Difference between revisions of "Wonder Boy in Monster World"

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[[Image:Wonder Boy In Monster World - GEN - USA.jpg|thumb|256x256px|North American box art.]]
 
[[Image:Wonder Boy In Monster World - GEN - USA.jpg|thumb|256x256px|North American box art.]]
  
'''''Wonder Boy In Monster World''''' is a platform action adventure game developed by [[Westone]] and published by [[Sega]] on 1991-10-25 for the [[Genesis]]. It is the fifth game in the [[Wonder Boy (Universe)|Wonder Boy series]].
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'''''Wonder Boy In Monster World''''' is a platform action adventure game developed by [[Westone]] and published by [[Sega]] on 1991-10-25 for the [[Genesis]]. It is the fifth game in the [[Wonder Boy (Universe)|Wonder Boy series]] and a very well-made [[Metroidvania]].
  
 
The game exists in four fairly different versions. The original Mega Drive/Genesis release, a [[Master System]] port which had various aspects cut to fit into a smaller ROM, a TurboGrafx-CD port which replaced the soundtrack and a lot of the graphics, and a special Brazil port which redid the graphics to fit a Brazilian children's comic strip.
 
The game exists in four fairly different versions. The original Mega Drive/Genesis release, a [[Master System]] port which had various aspects cut to fit into a smaller ROM, a TurboGrafx-CD port which replaced the soundtrack and a lot of the graphics, and a special Brazil port which redid the graphics to fit a Brazilian children's comic strip.
  
I discovered this game while looking for older Metroidvania games I missed out on in the earlier days of the genre.
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==Personal==
 +
I discovered this game while looking for older Metroidvania games I missed out on in the earlier days of the genre. After playing it, I found it to be quite amazing, one of the best of the era.
  
 
==Status==
 
==Status==
I don't own this game. I'm currently playing it on Genesis.
+
I don't own this game, but I first beat it on 2018-12-10.
  
 
==Review==
 
==Review==
* '''Overall:''' ?/10
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{{Video Game Review|8|7|9|5|7|Genesis}}
* '''Best Version:'''
+
 
 +
{{Spoilers}}
  
 
===Good===
 
===Good===
* The cartoon artwork and detailed background graphics are fantastic.
+
* The cartoon artwork and detailed background graphics are phenomenal. The game make really good use of parallax scrolling.
* The character design and animation is wonderful. I especially love the death animation for monsters and the large attractive boss sprites.
+
* The character design and animation is fantastic. I especially love the death animation for monsters and the large attractive boss sprites.
* The game has a lot of hidden chests to collect.
+
* The game has a lot of hidden chests to find for those players who search long enough.
* Although I'm not a huge fan of the soundtrack, I recognize that it is well-composed and fitting to the game.
+
* Although I'm not a huge fan of the soundtrack, I recognize that [[Shinichi Sakamoto]] composed it to nicely fit the game.
 +
* There are lots of little graphic quirks that add to the game. Your player sprite updates as you equip better weapons and shields, heat emanates from fireplaces, the menus are well drawn, etc.
 
* The indoor cut-aways are a good design.
 
* The indoor cut-aways are a good design.
* As you buy better weapons and shields, your player sprite updates to match which is a good touch.
 
 
* The sidekicks are a fun addition. They're mostly useless, but Priscilla's animation where she smacks enemies with her wand is hilarious.
 
* The sidekicks are a fun addition. They're mostly useless, but Priscilla's animation where she smacks enemies with her wand is hilarious.
* There are lots of little graphic quirks that add to the game like heat emanating from fireplaces.
+
* The ending sequence recap is quite nice.
  
 
===Bad===
 
===Bad===
* Unless you spend a lot of time searching for the hidden power-ups, the game will be really hard. Unfortunately, a lot of the power-ups are hidden really well.
+
* Unless you spend a lot of time searching for the hidden power-ups, the game will be really hard, and several of the hidden treasures are hidden really well.
* Most of the bosses are really easy to beat. In my first play-through of the game, I encountered bosses with very few hit points remaining, but still ended up winning because they were to easy to defeat.
+
* Most of the bosses are really easy to beat. In my first play-through of the game, I was usually really low on hit points by the time I reached the bosses, but still ended up winning.
 
