Wizard of Oz
Wizard of Oz Solution
By Allronix
Greetings, fellow traveler! So you have that old text adventure and want to know how to solve it? Well, search no further! Just throw on your silver slippers and queue up Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. Here we go.
The first hint: Read the book, fanboy! The movie version with Judy Garland will not help you. One dandy thing about Windhams is their acute sense of detail. Even when they didn't lift directly, they made sure the details were right. This is FAR AND AWAY the closest adaptation, and works with not just the famous first book, but much of the second and a visit to the third. These books were my "walk-through." Be glad they didn't lift from all TWENTY of the original Baums.
My suggestions: This boasts the finest music of all the Windhams. Take time to listen to it.
When asking one of your party to do something format it as follows "(name), (action)"
Tinman, chop tree
Scarecrow, what next?
Tip, carve wood.
Also, be careful with the punctuation. This game (like all text adventures) is very picky. Nothing's worse than typing a two-line long incantation and having to do it all over because of a misspelled word or forgotten comma.
A great thing about this game is how well the game captures the personalities as depicted in the book, with actual quotes when they can get away with it. Scarecrow's words belie the fact that he is far from the brainless being he thinks he is, Tinman's language is appropriately poetic, and the Lion stutters like he did in the book. As much as I laughed at Burt Lahr's "Lion from Brooklyn," this is far more true. Take some time to "ask" or "tell" your friends about things. You can also ask them "WHAT NEXT?" or "WHAT NOW?" in a pinch.
Part 1: Happy Landing!
We start out in our house, which looks like.well, a tornado hit it.
You can CLEAN if you like, or EXAMINE the items here, but you'll find nothing of use. It's just you and your dog.
Next, EXIT HOUSE to find you're a long way from Kansas. Don't wander too far. Stay put and EXAMINE your surroundings. Well, there are a pair of feet beneath your house, and those silver SLIPPERS are much better for a long walk than your beat-up farm shoes, so take them. What's that in the bushes? It's GLINDA, the Witch of the South. You're free to ASK her about what you've landed in.
ASK GLINDA ABOUT:
- Evil Witch
- *Kansas
- Wizard
- **Emerald City
- Munchkins
- Slippers
- Glinda
The most important question to ask her is about the Emerald City. She will tell you that the journey is sometimes wonderful and sometimes terrible, but she will put a blessing on you and kisses your forehead.
Proceed SOUTH. Glinda will bid farewell.
Part 2: Assembling the Party
First, you come to a crossroads. NORTH leads back to the house, SOUTH leads to a cornfield and EAST is a blue house.
Well, no sooner have you started towards the house or the cornfield but lots of little people jump out at you. One strides forward. He is BOQ, Mayor to the Munchkins. The Munchkins are holding a large celebration party (gee, she really must have been nasty!), and you are the guest of honor.
Being as you are a guest here, head EAST to the party. Sample the PIES, FRUIT, or NUTS, and get in a DANCE or two. Boq will ask you to stay. Refuse the offer. (Accepting will prematurely end the game. You live among the Munchkins, but feel sad you never return home. No worries, though, by Book 8, Dorothy is living in Oz full-time anyway!). You're on a mission, and this is a great opportunity to ask Boq about a few things.
ASK BOQ ABOUT:
- Glinda
- Munchkins
- Wizard
- Kansas
- **Emerald City
- Evil Witch
Asking about the Emerald City gleans this tidbit - just drop Boq's name at the gate, and you shouldn't have trouble getting in.
When it's time to go, either head WEST to the crossroad or SOUTH to an oak tree.
(The neat thing here is that you don't have to get your party assembled in the order the book or movie dictated. I'll stick to tradition here, however.)
WEST takes you to the crossroad. SOUTH will get you to the cornfield.
It's a cornfield, just like the hundreds on family farms back homes. A hat blows over the stalks and lands in front of you. When you TAKE the hat, you hear a polite request to have it returned to its owner, a rather bored SCARECROW.
You can return the Scarecrow's hat, and ask a few things. Tell him about the Emerald City, and he'll mention that he'd like to go there. So, TAKE him off that pole and you have a road-trip buddy!
EAST takes you to the Oak tree south of the Munchkin village. North backtracks to the Munchkin village, but there's nothing more for you there. EAST will take you to a canyon, but you'll not be able to get across. SOUTH will take you to a bramble bush.
Going SOUTH, you get a choice. EAST will take you to the Forest (and the Lion). WEST will take you to the Tinman's cottage. In the interest of tradition, we'll head WEST.
