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.