Sega Vintage Collection: Monster World (Xbox 360 - XBLA, 1st completion)
As I did not grow up much with Sega consoles, the Wonder Boy and Monster World series was something I didn't give much thought to. The first game in the series I ever played was the arcade coin-op version of Wonder Boy in Monster Land while the second was the first Wonder Boy on the Sega Master System. I haven't really played any other games in the series after that for probably over 20 years as they were only an 8 and 16-bit staple of the time. Lately my interest in the series has come once I tried Dragon Curse on the TG-16 after being recommended by a YouTube gamer personality. I plan to play that game on the Wii Virtual Console very soon. Sega released a compilation of some of the Monster World games as part of their Sega Vintage Collection series under a decade ago. Either it was a free monthly download as part of my Xbox Live Gold membership or it was on sale, I got the collection for Xbox 360. The emulation was handled by M2 so no complaints there and you can use save/load states - which is a blessing given the difficulty of these games. But playing on an Xbox 360 controller can be frustrating and it's easy to damage the control pad. There was no point in downloading the game for my Xbox One and ruin my newer controller for that console but the games did add to the years of wear-and-tear on my 360 controller due to the nature of these games. The three games featured and reviewed are: Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World, and Monster World IV.
Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Graphics/Art-8
Sound/Music-9
Control-6
Gameplay-7
Fun/Story/Misc-7
Music Samples:
Monster Land
Town
Shop
Cave
Castle
Beach
Desert
Dragon Castle (this track is remixed in other series' titles)
Total: 37/50 (Grade Level: C+)
In the late 80's, I first played Wonder Boy in Monster Land in the upstairs arcade section of Chuck E. Cheese in Burnaby. Most times that I went, I played the game before it closed down in the mid-90's. Since I didn't have a Sega Master System, I couldn't play this game again until MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) was released and even then, didn't play it much. It's hard to say the last time I played it officially so if we go back to Chuck E. Cheese in Burnaby... around 25 years I'd say. I just remember liking the sidescrolling action platforming though it wasn't an easy game. Strangely, for some reason, beginning the game's first round on the arcade I played on showed the background sky as navy blue but in reality, the sky is light blue. I don't know if something was wrong with the monitor, was a hardware issue, or whatever. I've never forgot as minor details like that stayed with me when it came to gaming. I was excited to play this game in full on XBLA and feel like a kid again but then... found the game to be brutally difficult and not very forgiving! The colourful graphics and sprites still look good from 1987 and the music and sound effects are fun and nostalgic. While the controls are simple, Wonder Boy's movement is very stiff and tends to attack a little slow - a problem for may fast enemies who will smack into you. The game is divided into twelve levels, and each of them has its own unique features, items, monsters, and secrets. These levels include towns, valleys, deserts, islands, and castles. Scoring points whenever Wonder Boy defeats enemies and collects certain treasures, at certain point intervals Wonder Boy receives an additional life heart to his overall energy. He can earn gold throughout the game in order to purchase weapons, magic weapons, and other items in shops and rooms. Gold is obtained from enemies, while some are hidden in odd places such as trees and clouds. The game has an "Hourglass Timer" on the top of the screen; whenever the Hourglass Timer runs out, Wonder Boy loses some life. The Hourglass Timer can be refilled by collecting hourglasses or by visiting hospitals or taverns. Magic Weapons include bombs that roll on the ground, fireballs that fly through the air, small tornadoes that run on the ground and attack enemies, and "thunder flash" which damages all enemies on the screen. Throughout the game, you must investigate the surroundings through finding and entering doors. These doors contain shops where you can buy equipment, rooms which provide additional information needed in the quest, traps which contain powerful enemies, and exits to the next level which can be opened after finding a key. Some of the doors in the game are hidden and can only be found through trial and error. There are four types of shops throughout the game: boot shops allow you to buy boots which make Wonder Boy jump higher and run faster, armor shops contain armor which makes Wonder Boy incur less damage from enemy attacks, shield shops contain shields which allow him to repel fire from enemies, and magical shops allow you to purchase Magic Weapons. There are also various rooms in the game which you can enter and receive additional assistance in the quest: taverns where you can buy drinks and receive information from the bartender, Fortune Teller rooms where you may receive information about future events, and hospitals which allow you to refill your life meter and Hourglass Timer for a small price. Other rooms contain a boss in which you must defeat to get the key to the next level, to earn additional gold, or to upgrade to a more powerful sword. There are many items and treasures located throughout the game, some are hidden while others can be picked up from defeated enemies. A major complaint I have is that Wonder Boy lacks invincibility when he gets hit. Enemies can push you all over the place and add damage, making a lot of parts of the game frustrating to get through. It is very easy to be killed and while you get unlimited credits in this XBLA version, you start at the beginning of the stage when you continue. The plot of Wonder Boy in Monster Land follows the events after its predecessor, Wonder Boy. The game's main protagonist is a young boy named Bock Lee Temjin, in which his friends call him "Tom-Tom". In Wonder Boy Tom-Tom's girlfriend Tanya was kidnapped by the "evil King" and was taken to his woodland kingdom; Tom-Tom set out to the kingdom, defeated the evil King, and saved Tanya. Word spread throughout Wonder Land about Tom-Tom's quest, and people bestowed upon him the title of "Wonder Boy". Following the evil King's defeat, peace reigned over Wonder Land for eleven years. Then, one day, a fire-breathing dragon called the "MEKA dragon" appeared and terrorized the land. The people, helpless and not skilled in fighting, were defeated by him and his minions; they quickly took over the land, and Wonder Land became known as "Monster Land". The people send out Wonder Boy, now a teenager, as Wonder Land's only chance to defeat the monsters and demons who inhabited the land and to defeat the MEKA dragon. The deposed Mayor gives Wonder Boy a sword and a life potion and sets him on his way.
