The original Wonder Boy arcade game was very popular in the UK. It was one of the first arcade games I played. When i played it on my beloved Master System, it really did feel like having the arcade at home.
I'm glad to have found this great overview of the series! Excellent work. WBML was my first ever game rental on the Master System, and my appreciation for it is deep. Borrowing WB3 from a friend was a life changing experience - I never had an unhurried exploration game before that. These days, my son and daughter can enjoy the Collection, Asha, Monster Boy and the beautiful Dragon's Trap remake on the Switch. I also recently printed a sprite sheet from WBML for my son to reference in his current enemy and boss design frenzy. Cheers!
Great review. My first game was WBIMW for the Genesis but in the past few years I've been trying out other games in the series and I haven't regretted it.
Really hoping to play some of these hopefully in the near future. Specifically the Master System titles. The newer ones look great as well, but I like starting from the beginning. Great video!
It's crazy how many good series I missed out on as a kid. I had Sega genesis but I never played any of the Wonder boy games, I had all the Sonic when it came to platformers and I thought they were basically the same. My cousin's had it NES and SNES but they didn't have mega Man they had super Mario and I figured as a young kid that they were basically the same. And for Castlevania I only ever played a little of the first one on NES and it was just way too hard for me I progress very far. So I never realized how much variation and how many mechanics these three game series featured above Sonic and Mario's very simple gameplay.
I love the Wonder Boy series on the Master System and Genesis. I will say the first one can't hold my interest for more than a minute. It actually blows when compared to the follow-ups.
I played the 1st game in the arcades when I was like 8 or 9. It was really hard; I’d call it a coin guzzler 😂 Then a couple of years later I played wonder boy in monster land on my Amiga 500. Still one of my favorites. I played it again like 10 years ago on ps3 & even wrote a guide for it. Like you said if you memorize where everything is & which route to go it isn’t so hard. Being older and more experienced I could easily complete it in like 5 hours. I am now playing monster boy on ps4. Truly amazing game.
Great retrospective. Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap will always be my favorite in the series, as it's also my favorite game of all time. I agree regarding Monster Land. It is NOT fun in comparison to the other titles...it feels unforgivingly hard with the hour glass mechanic, especially the last dungeon, where going the wrong way, or battling the controls to make a precise jump from one sinking block to another can lead to you having to repeat portions of the castle again and again. I wish Sega/Westone/Anyone would create new games for this series...it's truly one of the best.
While watching this I was beginning to think Shantae was quite similar, and the. You mentioned this later at the end, may this is why I’m a fan of Shantae! Wonder Boy Dragon’s Trap is one of my favourite titles!
This was a fun video! One of my fave series, with the best games to me being WB3/MW2, Monster Boy and MW4. Still hoping there's a sequel to Monster Boy at some point. Monster Lair isn't that bad to me, pretty fun 2-player game if a bit repetitive and the length is more appropriate in the home ports.
Personally, I always thought DT was kinda overrated. It's a good and fun game for sure. But I played Monster World first and Dragon's Trap always felt kinda small in comparison to it. The transformations were fun, but I always thought Monster World did pretty much everything else better. Personally for me, Monster World and Monster Boy are the best games in the franchise.
Speaking of Wonder Boy clones... Tec Toy, from Brazil, made 3 games about "Turma da Mônica", a children comic book character. They are: - Mônica no Castelo do Dragão (Wonder Boy in Monster Land) - Turma da Mônica em O Resgate (Wonder Boy III) - Turma da Mônica na Terra dos Monstros (Wonder Boy in Monster World)
Monster Boy The Cursed Kingdom is so good. I was quite disappointed when I saw that the remake of Wonder Boy: Asha was not made by the same company (Game Atelier). it feel really cheap ahah.
I can follow and distinguish all the Ys games and their remakes, all the Dragon Slayer and Legend of Heroes games, and even the Final Fantasy/SaGa/Mana spin-offs. Wonder Boy doesn't nearly have as much games as all these franchises, and they still manage to confuse the hell out of me; like for example that there are two distinct Wonder Boy III's, but no Wonder Boy IV, but a Wonder Boy V and Monster World IV. Like, what the actual?
Wonderboy in monster world, me and my brother were 38 and 36 got it for Xmas. Hated it we were stuck in the pre net days at the ocarina part. Then after a year we figured it out and stuck with it. What a game. I’m so happy they are all getting re-releases and remake this series deserves it.
