Battle for OzDorothy vs. Dorothy, home
Early access

Round one is live

Battle for Oz is a side-view retro fantasy fighting game: arcade tension, both films' looks, nothing graphic. The Phase 2 prototype is playable on this site: all eight fighters on the Yellow Brick Road with 33 moves each, in arcade, against the CPU, against a friend on the same keyboard or in training. The fighters are painted pose sheets, not final art. The illustration below is concept art, not a screenshot.

Status: Phase 2 prototype, playable now. Private prototype; fighter art is temporary.

Illustrated first-look concept of a fight between the two Dorothys on the Yellow Brick Road, with health bars and a 78-second timer
Illustrated first-look concept of a fight between the two Dorothys on the Yellow Brick Road, with health bars and a 78-second timerConcept illustration, not a screenshot

How it fights

  • Yellow Brick Power

    Each fighter's meter fills from landing hits, blocking and taking hits, with a bonus for counter hits, and carries over between rounds. Half a bar powers a level 1 super combo; a full bar powers her level 2 ultimate.

  • Real frame data

    Every move carries startup, active and recovery frames, damage, hitstun, blockstun, knockback, hitboxes, hurtboxes, meter gain and cancel rules. Hits resolve from collision geometry, and each animation lasts exactly as long as its move.

  • High, mid and low

    Neutral attacks hit mid, forward aims high, crouching hits low. Lows must be blocked crouching and overheads standing, throws beat a block and can be teched, and strings, cancels and juggles turn hits into combos.

  • A 60 Hz simulation

    Combat runs on a fixed 60 Hz timestep with integer math and a seeded random generator, separate from rendering. Both players' games stay identical frame for frame, which is what makes online rollback netcode possible.

  • Finish the Road

    Win the match on a K.O. and the road calls it: Finish the Road. The full theatrical finisher, a stage-themed pose or magical flourish, is still to come. Non-graphic, always. Nobody loses a limb in Oz.

Feel the controls

The prototype's default layout is in the table. The panel beside it uses the fighter cards' three-button notation (light, heavy, special): plug in the keyboard or a controller and try the motions from the roster.

Default controls
ActionKeyboardController
MoveWASD or arrowsD-pad or left stick
PunchJA / Cross
KickKB / Circle
SlapUY / Triangle
SpecialL, with a directionX / Square
GrabI, or J + K up closeRB / R1
BlockHold back, or OHold back, or LB
Super comboJ + L, half meterLT, or A + X
UltimateK + L, full meterRT, or B + X
Screenshot / record videoC / VStart, then the pause menu

Hold forward to aim high, crouch to hit low, and quarter circle forward with punch for the uppercut. Phones held sideways get a touch overlay: a d-pad plus punch, kick, slap, special, grab, block and both supers, with Screenshot and Record video in the pause menu.

Try a signature motion. Down, down-forward, forward, then L throws a Silver Heel Spark.

    This is an input tester for the control scheme, not the game. It runs on this page only.

    Modes

    Fight CPU In prototype
    Easy, Normal or Hard. The CPU reacts to what it sees after a human-like delay and never reads your inputs.
    Versus In prototype
    Two players on one keyboard, or a keyboard and controllers, with separate bindings.
    Online rooms In testing
    Share a five-letter code; the two browsers connect directly with rollback netcode. Needs a room server, which is not hosted yet.
    Arcade In prototype
    Pick a fighter, beat the other side's whole crew with their Dorothy last, and earn your ending. Continues included.
    Training In prototype
    Infinite health, a full-meter option, each move named as you do it, combo damage, input history, damage numbers, the hitbox overlay and a dummy that stands, crouches, jumps, blocks, jabs on a beat or fights.
    Promo Studio Planned
    Matchups, intros, replays and trailer presets, built from real gameplay only. Its first piece already works in every fight: a PNG screenshot or a WebM recording, tagged ACTUAL GAMEPLAY.

    The road to playable

    1. Phase 1: Vertical slice

      Both Dorothys, one arena, real hitboxes, health, timer, CPU, keyboard, controller and touch. Local versus, training and online rooms (beta) came with it.

      Prototype built

    2. Phase 2: The roster

      All eight fighters with 33 moves each, two-pick character select, signature specials, ultimates, command grabs, Toto and intros, plus arcade mode.

      Prototype built

    3. Phase 3: Visual polish

      Approved final art. A first pass is in: all eight fighters are drawn from painted pose sheets with every move animated, plus the stage, HUD, hit effects and super cinematics.

      Up next

    4. Phase 4: Modes

      Replays and a hosted room server for online play. Arcade shipped with Phase 2; local versus, CPU difficulty and training with Phase 1.

      Planned

    5. Phase 5: Promo engine

      Matchup cards, replays and trailer presets inside the game. Capture is in: C saves a 1280x720 PNG and V a WebM of real gameplay, each with an ACTUAL GAMEPLAY tag burned in. Recording has only been tried in Chrome, and an MP4 means converting a recording offline with FFmpeg.

      Planned

    6. Phase 6: QA

      Over 1,000 combat unit tests and browser tests for menus, fights, KO, every move, mobile and export are in; a wider device pass comes later.

      Planned
    Play it now

    Private prototype. Fighter art is temporary.