To see the entire game, go here or below:
Click to viewThe Wikipedia article for Wonder Boy in Monster Land is here.
Wonder Boy in Monster World
Graphics/Art-9
Sound/Music-9
Control-8
Gameplay-8
Fun/Story/Misc-8
Music Samples:
Beginning
Island
Village Theme 1
Boss Theme 1
Village Theme 2
Purapril Castle
Woods Theme 1
Under Ocean
Village Theme 3
Boss Theme 3
Sky Castle (remix of "Dragon Castle" above)
Last Dungeon
Total: 42/50 (Grade Level: B)
The 5th game in the Wonder Boy series and 3rd in the Monster World sub-series, Wonder Boy in Monster World was released in early 1992 for the Sega Genesis. I think I remember seeing the box of this game but didn't give it much thought as I didn't have a Genesis growing up and none of my friends did either. Kind of a shame as this was a pretty good game and would have enjoyed it back then. Wonder Boy In Monster World puts you in control of Shion in his quest to save Monster World from the evil BioMeka. The graphics and sprites are really good and colourful. The music had some good themes and the sound effects not bad either. It controls like your standard platform game: run, jump, crouch, and kill enemies. The game is filled with Adventure elements such as talking to townsfolk, collecting money to buy items, extending your life bar by collecting hearts, and equipping a large variety of armor, weapons and magic. Shion travels through the many interconnected regions of Monster World, all the while collecting increasingly powerful equipment in the form of many different swords, spears, shields, suits of armor, and boots. The game introduced a one slot save feature to save progress at inns throughout the game world. I had some good fun with this game and I think is the best out of the three featured in this collection.
To see the entire game, go here or below:
The Wikipedia article for Wonder Boy in Monster World is here.
Monster World IV
Graphics/Art-9
Sound/Music-9
Control-8
Gameplay-8
Fun/Story/Misc-8
Music Samples:
Overture
Over the Clouds
Main Theme
Stream Sanctuary
Long Distance
Kingdom of Rapadanga
Try the Trial
Heart of Icegrave
Cathedral
Fade Into Darkside
Total: 42/50 (Grade Level: B)
For 24 years, Monster World IV was the final game in the series until 2018's Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom for current consoles. The game only came out for the Japanese Sega Mega Drive in spring 1994 but I don't know why it wasn't published anywhere else at the time. It finally got localized and made available on the last generation of consoles as a download (Wii Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade, and Playstation Network) so gamers could play it. Years prior to its release, it was fan-translated into English and made available in the emulation scene. There is a big difference in the official and fan translation, I've noticed. Unlike previous games, the hero of the game is now a young female but is a descendant of the previous game's hero, Shion. The story involves a young girl named Asha, who upon hearing spirits whisper on the wind pleading for help, embarks on a journey to find and aid them. Along the way she becomes master of a genie and adopts a small monster known as Pepelogoo. The game is once again a mix of action-adventure, platforming and RPG genres. Expanding upon previous games in the series, Asha has the ability to swing her sword upward, downward, and across while in air, depending on which direction is pressed. She can also use her shield in a standing position by holding down on the control pad. Asha can summon her pet Pepelogoo to reach areas that she cannot on her own. By holding onto him, she can slow the descent of her jump (via his flying ability) or even perform a double-jump. Pepelogoo can also protect Asha from falling rocks, be used as a platform over lava geysers, and blow out fires that obstruct Asha's progress. Equipment upgrades are purchased in the hub town. Armor increases Asha's pink life heart meter. Shields increase her defense and give her stat defenses to certain elements, such as fire or ice. Swords increase Asha's attack stats with critical effects depending upon the sword. Some items cannot be purchased and must be found in the temples and caverns that Asha must explore. Healing medicine will restore Asha's health or bring her back to life if she has Pepelogoo. Gold bars can be traded with the rich lady in town for in-game currency. And finally, there are 150 life drops hidden throughout the game. Collecting ten will add a blue life heart to the life meter. A major complaint is that items can be permanently missed, and once an area's boss is defeated, that area is inaccessible for the rest of the game. Ummm... why can't you go back? Dumb rule. The graphics and sprites are very good and has some good music. Controls are still a little stiff but you can attack upwards and downwards while jumping - similar to Link's upstab and downstab in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. But pressing down to use your shield can get you into trouble, especially with an Xbox 360 controller! I find the four main levels in this game to be too long, and for the game to deny you the option to return to them to collect any missing life drops (I missed one in the Stream Sanctuary and while I knew where it was, the level wouldn't let me backtack), was an unnecessary thing to have. The use of Pepelogoo for jumping and environmental mechanics was kind of innovative and a different change of pace from the previous games. There is a more involved story but find the last battle and ending to be weak.
To see the entire game (note that this is the English fan-translated and non-official version), go here or below:
The Wikipedia article for Monster World IV is here.
Next Game: Lost in Shadow (Wii)
Currently playing: The World Ends with You (DS)