@@neverchris I know its a matter of opinions bro, and I respect yours but definitely dont agree with it. For me (and many others) it's one of the best games in the system
Great video, The Wonder Boy series is one of my all time favourites. I used to have Wonder Boy in Monster Land on the Master System as a kid. I have never once finished the game, in fact the furthest I got in Lonster Land was when I got the Wonder Boy Collection on the PS5 but I have still not finished. The only game I have ever finished in the series is Wonder Boy III: The Dragons Trap on the Game Gear. I have every release via The Wonder Boy Collection, Wonder Boy Asha In Monster World, and Wonder Boy Returns Remix.
I remember that I get the Wonder Boy : The Dragon's Trap remake in EGS on a giveaway like all games there, accidently. But when I played it, yep that's definetly 10/10 game, I replayed it on my phone even and original 1989 game as well.
if i were to make the next Wonder Boy game... It will take notes from warioland 3, as the New Hero will Mainly use a Hammer, and also this new Hero's another Girl, named Beatrix, set on a adventure to stop a Evil being known as the Masked Skull, hence the name. Monster World: Slam-Hammer!
Maybe as an honorable mention, the Tomba! games could also be considered a Wonder Boy clone, I mean I think there’s an argument to be made there (Main character a cave man-boy similar to WB1 and Adventure Island and the Pig enemies looking similar to the Smoking Pig.)
Great video with thorough detail Gotta be honest though - I feel like while the Anniversary Edition MAY be quite impressive the fact that it doesn't include ALL the content from Wonder Boy Returns Remix + Wonder Boy - Asha in Monster World - Remix seems 'cheap' to me :-(
On a whim i downloaded monsterboy and the cursed kingdom off ps plus. Didn't really know what to expect. I thought it was pretty amazing. At first I it was a decent platformer with good graphics and then it really opens up and you realize just how huge it is and it becomes pretty difficult. I felt alone of super Mario bros and Zelda influence but it seemed like it was purposeful. I mean you have to get an ocarina at one point. I totally get the metroid reference as well. Instead of unlocking new areas when acquiring new weapons, you unlock them by getting a new monster form. Definitely recommend and I really want to go back and check out the other games.
The ocarina instrument (and the pixel art sequence accompanying it) was a direct reference back to Wonder Boy in Monster World, which features the same ocarina as a puzzle solving tool and actually slightly predates the first Zelda game with an ocarina, so that specific thing definitely isn't a Zelda reference. But yeah, I think the structure of Dragon's Trap (and by extension Monster Boy) was influenced by Metroid for sure, and some of the more creative puzzle areas (particularly the haunted mansion) gave me a Zelda vibe as well.
@@barleybap9528 Closest games to Dragon's Trap-style Wonder Boy games in terms of gameplay style and structure would have to be some of the Shantae game. Risky's Revenge and Pirate's Curse especially, even down to some of the climbing animations. Of course I know Shantae came much later, but I do think the franchise takes heavy inspiration from the Wonder Boy games.
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap is a masterpiece.
Monster lair was also released for the PCE CD, and Wonder boy V was also released for the SMS/GG and PCE CD.
The original Wonder Boy arcade game was very popular in the UK. It was one of the first arcade games I played. When i played it on my beloved Master System, it really did feel like having the arcade at home.
I'm glad to have found this great overview of the series! Excellent work.
WBML was my first ever game rental on the Master System, and my appreciation for it is deep. Borrowing WB3 from a friend was a life changing experience - I never had an unhurried exploration game before that.
These days, my son and daughter can enjoy the Collection, Asha, Monster Boy and the beautiful Dragon's Trap remake on the Switch. I also recently printed a sprite sheet from WBML for my son to reference in his current enemy and boss design frenzy. Cheers!
Great review. My first game was WBIMW for the Genesis but in the past few years I've been trying out other games in the series and I haven't regretted it.
I'm a huge Wonderboy series fan. Great video! Ratings were spot on! I didn't know about the MW IV remake.
Wonderboy in Monster Land Arcade is MY first choise if I have 30 mins to kill. Nostalgia is a big factor here.
Really hoping to play some of these hopefully in the near future. Specifically the Master System titles. The newer ones look great as well, but I like starting from the beginning. Great video!
