Whether it’s through overt allegory or theheavy presenceoftextin a game, literature has quite an impact on the world of video games and the host of video games people can expect to find on the shelves. This is no surprise considering how influential literature is to the media landscape and how many players love a good story with their game.
While many games take from books as a medium, formatting their storiesas visual novelsand letting the player read at their own pace, some games take prominent pieces of literature and use them as inspiration. This can make their games feel more fleshed out and in-depth, borrowing from a sophisticated title.The Wizard of Ozis no exception to this habit among developers and writers, and many games have borrowed from the great world of Oz when plotting their stories.
5Zubo
A Rhythm Game Classic On The DS
Zubo’sinitial chapter, which showcases the world and its initial characters to the player borrows a lot fromThe Wizard of Ozin ways both subtle and overt. This is one of thebest rhythm games on the DS, and while the party-building aspects aren’t incredibly complicated, the host of unique characters players can put together makes for incredibly satisfying gameplay. This is a relatively obscure title among the wealth of DS gems out there, but provides an incredibly rewarding experience to anyone lucky enough to get their hands on a copy.
The initial areas of the game, including the plains and the pop-rock zone, are paved with a yellow brick road for players to follow. Players arrive in Zubalon, a world separate from the Earth they know, after falling from the sky, similar to how Dorothy and Toto end up in Oz (though minus the house falling on a witch). The tutorial character, Zubo1, appears to the players as a projection, similar to how the Wizard appears to Dorothy before his true nature is revealed. One of the first characters recruited inZubois a robo-cop-inspired robot, a “tin-man” that provides helpful insight in the early parts of the game.
Code Name S.T.E.A.Mis, in the best way possible, a weird title. A giant mecha Abraham Lincoln, a host of literary figures from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, an army of Lovecraft-inspired enemies… it’s a weird mix. A great, innovative mix, but a weird one nonetheless. This game sadly never received a sequel, which is a shame considering the high quality gameplay on display here. Hopefully, the cult status of this title will warrant, at the very least, a Switch remake someday soon.
Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin-Man, and the Scarecrow are all available as playable characters in this title, and Oz itself, or a setting heavily inspired by it, is a navigable area that is essential to the late-game plot, as the many engineers of Oz work to upgrade the aforementioned Abe mech as things begin to heat up. (Or cool down. There’s a global freezing event in the story, it’s a whole thing). In life, we are seldom afforded opportunities to play games with both Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and Lucina fromFire Emblem.This game is one of those opportunities. Do not miss it.
Banjo Kazooieis one of those fantastic titles that put Rare on the map as a creator and purveyor of genre-defining platformers. The Nintendo 64 owes a colossal debt to the works of Rare and the amount of soul and humor they were able to imbue almost all of their early titles with - withBanjo Kazooiestanding as one of their greatest titles. The inspiration from The Wizard of Oz comes mostly from the parallels betweenBanjo Kazooie’s witches and the witches from the classic novel and movie.
The charismatic Banjois paired against the incredibly unpleasant Wicked Witch of the West parallel, Gruntilda Winkybunion, and Gruntilda’s benevolent sister, Brentilda, is a similar reflection of the kindly witch who helps Dorothy in the original text, Glinda.
The characters and setting inFallout 4draw some incredibly interesting parallels to the Wizard of Oz. Nick Valentine as a synth makes a very strong reflection of the Tin Man, only further bolstered by his Private Detective agency being hosted in a building with a beating heart, the organ that the Tin Man originally needed to find. These parallels only strengthenFallout 4’sexcellent worldbuilding.
Mama Murphy fills the role of Glinda in this grim, post-apocalyptic tale, as the magical and benevolent woman who instructs the protagonists on where they should head to see their journey through. Of course, while Glinda the kind witch uses kindness and whimsy as fuel for her powers, Mama Murphy uses drugs, but that is a negligible difference.
Arguably the pinnacle of the 3DFalloutgames,Fallout New Vegashas parallels to the Wizard of Oz in both its base game andOld World Blues, one of its best DLC expansions that provide a new area with fantastic, gruesome humor and a great sense of exploration.
Mr. House, an all-powerful being who is actually shriveled and frail, hiding behind a grand projection (computer screen) is a fairly clear reflection of the great and powerful Oz.Old World Blues' main quest is essentially a deranged parallel of the classic story, with the player having to find their heart, spine, and brain, similar to the quests of Dorothy’s companions. This is even referenced by Dr. Mobius (another wizard of Oz parallel candidate) directly in one line.