* The dialog saying how much gold you picked up covers up a lot of the screen. It isn't necessary at all, but a simple sprite would have been less-obtrusive.
 
* The dialog saying how much gold you picked up covers up a lot of the screen. It isn't necessary at all, but a simple sprite would have been less-obtrusive.
 
* I don't like being told, every time I want to buy something, that I "have a discerning eye."
 
* I don't like being told, every time I want to buy something, that I "have a discerning eye."
* The game's documentation is pretty bad. The box art is horrible for pretty much every region and port. The game's manual is quite dry, and though it gives very detailed instructions on how to play, it has only a couple paragraphs of story and almost no art. The title is also stupid. I wonder how many more units could have been sold with better marketing.
+
* All of the game's documentation is pretty bad. The box art is horrible for pretty much every region and port. The game's manual, though it gives very detailed instructions on how to play, is very dry and has only a couple paragraphs of story and almost no art. The title is also stupid. I wonder how many more units could have been sold with better marketing.
 +
* Near the end of the game you get tons of gold with nothing to spend it on (unless you want the charm stone upgrade, but, by this time it's pretty useless).
 +
* The game doesn't let you change your equipped items when you're moving, but if you're stuck in a corner taking damage from a monster, you don't stop moving, so you can never change items or use them.
 +
* The final boss is annoyingly difficult. It's not just that he's hard to defeat, but he's unfairly hard. In his second form, there are so many things on the screen, it become extremely difficult to even avoid getting hit, let alone make precision attacks.
  
 
===Ugly===
 
===Ugly===
* The moving platform puzzle above the dragon room in the Dark Castle is really annoying. It would have been annoying even if you didnt have to defeat the dragon every time.
+
* The moving platform puzzle above the dragon room in the Dark Castle is really annoying. It would have been annoying even if you didn't have to defeat the dragon every time.
  
 
==Media==
 
==Media==
 
===Boxes===
 
===Boxes===
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
Wonder Boy In Monster World - GEN - Japan.jpg|The original Japanese box uses chibi art which fits the in-game style, but looks quite childish. It's my favorite cover, but even it isn't very good.
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Wonder Boy In Monster World - GEN - Japan.jpg|The original Japanese box uses chibi art of Shion and his side-kicks. It fits the in-game style, but looks pretty childish. It's my favorite cover, but I still don't like it much.
Wonder Boy In Monster World - GEN - USA.jpg|This box was used for North America. Europe used the same art with a slightly different graphics layout. Although the art does a decent job or portraying the game, it's so awful it no doubt prevent a lot of sales. But don't judge a book by its terrible cover.
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Wonder Boy In Monster World - GEN - USA.jpg|This box was used for North America. Europe used the same art with a slightly different graphic layout. Although the art does a decent job or portraying the game, it's so awful I'm sure it affected sales. But don't judge a book by its terrible cover.
 
Wonder Boy In Monster World - SMS - USA.jpg|The Master System port, although a bit different from the Genesis game, uses the same art.
 
Wonder Boy In Monster World - SMS - USA.jpg|The Master System port, although a bit different from the Genesis game, uses the same art.
 
Wonder Boy In Monster World - TGCD - Japan.jpg|The PC Engine Super CD-ROM2 System port changed the game's graphics and the odd cover art reflects that.
 
Wonder Boy In Monster World - TGCD - Japan.jpg|The PC Engine Super CD-ROM2 System port changed the game's graphics and the odd cover art reflects that.
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==Links==
 
==Links==
* [https://www.mobygames.com/game/wonder-boy-in-monster-world mobygames.com/game/wonder-boy-in-monster-world] - MobyGames.
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{{Link|MobyGames|https://www.mobygames.com/game/wonder-boy-in-monster-world}}
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Boy_in_Monster_World en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Boy_in_Monster_World] - Wikipedia.
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{{Link|Wikipedia|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Boy_in_Monster_World}}
  
  
 
[[Category: Games]]
 
[[Category: Games]]
 
[[Category: Video Games]]
 
[[Category: Video Games]]
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[[Category: 1991 Video Games]]
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[[Category: Video Game Prime Order - Adventure, Action, Strategy]]
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[[Category: Video Game Genre - Metroidvania]]
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[[Category: Game Mechanic - Boss Rush]]
 
[[Category: Genesis Games]]
 
[[Category: Genesis Games]]
 