Thanks! I know I always like to start from the begging as well when trying out a new series.
It's crazy how many good series I missed out on as a kid. I had Sega genesis but I never played any of the Wonder boy games, I had all the Sonic when it came to platformers and I thought they were basically the same.
My cousin's had it NES and SNES but they didn't have mega Man they had super Mario and I figured as a young kid that they were basically the same.
And for Castlevania I only ever played a little of the first one on NES and it was just way too hard for me I progress very far.
So I never realized how much variation and how many mechanics these three game series featured above Sonic and Mario's very simple gameplay.
Great video, the exact kind of summary on the series I was looking for.
Aggelos for the PS4 pays homage to the Wonderboy games. I've yet to play it, but the reviews I've seen look amazing
No mention of Aggelos? Very Wonder Boy 3 inspired.
Wow, it does look a lot like Wonder Boy. I'll definitely give it a try.
Funny thing, I’m a huge fan of the series and my name is Aggelos!
Do you think they were inspired by me? 😂
Dragons trap is what i first played
So nostalgic
Loved it
Your opinion on Monster World 4 is fantastic, I'll be real!
I love the Wonder Boy series on the Master System and Genesis. I will say the first one can't hold my interest for more than a minute. It actually blows when compared to the follow-ups.
There was an SG-1000 port of the original Wonderboy as well. I think it was the first home version.
I played the 1st game in the arcades when I was like 8 or 9.
It was really hard; I’d call it a coin guzzler 😂
Then a couple of years later I played wonder boy in monster land on my Amiga 500.
Still one of my favorites. I played it again like 10 years ago on ps3 & even wrote a guide for it. Like you said if you memorize where everything is & which route to go it isn’t so hard.
Being older and more experienced I could easily complete it in like 5 hours.
I am now playing monster boy on ps4. Truly amazing game.
Love the Monster Land, Dragon's Trap, Monster World, and Monster Boy.
Great retrospective. Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap will always be my favorite in the series, as it's also my favorite game of all time. I agree regarding Monster Land. It is NOT fun in comparison to the other titles...it feels unforgivingly hard with the hour glass mechanic, especially the last dungeon, where going the wrong way, or battling the controls to make a precise jump from one sinking block to another can lead to you having to repeat portions of the castle again and again.
I wish Sega/Westone/Anyone would create new games for this series...it's truly one of the best.
While watching this I was beginning to think Shantae was quite similar, and the. You mentioned this later at the end, may this is why I’m a fan of Shantae! Wonder Boy Dragon’s Trap is one of my favourite titles!
This was a fun video! One of my fave series, with the best games to me being WB3/MW2, Monster Boy and MW4. Still hoping there's a sequel to Monster Boy at some point.
Monster Lair isn't that bad to me, pretty fun 2-player game if a bit repetitive and the length is more appropriate in the home ports.
How good is the dragon's trap when it came out for the master system?
Personally, I always thought DT was kinda overrated. It's a good and fun game for sure. But I played Monster World first and Dragon's Trap always felt kinda small in comparison to it. The transformations were fun, but I always thought Monster World did pretty much everything else better. Personally for me, Monster World and Monster Boy are the best games in the franchise.
@@thenonexistinghero you're probably right. I have a lot of nostalgia for dragon's trap. First game ever beat.
Speaking of Wonder Boy clones...
Tec Toy, from Brazil, made 3 games about "Turma da Mônica", a children comic book character.
They are:
- Mônica no Castelo do Dragão (Wonder Boy in Monster Land)
- Turma da Mônica em O Resgate (Wonder Boy III)
- Turma da Mônica na Terra dos Monstros (Wonder Boy in Monster World)
Monster Boy The Cursed Kingdom is so good. I was quite disappointed when I saw that the remake of Wonder Boy: Asha was not made by the same company (Game Atelier). it feel really cheap ahah.
I got into Monster Boy from watching a person speed run it on Games Done Quick. ^_^
I can follow and distinguish all the Ys games and their remakes, all the Dragon Slayer and Legend of Heroes games, and even the Final Fantasy/SaGa/Mana spin-offs. Wonder Boy doesn't nearly have as much games as all these franchises, and they still manage to confuse the hell out of me; like for example that there are two distinct Wonder Boy III's, but no Wonder Boy IV, but a Wonder Boy V and Monster World IV. Like, what the actual?
