The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road is loosely based on L. Frank Baum's story. It takes familiar locations and characters from the original story, but places them in a RPG world that looks like something out of a typical JRPG. As odd as the pairing sounds, the two styles complement each other rather well.

Read any DS review on this site and you'll likely stumble across mention of the system's lack of 3D prowess. The Wizard of Oz manages to squeeze a really impressive set of visuals out of the system's limitations. Assets are used and reused a lot throughout the game, but repetition isn't as bad as other games. There's still a lot of variety packed into Oz. Areas are bright, characters are likeable - it's a good situation. The only major downside is the lack of really crazy Oz-specific enemies. A few enemies fit the world, but most seem like they were culled from other RPGs. It's a minor complaint, but when you consider the source material, it's a letdown.

The only real reference to the film comes from the first few bars of "Over the Rainbow" played over the title screen. The rest of the game features typical JRPG music. You've got the Japanese theme song (which kind of sounds like something from Wicked, but this may be coincidence) and synth -filled music pushing you through the game. It isn't memorable, but fits the world better than some of the enemies you'll encounter, so there's not much to complain about.

By now, most of us are familiar with the premise behind The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy and her dog Toto are swept up in a twister and transported to the magical Land of Oz. In the original story, Dorothy inadvertently kills the Wicked Witch of the East, gets her shoes and travels to see the Wizard of Oz in search of a way home (which, it turns out was on her feet the entire time). The game's story is a bit different. Dorothy lands in Oz and is immediately greeted by the Wizard, who tasks her with the job of killing the four Wicked Witches (one for each season) in order to win a trip back home. While killing a witch was as easy as tossing a bucket of water in the film, here it takes a little more effort. Of course, she'll have the Strawman (Scarecrow), Tin Man and Lion to help her out.

The main plot is a bit thin, though the storybook presentation does help. Dialogue is limited to the Wizard and the Witches, eliminating wasted gameplay time reading through mindless diatribes from characters. The storybook pages are quick reads and do a great job of conveying the game's story as well as building up some emotional content. It won't make you lose yourself, but it's more engaging than most JRPGs I've played recently.

Gameplay is fairly typical for the genre, but still a bit unique. Everything stems from The Emerald City, which serves as an all-purpose hub for activity. You can buy items from its shops, including armor and weapon upgrades for Dorothy and her companions (we're so not in Kansas anymore) after you defeat each of the four witches. From the city, you can take a path on the Yellow Brick Road towards one of the four kingdoms, at which point the game switches to a third-person mode where Dorothy uses her super-speed (it's in the shoes) to race down the path. Each path leads to a warp point, leading towards your final destination. Its funky little system, especially with bottom screen's simulated trackball used to move Dorothy, but I liked it. Actually, the setup wouldn't be bad for a Sonic game. Yeah, I know they work better in 2D, but it's a system worthy of exploration.

The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road is built more for players with little RPG experience rather than hardcore players. Battles are complicated, but over quickly. Players with less experience will find it slightly more challenging than vets, though boss battles do provide some brief glimpses of challenge for experienced players.

The trackball control is another of the game's unique features, and as much as I like it, there's room for improvement. The shortcomings aren't enough to kill enjoyment, but do make some areas more difficult than they seem. At times, the trackball seems really slippery, making it hard to stay on course. This is especially problematic when trying to race through areas. You'll see enemies on the field, and can avoid combat by running past them. However, the faster you flick, the more likely you'll hit into the wrong direction and go careening into an enemy.

The Wizard of Oz is short and much of that time is padded with backtracking. Nearly all of the dungeon puzzles require some sort of backtracking. This makes it important to mark previously-visited areas on your map. It just saves time and frustration.

Battles take place in a first-person view similar to Dragon Warrior (or Dragon Quest depending on your hemisphere). Each of your four characters has a point allocation that helps determine who can attack each turn and how many times they can attack. The Tin Man is a strongest of the characters, so his point count is 3; the Lion counts for 2 and both Dorothy and the Strawman count for 1. Each turn, you are given four points towards your combat total. In other words, you can attack with the Tin Man and either the Strawman or Dorothy in one turn, or you can have Dorothy, Strawman and Lion attack at the same turn. You can even have the Lion attack twice or one of the 1 point characters attack four times a round if you want. Whatever combination you choose determines how much damage is dealt during the round, as well as who can do what.

The only good thing about the system is battles are over quickly. Each of the four characters is powerful against certain enemy types (Dorothy is strong versus ghosts; Tin Man is strong versus plants ...), so all you really need to do is figure out the relationships and exploit the heck out of them. The game will also make suggestions about how to handle battles, though the advice is best ignored. Few of the suggestions make logical sense and you're better off making random actions if you don't know what's going on.

I liked The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road. It isn't something I see myself aching to replay anytime soon, but it was a different enough experience that it kept me interested. If it was a little harder and the battle system's issues were worked out, it would be a must buy. However, The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road is best left for younger players or anyone looking for a little-fuss RPG.