The Wizard of Oz

"Never heard of this game? There's a reason."

Ahh, the Wizard of Oz. Most all of us has seen this movie as a child, and likely our parents saw it as children, also. It has a lasting appeal that has so far stood the test of time.

Not so for the game.

This game is a hideous mockery of a great movie. It was shoddily put together and just doesn't seem like any thought was put into it. The Wizard of Oz comes off as a less than average platformer with enough frustration to kill a small animal. But enough of that, let's look at the game itself, shall we?

Gameplay
This is pretty much your basic platformer, sans some of the stuff you'd expect from a basic platformer. Like running. or a decent attack. Speaking of attacks, Dorothy has a kick, and a wand that runs out of ammo too fast to be useful. So basically, it's just the kick. You're gonna take on the Wicked Witch of the West by kicking her in the shins. Although, this did prove to be an extremely effective attack in Heroes of the Lance, it just doesn't cut it here, seeing as 99% of the enemies attack you from above the waist. The other characters you recruit are a little better, provided you ever reach them. The next hindrance is the fact that the tornado seems to have broken Dorothy's legs. Because of this, she, nor any of her friends, can run. You're probably thinking, ''Well, that's not so bad. Lots of characters couldn't run. Mega Man and Simon Belmont couldn't run, and they got by just fine.'' You're wrong. It is bad. Not only can they not run, they walk like they're in the nursing home's yearly marathon. They're so incredibly slow, you begin to wonder if they even want to reach the Emerald City at all. Because of their slow crawl, you can forget avoiding an attack of any kind. In fact, if you can't kick it in the shins, you'd just better hope you've got energy to spare. Poor Tin Man can't even jump or duck. The only other gripe with the game is it has quite a few platform jumps, but this game uses ''Invisible Platforms.'' Platforms that look like they're in the background. It might just be a piece of scenery, it might not. Only way to tell is to jump at it and see if you fall to your doom. Overall, Gameplay hurt this game the most. 1/10

Story
If you've seen the movie, you know the story. Dorothy, a girl from Kansas, get caught in a Tornado and is transported to the Land of Oz. She goes to see the wizard to ask him to send her back. Along the way there, she meets a scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion, all who want something from the wizard. When they arrive, the wizard tell them to destroy the Witch of the West and he'll grant their wishes. The game does follow the movie quite well.
8/10

Graphics
These aren't too good. The characters barely resemble their movie counter-parts, but you can still tell who they're supposed to be. The scenery is average at best.
4/10

Sound
It's okay. They have some of the songs from the movie, but it's nothing will stick out in your mind.
5/10

Game Length
This game is difficult, but for all the wrong reasons. I've never made it to the end, so you'd have to be pretty dedicated to finish it. If you did finish it, you probably wouldn't go back.

Last Words
This game really isn't worth your time to play, much less rent or buy, but as rare as it is, it's unlikely you're gonna get the chance any way. Just avoid.

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 10/14/02, Updated 10/14/02