Well, now.The TINMAN is in a bad spot, rusted solid. Go WEST to his Spartan little cabin and TAKE the OILCAN. Go outside and oil his LEGS, ARMS, and MOUTH. He will thank you for being so big-hearted. Talk with him a bit (asking him about the Wizard, the city, or himself will do it) and he will ask to come with you. Well, the more the merrier! (Refuse, and the poor dear will cry himself rusted again!)
Head EAST twice and a LION will jump out at you. While it may seem insane, ask TOTO to ATTACK. The little mutt's fierce barking will shame that big coward into backing down. Ask the lion about himself, and he'll admit his shortcomings, but he'll ask where you got the slippers and the mark on your forehead. TELL LION ABOUT GLINDA, and you have earned his respect. Add him to the party!
Part 3: "Ease on down, ease on down the road!"
Head NORTH to the canyon. The bridge is out and there's nothing here, but a big walnut tree. Tell the Tinman to CHOP the TREE, and you'll have a bridge. Head across, and you'll be stopped by two massive kalidahs (bear-tigers). Well, you have the King of the Forest with you, don't you? Tell him to ROAR! The mutated teddy bears high-tail it.
Head EAST, and there's a cliff. What to do now. If you ask, Scarecrow has an idea, what if there was a pillow of some sort? He can make it down the cliff okay, but the Lion and you would be badly injured and the Tinman would be irreparable. Well send him down and ask him to MAKE PILLOW. Happy landings! From the river, TAKE RAFT (hidden in plain sight).
There's a bit of a problem. The Scarecrow is stuck in the middle of the river and the rest of you are carried downstream. A stork happens by and asks if the Scarecrow's traveling with you. Tell her "YES," and she'll fetch him, but start flying off. FOLLOW the STORK until she drops him in the poppy patch.
Well, you pass out from the poppies (insert grunge musician joke here). The Tinman and the Scarecrow take you and Toto to sleep it off. However, the Lion is still "comfortably numb," and too big to carry. Ask the Tinman or Scarecrow about the situation, and you'll be interrupted by a wildcat chasing a little mouse with a crown on her head. Tell the Tinman to ATTACK THE WILDCAT. ASK the MOUSE about the wildcat. Lo and Behold, you've saved the Queen of All Field Mice! Ask her if she can help with the Lion. She'll summon her subjects and get that big lug out of trouble. Everyone but her will leave. Talk to the Queen, and she'll finish your reward by taking you to the Yellow Brick Road. FOLLOW her, and he Emerald City will be glittering in the distance to the SOUTH!
Chapter 4: "So you wanted to meet the Wizard."
Head SOUTH to the City Gates and RING the BELL. Enter the room, and you'll be greeted by the Royal Army of Oz (yes, he is the entire army. Oz denizens are pacifists by nature). He'll demand to know your business. Remember what Boq said about dropping his name? Tell him about the munchkin mayor, and you're in. Follow the Army, and he'll take you on the E-ticket tour.
This is an optional puzzle, but fun. Take the penny. When the gent comes running up to yiu, give him his penny, and he'll hand you nickels for lemonade. Buy lemonade and enjoy. The coins are useless anywhere else in the game. Examining the coins will provide a useful tip later on. The shiny new penny has the large head stamped on one side and the palance on the other. The old, tarnished nickel the man gives you has a young prince on one side and the palace on the other.
Following the Army again will take you to the Palace. Enter the Palace. From here, you are escorted to a room with a wardrobe and a mirror. Open the wardrobe and put on the green gown. Examine the mirror for a reminder of why you are here. Exit the room to rejoin your party.
Here is the Great and Powerful Oz. These are among the few liberties they took. In the book, the party goes individually, each seeing a different illusion. Here, they stick with the giant head, which is what Dorothy saw. TELL the Wizard about BRAINS, HEART, COURAGE, and KANSAS, and ignore the cheap puns Mighty Oz makes at your expense. He then tells you to go after the Wicked Witch of the West, and don't come back without proof that she's dead. LEAVE the throne room, and the Army escorts you through the West gates.
Part 5: Hey! That's in the SECOND book!
The second book, The Land of Oz, is the basis for this section, and Dorothy wasn't even in that one! No worries, it reverts to the first book soon enough.
You start out in Winkie Country, the lands to the west of Emerald City. You're in front of the door to a charming hovel. WEST is a maple tree, but we'll go there later. Right now, KNOCK on the door. The hostess, Mombi, is concocting a brew and would like you to taste-test it. Just ask her about it or her boy Tip, and she'll happily tell you it's to get him (and you) stoned - as in "turned into." Uh, later! Head south, but the door's locked. She takes the batch with her into the back room.
