Yellow Brick Road

I thought this game was really fun (but very hard) as a middle schooler (which is, I think, when I got it.) The game has a unique combat method where enemies constantly advance toward you and you send your party members out to try scare them back a few steps. You can combine party members with various weapons you find throughout the game, and each weapon works differently depending on who uses it, for instance there's a whistle that, as I remember, summons crows if the scarecrow plays it and mice if the tin man plays it. these different attacks might make an enemy move more slowly for a while, freeze them in place, or retreat a few steps, they might attack one enemy or all the enemies. However, generally, more powerful attacks cause the party member who gave them to need to rest longer. You win if you can get the enemies to retreat far enough that they leave the screen, and lose if the enemies reach your side of the screen. It is VERY difficult, and very hectic from the midpoint of the game on. But it is possible. I beat the game twice, I think.

That all took some time to explain, the rest of the game will not because it very short. There are only a few outside locations on the yellow brick road and then you're inside the emerald city, which is really just a palace and smaller than a normal home in terms of actual rooms. The scenes are pretty for the time the game was made, and the music very nice and memorable. The plot is (loosely) a sequel to the oz books, I guess. If glinda and Ozma were the same character. Glinda is queen of the emerald city here and you must break into the city to warn her that nomes are invading Oz. You play as the scarecrow, tin man, and lion and must break into the emerald city to try and save her. This portion of the game involves some of the easiest Myst-style puzzle I've ever seen. I think it would have made more sense to make the puzzles harder and the combat easier. once inside palace, you fight some more nomes, Jack Pumpkinhead (why?), and ultimately the giant head the wizard used to fool Dorothy in the first book. if you manage to defeat that final boss, you are treated to a cutscene that tells you that the nomes have succeeded in kidnapping Queen Glinda and you must head off on an adventure to save her. But unless you speak Japanese, she'll be lost forever because Yellow Brick 2 and 3 were never localized, despite 1 ending with a trailer for 2.

I guess I'd kind of recommend it. As I say the art and music are nice, and the combat is just so unique. it's unusual to see game mechanics that aren't just remixes of what's come before.