Game Review: Wonder Boy in Monster World

Game: Wonder Boy in Monster World
Console: Sega Master System
Developer: West One
Release Date: 1993

The best way to describe this version of Wonder Boy in Monster World seems to be as an RPG themed platformer, or action RPG. While the platforming isn't particularly difficult, it's mixed with RPG elements to make progression slightly less linear. The overall goal of the game is to rid the land of monsters by beating 5 bosses, each inhabiting a different part of the world. To do so players must find the correct NPCs to guide them in the boss's direction, buy upgrades for their equipment and fight through multiple screens of smaller enemies before reaching the bosses.

The game world features four main towns; Alsedo, Purapril, Lilypad and Begonia, as well as connecting areas such as a forest, desert, ice world and set of pyramids. Before completing areas there's usually only one way to get to them, but after they've been cleared shortcuts often open, allowing players faster travel between locations. At times it can be difficult to remember which shortcut leads to where, and I found myself wandering around lost a few times.

The game's controls are pretty simple; Button 1 is used to attack, while Button 2 is used to jump. The pause button on the console brings up the equip menu, which is a nice use of the feature even if it does mean having to stretch over to the console to press it. To use special attacks or items, players must press the up button in conjunction with Button 1 or 2. On the whole the game controls very well, although I have a few minor complaints of the general gameplay.

A lot of locations are hidden below the screen's visible area; unlike many video games where jumping down a hole spells death for characters, players are expected to explore below what's displayed. Also, when jumping the status bar at the top briefly disappears until players land. There doesn't seem to be any explanation for this, and it's a little distracting for player who are trying to make a precise jump.

As players progress through the game, they're able to gain more heart cases to increase their health, increase their attack, defence and speed points through buying new swords, armour and boots, and learn new magic spells which can be used to defeat enemies of any kind. While the equipment idea works well, and you're never short of money thanks to many enemies dropping stacks of cash, learning new magic spells seems a little pointless as the game can be completed by using just two of them, one of which you have from the start of the game.

I felt inclined to compare this game to the Legend Of Zelda series, as it features heart cases in the same style as heart containers from Zelda, there are treasure chests to be opened, and the whole platform style RPG was explored in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. While it's impossible to deny that some inspiration must have been taken from the Zelda series, the graphical style and overall gameplay varies enough to avoid being labelled a "Zelda clone".

The fighting featured in the game is pretty simplistic; there's a choice of 5 swords for use as weapons as well as a trident. When attacking players can swing the sword, lie on the floor and poke enemies with it, like a pool cue, or jump and swing the sword. It's entirely possible to kill and enemy and be hit at the same time, so a certain amount of technique must be applied. When players have got a shield equipped, they can defend against arrows or other attacks coming at them at a medium height.

Offensive magic usually auto targets enemies, and defensive magic such as the Shield magic protects players from being hit for a certain amount of time. At no point in the game did I have to use magic on enemies that weren't bosses, and once 6 or more heart cases had been collected, there wasn't really much need to use magic on bosses either; I can't remember a single boss in the game that I struggled to beat.

The overall difficulty of the game is pretty low considering that players can get passwords to continue from any point where an inn is accessible, and dying only results in being transported back to the last inn that was slept at. With a total playtime of around 3-5 hours, it's a pretty long game for the Master System which doesn't rely on difficulty to artificially extend play.

Graphically the game looks great for Master System, almost resembling 16-bit levels of detail on an 8-bit system. The enemies and bosses are very well presented, and each location has something to enjoy visually. The music of the game is catchy in places, but not overly memorable. My biggest complaint of it is that each time you reach another screen, or enter/exit a door, the music track resets, leading to a lot of repetition.

Overall Wonder Boy in Monster World is an interesting Master System game in that it's essentially a scaled down port of a Mega Drive game, but manages in its own way to be an enjoyable if slightly flawed experience. The story is a little cliche, and there are better platforming and RPG style games out there, but the blend of features work well together without the need for a complex level up system. I'd be interested to play the Mega Drive version and note the differences between the two, but honestly I doubt it'd change my opinion of the Master System game.

Rating: 72/100
Grade: C