She left behind her Powder of Life. TAKE it. Your pals notice an escape route and you bail. Head WEST to the maple tree. Forget heading east, but NORTH is a pumpkin patch, and NORTH is a clearing. Move towards either, and a little scamp will leap from the trees and start attacking the Lion. He's Tip, Mombi's slave. Well, you don't want to leave him behind. Talking to Tip about Mombi or the evil witch provides some useful clues, even if the latter is only relevant to someone who's lived under a rock! Take the little guy along, and he promises not to cause trouble.
Heading NORTH the to the pumpkin patch gives you an idea: Mombi hates Halloween. Well, take the pumpkin, tell the Tinman to chop some wood, and tell Tip to carve the pumpkin. Time to scare her! Examining the Powder provides instructions:
- Sprinkle powder on (object)
- Say, "Tickle, Tackle, Tock. You may now begin to walk."
There are four doses of powder in the tin. You'll need three.
Well, sprinkle it on the pumpkin, say the incantation, and you'll have a living, sneezing pumpkin. BRUSH the powder away, and he'll want to come along. Jack may have a soft head, but he is a sweetie.
Heading WEST will take you to a river, but the ferryman is most unhelpful. Time to head SOUTH to the clearing. There's a sawhorse and a rope here. Take that rope, sprinkle powder on the sawhorse, say the magic words, and the computer plays the William Tell Overture (aka The Lone Ranger theme). The Sawhorse is loose. LASSO the sawhorse (ye haw!), and add him to your merry crew. Head NORTH and RIDE THE SAWHORSE across the river.
(Here is where we start heading back to book 1)
Into the meadow, headed WEST. You will pass several illusions. The first is a field of sunflowers. The second is a wall. Ignore the wall, it's bogus, so are the roads that appear next. Just keep going WEST. Uh-oh, brush fire. The Sawhorse and Scarecrow are panicking, but the other wooden party member is perplexed. Jack sees no fire at all. Ask him to LEAD the way.
Head WEST into the forest. A pack of wolves! Ask the Lion to roar. At the sight of their monarch, the wolves back off. Next, a murder of crows. Well, the Scarecrow was designed to scare them, right? Last, is the killer bees. Duck behind the Tinman and ask him to shield. The bees are no match for metal.
Now, in come the flying monkeys, and the party is outclassed. They carry you all off. The Lion puts up a good fight, but you pass out and come to with janitorial duty for the boss from hell - AKA the Wicked Witch. Well, screw that! Take the bucket and THROW BUCKET at WITCH. Take the cap. Head NORTH. Opening the wooden box reveals your party - what's left of them. An orange ball (Jack), a scrap of wood (Sawhorse), a tin pipe (Tin man), straw (Scarecrow), a fuzzy ball (Toto), a furry ball (Lion), and a little boy doll (Tip). There's also a large, carved stick in the box. Take the wand and WAVE it over the box. That revives your party. Head EAST and SOUTH.
You can use the cap to call the monkeys and ask them to take you to the Emerald City, or head EAST, RIDE SAWHORSE, head EAST, SOUTH, EAST, and then EAST to the Emerald City.
Act 5: Oz under siege
Show the cap to the Army, and he'll take you into the receiving chamber. You'll have to WAIT several times. Knock again, and you enter. Show the cap to the Wizard, and it becomes obvious he's stalling. Your ticked off party shows its teeth. Lion roars, Toto jumps, and the sham is revealed. Ask that Cornhusker con artist about providing what he promised for your party. He'll reward with tokens, of course, but not before telling them that what they sought was in them the whole time. Asking about the "Book 2" party members (Tip, Jack, Sawhorse), yields that Tip should visit Glinda, but there is nothing much to be done for Jack or Sawhorse. He has a balloon, and is ready to take you back to the fair Midwest, though. Say yes to his offer.
The Wizard is leaving Jack and Sawhorse in charge. (worse than a possible President Quayle). When in the balloon, Toto will leap out. Follow your little dog (you can stay in the balloon, but it'll be another "premature ending") and rejoin your friends. Ask "what Next" to any of them, and they'll suggest heading for Glinda's to the south.
All is not well. There's an army at the gates. "General" Jinjur and her crew are going to ransack the Emerald City! (This is another lift from the second book, and I think Baum was satirizing the suffragettes). Heading south will take you to a premature ending. Run NORTH back to the city.
Tell Jack about the army outside waiting to make pie out of him. The Tinman will have the sense to bolt the palace, but it seems that you're trapped. Maybe not. LOOK around, and the barred doors are to the south. A window is to the north, and there's a trap door in the ceiling. Well, head UP.
