The Wizard

The Wizard of Oz is a side-scrolling platformer that mixes action, adventure, and puzzle video game styles. It consists of four worlds, each having levels that contain warp zones, mazes, secret areas, and puzzles. It includes many of the settings from the 1990 Wizard of Oz animated series by DIC Entertainment. In a total of 31 levels, the player obtains six tickets from each country to open the Emerald City's four gates and complete the game. Bricks are collected to fill gaps with bridges to enter the next country. The warp zones contain special items that are harder to obtain in other areas. To enter a puzzle stage, the player collects Toto's snack bones throughout a level. Puzzle levels include "Scrambled Concentration" where Toto must match three icons; "Toto vs" where Toto has to get to the "End" emerald while dodging enemies like mice and lobsters; "Follow the Path" where the player is forced to move on set arrow tiles to get Toto to the "End" emerald; "Lemon Drop Elimination", where Toto rolls two dice and must choose a number tile that is the sum of the numbers on the dice; and a word game where Toto has to enter out a phrase. Jewel icons can be collected to give any character the ability to shoot three jewels per icon in an upward or downward angle, and characters can be changed during gameplay by pressing the select button. Players can assume the role of any of the four characters with different abilities; the game starts the player with Dorothy, who must rescue the other characters along the way. Each character has a different attack; Dorothy has a kick and a wand that can be powered up with bubbles and shooting stars; the Scarecrow strikes with a pitchfork and scares away crow enemies; the Tin Man has a low-kick and a high ax chop; and the Cowardly Lion attacks with his claws. Each protagonist also has special methods of maneuvering through levels, as Dorothy can float in the air for a limited amount of time through obtaining "flying slippers"; the straw-made Scarecrow can trudge through mud and stand on thin branches; the Lion can climb objects; and the Tin Man can walk safely in swamp liquid. For collecting extra lives and health points, there are icons that only serve specific characters: Glinda's bubble and a blue bow for Dorothy's health points and lives, respectively; a haystack for the Scarecrow's health and a graduation cap to increase his lives; oil cans and hearts for the Tin Man's health points and lives, respectively; and tofus and medals for the vegetarian Cowardly Lion.