[[Category: Master System Games]]
 
[[Category: Master System Games]]
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[[Category: Action]]
 
[[Category: Action]]
 
[[Category: Adventure]]
 
[[Category: Adventure]]
[[Category: Metroidvania]]
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[[Category: Trope - Damsel In Distress]]
 
[[Category: Favorite]]
 
[[Category: Favorite]]
 
[[Category: Favorite Games]]
 
[[Category: Favorite Games]]
 +
[[Category: Games I've Beaten]]

Revision as of 15:30, 6 April 2020

Wonder Boy In Monster World is a platform action adventure game developed by Westone and published by Sega on 1991-10-25 for the Genesis. It is the fifth game in the Wonder Boy series and a very well-made Metroidvania.

The game exists in four fairly different versions. The original Mega Drive/Genesis release, a Master System port which had various aspects cut to fit into a smaller ROM, a TurboGrafx-CD port which replaced the soundtrack and a lot of the graphics, and a special Brazil port which redid the graphics to fit a Brazilian children's comic strip.

Personal

I discovered this game while looking for older Metroidvania games I missed out on in the earlier days of the genre. After playing it, I found it to be quite amazing, one of the best of the era.

Status

I don't own this game, but I first beat it on 2018-12-10.

Review

Video Game Review Icon - Enjoyment.png Video Game Review Icon - Control.png Video Game Review Icon - Appearance.png Video Game Review Icon - Sound.png Video Game Review Icon - Replayability.png
8 7 9 5 7

Best Version: Genesis

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

  • The cartoon artwork and detailed background graphics are phenomenal. The game make really good use of parallax scrolling.
  • The character design and animation is fantastic. I especially love the death animation for monsters and the large attractive boss sprites.
  • The game has a lot of hidden chests to find for those players who search long enough.
  • Although I'm not a huge fan of the soundtrack, I recognize that Shinichi Sakamoto composed it to nicely fit the game.
  • There are lots of little graphic quirks that add to the game. Your player sprite updates as you equip better weapons and shields, heat emanates from fireplaces, the menus are well drawn, etc.
  • The indoor cut-aways are a good design.
  • The sidekicks are a fun addition. They're mostly useless, but Priscilla's animation where she smacks enemies with her wand is hilarious.
  • The ending sequence recap is quite nice.

Bad

  • Unless you spend a lot of time searching for the hidden power-ups, the game will be really hard, and several of the hidden treasures are hidden really well.
  • Most of the bosses are really easy to beat. In my first play-through of the game, I was usually really low on hit points by the time I reached the bosses, but still ended up winning.
  • The dialog saying how much gold you picked up covers up a lot of the screen. It isn't necessary at all, but a simple sprite would have been less-obtrusive.
  • I don't like being told, every time I want to buy something, that I "have a discerning eye."
  • All of the game's documentation is pretty bad. The box art is horrible for pretty much every region and port. The game's manual, though it gives very detailed instructions on how to play, is very dry and has only a couple paragraphs of story and almost no art. The title is also stupid. I wonder how many more units could have been sold with better marketing.
  • Near the end of the game you get tons of gold with nothing to spend it on (unless you want the charm stone upgrade, but, by this time it's pretty useless).
  • The game doesn't let you change your equipped items when you're moving, but if you're stuck in a corner taking damage from a monster, you don't stop moving, so you can never change items or use them.
  • The final boss is annoyingly difficult. It's not just that he's hard to defeat, but he's unfairly hard. In his second form, there are so many things on the screen, it become extremely difficult to even avoid getting hit, let alone make precision attacks.

Ugly

  • The moving platform puzzle above the dragon room in the Dark Castle is really annoying. It would have been annoying even if you didn't have to defeat the dragon every time.

Media

Boxes

Documentation

Maps

Videos

Titles

Language Native Transliteration Translation
English Wonder Boy In Monster World
Japanese (Mega Drive) ワンダーボーイⅤ モンスターワールドⅢ Wanda Boi V Monsuta Warudo III Wonder Boy V: Monster World III
Japanese (PC Engine CD) 超英雄伝説ダイナスティックヒーロー Cho Hideo Densetsu Dainasutikku Hiro Super Hero Legend: Dynastic hero

Links

Link-MobyGames.png  Link-Wikipedia.png