XSEED
Games announced today that it is currently developing an RPG version
of The
Wizard Of Oz
for Nintendo DS, called The
Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road,
scheduled for release this fall. Licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive
Entertainment, and originally released as RIZ-ZOAWD
by D3Publisher in Japan, The
Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road takes
a unique perspective on the adventures of Dorothy and her dog, Toto,
on their path to the Yellow Brick Road.

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Follow
the adventures of Dorothy and Toto as they become RPG heroes. You
know the story, don't you? A sudden tornado hits a small farm in
Kansas, taking Dorothy and Toto away to Oz. Dorothy learns that the
only way to get back home is by following the ominous voice calling
her to the end of the Yellow Brick Road (sorry folks, I don't think
the Lollipop Guild is going to be greeting her with a song and dance
this time around). Soon she'll meet up with the Scarecrow, Lion and
Tin Man and embark on a voyage filled with obstacles.
Things
take a bit of a different turn though, when the foursome (and dog)
reach the castle at the end of the Yellow Brick Road. The group soon
learns from a mysterious
wizard that the land of Oz has been taken
over by four evil witches who are running amuck. Now, it's up to the
group to defeat the witches, all with the hope of simply helping
Dorothy get back home.
The
Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road uses
the Nintendo DS' touch screen, allowing players to control everything
with a simple touch, swipe or drag of the stylus. In an interesting
move though, Dorothy's movement is controlled by the rotation of a
trackball on the bottom of the screen spun with the stylus, and the
battles, which are turn-based, take place from the first-person
perspective.
It does include multiple customization options, letting players
choose whether to allow the game to recommend the best actions per
turn, for expedited play, to manually choose your attacks, for more
involved gameplay.
XSEED
partnered with D3 Publisher to secure the rights to publish and
distribute The
Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road
for North America. The game is being developed by Media.Vision and
will be exclusively available for Nintendo DS this fall.