When I first read the news, it sounded strange in my mind.  An RPG based on The Wizard of Oz?  No way!  Apparently, yes way.  XSEED is localizing what’s known in Japan as RIZ-ZOAWD (don’t ask), and retitling the game here as The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road.  Apparently the title uses the characters, locations and basic plot, but with a typical JRPG twist, I’m sure.

Judging by some images released for the localized version, character control is likely through this trackball-like interface on the lower DS screen.  That sounds like a horrible, gut-wrenching way to control Dorothy, if you ask me.  But, I shall reserve judgement until I’m able to try out this quirky DS title.

The sights and sounds of the Dragon Quest franchise are near and dear to my heart. The very first title with that name (or Dragon Warriorin North America) was the game that introduced me to RPGs and was game that jump-started my love of the genre. “A Slime approaches!” is all I think about when I see slime-type enemies in these newer titles.

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride was never released outside Japan until this DS remake, so having not seen any of the original game, its hard to make comparisons about anything, really. A few things were added and, obviously, the graphics were improved. Touch-screen controls were added, but they aren’t necessary by any means. In fact, while playing games like this (Chrono Trigger DS and Final Fantasy IV DS are two other examples), I would much rather use the buttons than the stylus any day of the week.

The story is rather unique for a standard JRPG. As the journey begins, you are a young boy, accompanying your father on a few errands here and there. Eventually, time passes and you grow up into a strong young man with greater responsibility. The option to marry the girl of your dreams presents itself about half way through the game. You’re allowed to marry one of three girls – each has their own strengths and weaknesses. That girl will travel with you for the rest of the game, so base your decision on more than the color of their hair. You have other faithful companions that stick with you through thick and thin, as well.

The graphics were updated to look pretty spiffy, most notably the terrain, towns and dungeons. The lighting effects in various areas are rather impressive for the DS. I really can’t say much about the character sprites. Some of the characters always look either angry or like some sort of alien, whichever you prefer. Although, the anime-style character portraits are nice, and should be a style familiar to fans of the DQ franchise.

What I enjoy most about this title is the story and the straight-forward battle system. There are no frills, no skills learned from equipment, no special combo attacks with various party members, nothing. Its simply old-school, turn-based RPG goodness. The variety comes from the choices you can make as to how your party is set up. This comes in two ways: 1) I already mentioned you get to choose a female character for your mute main character to marry, and each of the three girls available has different strengths and weaknesses, but also 2) you can get monsters to join your little band of travelers and build your party with the strengths and weaknesses you want. If you only have two set party members and want a melee-strong party, fill it with two monsters you acquired who focus strongly on melee attacks, if you want a magic-heavy party, do the same with monsters that are casters, if you want some buff/debuffers, do that. The choices are literally endless. Throughout the early part of the game, your main character is likely the main healer and damage dealer, but the entire party together, assuming you start adding monsters to it, can handle just about anything, and then some.

However, this game isn’t all roses, there’s quite a few thorns, most of which are likely holdovers from the original release, and can be blamed on its age. Way too often its way too difficult to figure out where to go next. You’ll finish one “quest”, one part of the story, you end up in the town where it all started and…well, you just have to figure out where to go next. You either have to talk to every person in town (sometimes multiple times) or explore around the world map until you find someplace that might be your next destination. If this was in a new game, I would knock it down a notch, but that’s just the way RPGs were back when this game was originally developed. Its still incredibly frustrating.

Also, something about the text bothers me. There’s way too much of it. When I want to save the game, I don’t want the guy at the church to go through his whole schpeel. Every. Single. Time. When a major event happens to my party, like a main character joins or leaves, the dialog stays on the screen for what seems like an eternity, while music plays in the background. No, hitting the “A” button won’t close the dialog box. This happens often, as well. Really, the only part of the game that should have anywhere resembling a novel’s worth of dialog is actual story segments. In that case, it wouldn’t be a problem. But, if I want to save, just let me save, without all the extra time spent scrolling through dialog boxes.

I also would have liked to see maps of interior locations, dungeons mostly, and a better, clearer world map. As it stands right now, its hard to tell exactly where you’re going or plot a direction to go on the pixelated world map. I dislike the requirement to only full-save the game at a church. You can quick-save anywhere on the world map, but to completely save your game in the regular manner, you must be at a church.

Overall, I quite enjoy Dragon Quest V, and will likely continue playing it until completion. The thing that irks me, though, is that while the developers are remaking the title, a lot of these little annoyances should have been taken care of. After all, they went through the trouble of adding touch-screen support, and even a new female character and all the dialog that goes with it, just for this remake. It would have been nice if they made the game a little less rough around the edges while they were at it. If you’re into very traditional JRPGs, this is a goldmine of quirky fun and turn-based adventure definitely not to be missed by fans of the genre.

Score: 8 (out of 10)