Not much here on the veranda but furniture. Time to cook up something straight out of a Ozian MacGuyver. Tie the two couches together. Tie the leaves to the sofa, and tie on the gump head. Now, break open the powder of life, and animate your flying machine. All aboard! Tell Gump to fly.
Well, you're out of the city, but you've landed in a Jackdaw nest. These are nasty birdies. Your Gump's lost its wings and wishes to be left alone. Honor his request. You have two options. SOUTH to a grassy hill, or EAST to some trees. Uh oh! It seems the birdies are back and really ticked off. HIDE UNDER STRAW. Unstuffing the Scarecrow provides you cover, but his straw is gone! Well, rummaging around the nest, you find plenty of dollar bills. Stuff your friend with the money.
Heading EAST will take you to a most unusual fellow. This is the WOBBLEBUG. Do not insult him by referring to him as "bug." (he'll run) He is quite the intelligent fellow, and will happily answer most any question you have on a famous Oz denizen.
Heading SOUTH will take you to a grassy hill with a troupe of tin soldiers waiting to be brought to life. Too many for the powder, though. EAST is a pond, WEST is a large rock and the road to Emerald City. You're badly outnumbered at the moment.
Head EAST for now. It's a crossroad. NORTH is a grove of trees. Go there. There are music boxes growing on trees! (with a money-stuffed, brainy Scarecrow and the pumpkin-headed ruler of Oz in your party, this surprises you?). Take the round box and the square one. The square ones plays a military march (Nutcracker Suite). The round ones plays a lullaby that puts the Oz natives in your party to sleep (Braham's Lullaby).
Head SOUTH and WEST. Open that square box, TAKE the SOLDIERS and head WEST. The Soldier with the green whiskers will meet you, and follow his head. Head NORTH and watch Jinjur's so-called "army" head for the hills! (As the computer plays the 1812 Overture).
Part 6: Off to see Glinda
Heading South, Jack will stop you the first time. South again will bid him farewell and you're off to Quadling Country to the South. This is slow going for all but the Lion. In face, he feels quite at home here. WEST leads to a colorful tent, and SOUTH will go to a gully. Head WEST for now.
Oh, no! The Tree's snagged Scarecrow. Well, ask the Tinman to chop the tree. It'll free the Scarecrow. Take the party WEST. Inside the colorful tent is a clockwork creation with a big wind-up key. Well, wind the key, and you are talking to TIKTOK (who is out of the THIRD book)! TAKE him along. You can head EAST back to the trees or SOUTH to a china wall.
There's not much to do here, but it's optional. STEP OVER the wall, and examine the residents of this land, but remember how fragile they are. Step over it again and head WEST to the gully.
In the Gully, the re's a lot of trouble. The leaderless animals are afraid tof something and in great debate. Unfortunately, they're conversing in their native tongues, and a human like you can't translate. Ask the Lion to TALK to them. The biggest tiger will tell him the problem. There's a nasty creature in the cave to the south. Well, head South. You'll meet up with the Spider From Hell. Tell the Lion to ATTACK THE SPIDER. The big kitty will dispatch the nasty bug. The rest of the animals carry you all on their backs and your Lion has a kingdom!' Head SOUTH towards Glinda's.
The Hill of Hammerheads, and the residents will not let you pass. Well open that music box, and everyone will fall asleep. That includes your party.all except Tiktok. Ask him to CARRY THE PARTY. Huzzah, you are at Glinda's!
Say "yes" to hear the story. Once, there was a good King of Oz who united the four lands. He died, leaving only a small son as heir. His sisters, who wanted to rule, studied the Dark Arts and became the East and West witches. At this point, the Wizard came, and managed to convince the people that he was the rightful ruler. He sent the child away to Mombi, and freaked out when you not only exposed him as a fraud, but brought the heir back to the city!
(The books presented another twist. In the books, the child was a girl bespelled to appear as a boy! Tip became Ozma, ruler of Oz. When Dorothy returned to Oz to stay, she became Ozma's best friend and chief advisor.)
Tip is crowned king, Jack is Mayor of Emerald City, Tiktok is the palace guard. Lion returns to the gully and his throne. Scarecrow becomes the Treasurer, Tinman becomes Commander in Chief of the Tin Soldiers.
Once your friends are seen to, Glinda asks you if you'd like to return home. Say "yes" and CLICK YOUR HEELS.
You are back in Kansas.You win.
This may be the end of the game, but not the end of Dorothy Gale's adventures. Please read the other books in the series. You'll not be disappointed.
