Wonderboy in Monster World review - Sega Megadrive

I was quite disappointed with Wonderboy in Monster Land when we got the Japanese version in a couple of months ago. It's quite easy to see why, now, as the masses of Japanese text meant that a lot of important clues were overlooked and the game was rendered completely unplayable. As you may expect, the official English version doesn't have this problem, so how does it fare against the multitude of other Megadrive platform games? To start with, the graphics are nice, the sprites and backgrounds are highly coloured and detailed, although the animation leaves something to be desired. The sound is laughably limp with a pseudo-tune lisping its way along to the accompaniment of some weak effects. Fortunately Wonderboy is very playable. The platform element is quite simplistic when placed against the likes of, say Sonic or Robocod, but the puzzle/role-playing elements are absorbing and enjoyable. Wonderboy is also pretty big, you're certainly going to need the battery back-up if you want to complete the game. If you're a bit bored of the same old platform stuff or you don't want a full-blown RPG, Wonderboy is a recommended purchase.

Although the graphics aren't brilliant and the sound falls woefully short of the standards you'd normally expect from the Megadrive, Wonderboy in Monster Land is both absorbing and addictive - all thanks to the marvellous playability. The challenging platform action and the tricky but logical puzzles combine together with the game's enormous size to give massive depth of gameplay. There's tons to discover, and the game's manu original features and novel concepts keep you playing just to see what's around the next corner. If you're looking for a platform game that'll keep you playing for weeks rather than days, this should be put at the top of your list.

I picked this up quite a while after it was released officially for next to nothing, and to be perfectly honest I wasn't expecting a great deal from it. Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised. Behind the simplistic visuals and crude audio is a neat little action-RPG. If you've played Wonderboy III: Dragon's Trap on the Master System you will know what to expect. The RPG elements are slight, but they're enough to elevate this above other platformers. Being able to purchase additional weapons and armour for your character is a nice touch, and the puzzles succeed in taxing your brain - but not too much thankfully, as that would spoil the enjoyment. The quest is pretty big too, which means you'll get a fair few weeks worth of entertainment.

If you have a PC Engine CD-ROM you could do a lot worse than check out a game called 'Dynastic Hero', which is basically Wonderboy in Monsterworld but with different character sprites (something to do with Sega owning the Wonderboy name - the actual programming duties were handled by a company called Westone). Although the gameplay is pretty much the same, the CD music is gorgeous.