Emerald City Confidential is a point-and-clickadventure game created by Wadjet Eye Games and released in 2009.Petra is a Private Detective in a Darker and EdgierEmerald City. After a disastrous night involving destroyed evidence and a nasty confrontation with Lion, Petra is approached by a woman named Dee, who hires her to find her missing fiancé. However, as Petra delves deeper into the case, she becomes engrossed in a hunt for a magical MacGuffin and the struggle for power between the Ozians and the Phanfasms. As she travels throughout the different lands in Oz, Petra encounters some famous Oz residents, although they're not the same lovable characters you remember. At the same time, Petra is also driven by her need to find her little brother, who has been missing and presumed dead since the Phanfasm War.You can download the demo and purchase the game here.
This work provides examples of:
Ban on Magic: Type A2. Magic is banned for everyone except those who are licensed users typically working for Queen Ozma.
Betsy Bobbins refuses to speak with Petra in regards to Anzel.
Captain Bill is so drunk that he can't give a reliable account of the ship's explosion.
Although Petra offers to collaborate with Jinjur to investigate the explosion, Jinjur refuses to share any knowledge of the incident with Petra because she claims she doesn't need Petra's help.
Be Careful What You Wish For: All of the original Oz characters count. Lion's courage turns him into a corrupt political fixer, Scarecrow's knowledge turns him into a jaded advisor, and the Tin Man's heart turns him into an ineffective and bitter governor.
Beast Folk: The Phanfasms, who have animal heads, but human bodies.
Because Im Good At It: One of the justifications that Petra can give the Scarecrow as to why she is a private investigator.
Blackmail: Jack blackmailed Bill into smuggling magical items into Oz.
Car Cushion: Petra luckily falls into a passing Gump taxi when she slips Lion's ropes and falls from the bridge.
Clear Their Name: Because Jinjur is convinced that Bill is responsible for the ship explosion at the docks, Trot hires Petra to investigate who the real perpetrator is.
Colour Coded Characters: The residents of the different parts of Oz wear colors that are representative of their home city or country. This makes it easy to see who is a foreigner—for instance, the completely-dressed-in-green Petra in the middle of all yellow Winkie Country.
Crapsack World: Oz is run-down and riddled with crime and corruption, magic has been outlawed, and Oz is at threat from attack by the Phanfasms, since Oz's magical protection is out-of-balance due to the death of the four witches.
Crazy-Prepared: The only way you can beat Mombi on the first try is by obtaining these miscellaneous and completely unrelated items: the Heavy Cake, the Magic Rope, and (installing) the Copper Rod.
Dartboard of Hate: Petra's dartboard is a portrait of Ozma that the Ozians are required to hang in their homes.
Deadpan Snarker: Petra mostly, but everyone else has their moments, too.
Defeating the Undefeatable: Petra defeating Mombi in the ring. Mombi calls her out after the match for using parlor tricks rather than just magic to win.
Genre Shift: A relatively subtle one, beginning after Chapter 2. As more magic gets used, the story becomes less and less noir-ish. It even has a genuinely happy ending, which isn't noir-ish at all.
The Guards Must Be Crazy: Tik Tok leaves Petra unsupervised when he turns around to clean up the rotting food, allowing her to sneak out of her cell.
Heel Face Turn: Eventually happens when Cutter accesses the magical powers of the Spirit Rod and realizes he is William. This leads to him helping Petra to defeat the First and Foremost.
Hellhole Prison: The dungeon in the Emerald City palace, which has no windows, an uncomfortable bed, and tasteless mush for food.
Incredibly Lame Pun: Anzel, who's been transformed into a crystal decanter, remarks that, "I'd like to help you but I decant."
The Lady's Favour: Nimee Amee gives her locket to Nick Chopper. Deconstructed when he refuses it because it reminds him of their breakup, and he tells Petra to tell Nimee to stick the locket "where the sun don't shine."
Magic Mirror: Ozma's all-seeing mirror in the throne room. Petra tries to use it to find her brother William, but oddly, it shows her nothing.
Nice Hat: Petra's pillbox hat, which was originally a fedora. Jinjur's traditional army cap also counts.
No Yay: In universe example. In considering the UST between the Wizard and the now dead and ghostly Glinda, Petra exhibits this reaction.
Oddly Small Organization: The Ozian Royal Guard seems to consist entirely of Tik Tok and Jinjur. The Phanfasm nation only seems to have a few people too. It's assumed that there are more characters off-screen.
Off to See the Wizard: Emerald City Confidential plays with the canon from both the Oz films and books, casting Oz through a Film Noir lens.
Oh My Gods!: Characters swear by Lurline, a fairy queen whom fanon has apparently upgraded to goddess status.
Screw Learning, I Have Phlebotinum!: The knowledge pills at the university allow students to acquire knowledge on virtually any topic automatically, from elocution lessons to public records.
Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: Petra proves that she has limits when she refuses to get any more involved in obtaining illegal magical items, even though Dee offers to pay her more.
Shout Out: The busts of L Frank Baum and Dave Gilbert (the game creator) at the university.
Surveillance Station Slacker: Jinjur falls asleep next to the prison entrance, assuming that no one can be quiet enough to get past her. She doesn't count on Petra escaping when her footsteps are magically muted.
Suspiciously Specific Denial: Jack Pumpkinhead denies that he saw or heard anything before Petra even asks him a question about her investigation.
When Petra is first captured by Lion, she is suspended by her wrists from a bridge.
Also happens to Anzel, who is suspended by chains around his wrists in the Phanfasm prison.
Utopia Justifies the Means: To end the Phanfasm War, Ozma gave up Petra's little brother in a peace treaty between the Ozians and the Phanfasms. Deconstructed when Petra points out that instead of restoring balance to Oz, this has created a corrupt Crapsack World.
We Help The Helpless: One of the reasons that Petra can give the Scarecrow for having become a detective is that she wants to help those who no one else is willing to help.
We Meet Again/We Will Meet Again: Petra keeps running into Lion, and she eventually needs to ask for his help in order to become ambassador and travel to Phanfasm Island.
We Used To Be Friends: Petra and Jinjur seem to have this dynamic, with Jinjur being bitter because Petra abandoned her post and duties to find her missing brother, and Petra acting bitter because the guard never helped her search for him.
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