oz: The Manga? http://www.antarctic-press.com/html/version_01/store.php?id=OZ+The+Manga
DS developers: I know you think rapidly scribbling on the DS screen is an "interesting gameplay mechanic." Retards think shit is edible, you've made the same mistake.
Also, I watched the video... why do people still believe this section of the Ox storyline is the best? It's OKAY at best. If you want to rip off old books, please at LEAST give us a chapter we haven't seen 300,000 times before. Especially when your art style comes straight out of "How to draw like a Weeabo fuck" by Christopher Hart.
Sad as I am to say it, I completely agree with sheppy. The game doesn't look very good, especially the pseudo-track and ball for movement. I don't see how anyone ever thought that was a good idea.
Why can't I just move with the D-pad?
I'm somewhat a fan of all things Wizard of Oz. one of my fav cartoons growing up was the amazing Wonder Wizard of Oz anime, I loved the Return to Oz movie Disney made in the 80s and I'm loving the Skottie Young drawn Wizard of Oz comic series Marvel is doing right now. I honestly would not mind giving this game a look in should it come out of Japan, it looks amazing.
Oz RPG? Great idea...if it wasn't for the fact the Lion bricked it every time he had to fight. Thanks for missing the point more than American McGee's Alice. What next? The Dark Tower RPG where Susannah uses her wheelchair as a long ranged weapon?|
I've put some time into the Japanese version, and the trackball thing isn't that bad. It's still kind of puzzling (why not just control her with the d-pad?) but it works well enough.
I'll be buying this if only for the fact that it is one of, if not the prettiest DS games I've ever seen. The battle system's got a few twists to it as well, it's not just a DQ ripoff (Dragon Quest, not Dairy Queen).
Sweet. I saw this a while back and was very interested, during 5th and 6th grades I read a lot of Oz books thanks to my 5th grade teacher. So the prospect intrigued me. I just hope its fun...
Oh, god, what has Japan done to Oz!? Dorothy used to be a great character but now she's just another mindless animu bimbo. And that Oz: The Manga... They just won't stop ruining our classics. :(
Combat certainly wasn't the strongest aspect of the Wild Arms games, so I wouldn't expect it to be that great here. However, the dungeon design was always highly enjoyable (at least, it was from 1-3, I haven't played any past that). They're a good studio, so I'd expect combat to be meh and other designs to add a few new twists. Assuming the pattern remains the same.
As for that track ball, something seems...I dunno. The speed at which she runs just wouldn't feel the same if you were to press up on the D-Pad. I kinda like it, though I'm sure it'll be frustrating at times.
I'll GameFly it, but won't buy it. I'm curious enough to want to see how it plays.
I for one think the art style is pretty awesome, especially the wizard. Also I fail to see how new interpretations of a story "ruin" the classic interpretations. Maybe that's just me.
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8:00 AM on 07.18.2009
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And wtf is up with rolling the green ball on the touchscreen to move? WTF!
Anyone else remember Oz: The Manga? http://www.antarctic-press.com/html/version_01/store.php?id=OZ+The+Manga
THEY TURNED DOROTHY INTO A GENERIC MOEBLOB ANIME CHARACTER
The tin man looks cool though
Also, I watched the video... why do people still believe this section of the Ox storyline is the best? It's OKAY at best. If you want to rip off old books, please at LEAST give us a chapter we haven't seen 300,000 times before. Especially when your art style comes straight out of "How to draw like a Weeabo fuck" by Christopher Hart.
Why can't I just move with the D-pad?
I'll be buying this if only for the fact that it is one of, if not the prettiest DS games I've ever seen. The battle system's got a few twists to it as well, it's not just a DQ ripoff (Dragon Quest, not Dairy Queen).
That said, I'm not sure if I'm buying yet or not. But I'm definitely curious...
(and this is coming from someone who normally despises the Wizard of Oz. I'd probably like it more if it looked like this.)
As for that track ball, something seems...I dunno. The speed at which she runs just wouldn't feel the same if you were to press up on the D-Pad. I kinda like it, though I'm sure it'll be frustrating at times.
I'll GameFly it, but won't buy it. I'm curious enough to want to see how it plays.