September 16, 2009

Director Nobuo Nakazawa takes GZ on a trip down the yellow brick road
By Michael Lafferty

“ … the game takes a life of its own, but it won’t digress too far from the original.”

“We’re off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz …”

And we are taking out Nintendo DS with us to do precisely that. The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road is an XSEED release for the Nintendo DS slated for release in the fall of this year. The license is not only near and dear to the hearts of a lot of people, but presents challenges to any developer looking to bring the license to graphical video-game life simply because of the size of the fan base. Make no mistake, this is a game that will be watched carefully.  

Nobuo Nakazawa, director of the game, talked about bringing this incredible license to life on Nintendo’s portable gaming platform.

Question: The Wizard of Oz has a fairly robust setting, as well as a wide cast of characters. What elements appealed to you from the video-game perspective?

Nobuo: For video games, especially RPGs, you need this kind of “robust setting, as well as a wide cast of characters” that you mentioned. This will allow the main character and the entire party to have distinctive characteristics.

Now with that in mind, when considering The Wizard of Oz you have Dorothy, Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Man, don’t you think those members are perfect for an RPG?

How hard was it to land the license, and do you have to get conceptual game designs approved to make certain you are within the spectrum of the license? How much leeway have you received in adapting the story to a video-game?

Nobuo: The original novel was created over 100 years ago and has been used in a variety of media such as movies throughout the years so there were no difficulties in regarding licensing issues when we adapted it into a game.

In the production of the game, the story progresses in a way that is better suited for a game, but if we digressed too much from the original, there would be no point in using the theme of The Wizard of Oz.

Basically, the game takes a life of its own, but it won’t digress too far from the original.

We kept that in mind as we produced the game.

In terms of the US market, XSEED decided on their side to partner with Warner Bros. Home Video to work out promotional opportunities together with the 70th anniversary re-release of the movie, something we did not do for the Japanese release.

Why did you choose the platform you have for this game?

Nobuo: As you know, the Nintendo DS has two screens and one of them has touch controls so it is a very different platform. Of course that was done to change the way people play games, so we tried to create a RPG with that same design principle in order to bring about a fundamental change in RPGs. This will create a completely different RPG that has never been seen before, and that’s why we selected this platform.

What was the most difficult part of realizing the Land of Oz on the NDS platform?

Nobuo: The world of Oz has been presented in a variety of media over time, but the movie starring Judy Garland left the biggest impression on me.  The vivid colors that were used in the presentation of the world were just beautiful.

I used a variety of different backgrounds trying to recreate that. Rather than say that it was difficult to accomplish, I think of it as being a challenge that was well worth doing.

Tell us about the RPG elements in the game – what exactly can people expect in leveling up?

Nobuo: RPG elements are classic, shall we say. When you fight enemy monsters, you will obtain “experience points.” After getting a certain amount, your character will level up, allowing stats to be reinforced. However, each character has “special abilities” that can only be learned or unlocked by defeating boss characters.

When you obtain special abilities, the battles will become much easier, so please try and look for those bosses.

How is combat handled?

Nobuo: We call the battle system a “semi-automatic battle,” where the AI will automatically display what actions it wants to take.

If you agree with the displayed actions, you can just touch the “confirm” button and start the turn. If you don’t like the actions selected by the AI, the player can manually change them. At first glance the screen looks very much like a classic RPG, but aside from what we listed above, we have challenging features such as the system we call a “Ratio Turn” system and variable effectiveness for each character on different types of monsters.

What elements of the game do you think will appeal to gamers?

Nobuo: We really put effort in making the graphics look beyond what a Nintendo DS can show.

Also the feeling of running swiftly using the stylus controls (trackball) and a deep challenging battle system are also something we would like players to enjoy.

I believe that this will appeal to gamers quite a lot. We have also added ridiculously powerful secret bosses so that the game can be played for a long time.

What are your favorite characters in the Wizard of Oz and why?

Nobuo: That would be the Tin Man. He’s looking for his lost heart, but he’s actually missing his entire body. You just wonder if he’ll ever realize that. That’s what I really liked about him. Also, design-wise, you get the most freedom with him.

He can be robotic or like a sculpture. Does he run with mechanical parts? Does he run on liquid fuel? Or magic? Maybe he’s a golem made of tin. The possibilities and points of interest are endless.

Share | Digg This | Glink It

---