Super Adventure Island II really tries hard to be Monster World on the SNES
Wonderboy in monster world, me and my brother were 38 and 36 got it for Xmas. Hated it we were stuck in the pre net days at the ocarina part. Then after a year we figured it out and stuck with it. What a game. I’m so happy they are all getting re-releases and remake this series deserves it.
a 5/10 for wb in monster land, I dont need to see this vid any longer
Hey now... 5 out of 10 is average...
@@neverchris I know its a matter of opinions bro, and I respect yours but definitely dont agree with it. For me (and many others) it's one of the best games in the system
@@FliskFLask fair enough
Not gonna lie, Shion will always have my heart. Monster World 3 for me
Great video, The Wonder Boy series is one of my all time favourites. I used to have Wonder Boy in Monster Land on the Master System as a kid. I have never once finished the game, in fact the furthest I got in Lonster Land was when I got the Wonder Boy Collection on the PS5 but I have still not finished.
The only game I have ever finished in the series is Wonder Boy III: The Dragons Trap on the Game Gear. I have every release via The Wonder Boy Collection, Wonder Boy Asha In Monster World, and Wonder Boy Returns Remix.
Thanks!
Not counting the Japanese releases of Super Mario Bros. 3, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap and TMNT Arcade were the best games of the 1980's.
I remember that I get the Wonder Boy : The Dragon's Trap remake in EGS on a giveaway like all games there, accidently.
But when I played it, yep that's definetly 10/10 game, I replayed it on my phone even and original 1989 game as well.
Amen. This series would have been a mainstay on Nintendo. Sega threw away many great IPs
if i were to make the next Wonder Boy game... It will take notes from warioland 3, as the New Hero will Mainly use a Hammer, and also this new Hero's another Girl, named Beatrix, set on a adventure to stop a Evil being known as the Masked Skull, hence the name. Monster World: Slam-Hammer!
No love for the Master System port of Monster World 3? 😔
Strongly disagree with your WB2 judgement.
Maybe as an honorable mention, the Tomba! games could also be considered a Wonder Boy clone, I mean I think there’s an argument to be made there (Main character a cave man-boy similar to WB1 and Adventure Island and the Pig enemies looking similar to the Smoking Pig.)
Great video with thorough detail
Gotta be honest though - I feel like while the Anniversary Edition MAY be quite impressive the fact that it doesn't include ALL
the content from Wonder Boy Returns Remix + Wonder Boy - Asha in Monster World - Remix seems 'cheap' to me :-(
The SG-1000 version... so bad it couldn't even make this list XD
You have to mention Monica.
What? No 'Aggelos'?
Classic game!!
Mknster land is by far the best one
takahashi meijin no bouken shima IV
Hate when young people review RETRO games! Monster land sms version RULES!
WICKED!!
Cool channel
+1 sudscriber👍
So confusing..
Maple story did not copy wonderboy keep dreaming.I played the original maple story it was not similar in any way
On a whim i downloaded monsterboy and the cursed kingdom off ps plus. Didn't really know what to expect. I thought it was pretty amazing. At first I it was a decent platformer with good graphics and then it really opens up and you realize just how huge it is and it becomes pretty difficult. I felt alone of super Mario bros and Zelda influence but it seemed like it was purposeful. I mean you have to get an ocarina at one point. I totally get the metroid reference as well. Instead of unlocking new areas when acquiring new weapons, you unlock them by getting a new monster form. Definitely recommend and I really want to go back and check out the other games.
The ocarina instrument (and the pixel art sequence accompanying it) was a direct reference back to Wonder Boy in Monster World, which features the same ocarina as a puzzle solving tool and actually slightly predates the first Zelda game with an ocarina, so that specific thing definitely isn't a Zelda reference. But yeah, I think the structure of Dragon's Trap (and by extension Monster Boy) was influenced by Metroid for sure, and some of the more creative puzzle areas (particularly the haunted mansion) gave me a Zelda vibe as well.
@@barleybap9528 Closest games to Dragon's Trap-style Wonder Boy games in terms of gameplay style and structure would have to be some of the Shantae game. Risky's Revenge and Pirate's Curse especially, even down to some of the climbing animations. Of course I know Shantae came much later, but I do think the franchise takes heavy inspiration from the Wonder Boy games.
@@thenonexistinghero I'll try play a couple of Shantae games sometime!