I played this in tandem with the original and while the game is largely the same, there are a few quality of life enhancements in this remake, namely the ability to save whenever you want. You can replay past dungeons but after a certain points, Life Drops become unobtainable regardless so this is more of a 'perfect the game as you go' kind of addition. Beyond that, some of the character animation is stiff but Asha now has three additional butt wiggling animations for opening chests so it all balances out nicely.

(This review assumes you're familiar with the source material and will mostly be comparing and highlighting gameplay differences)

I'm sure I'll catch a little heat for saying this, but I actually found myself enjoying this remake of the 1994 "hidden gem".

Graphically, I will always prefer the original game. The sprite art in monster world IV is fantastic and this remake definitely had big shoes to fill. There's nothing inherently wrong with the artistic direction they took here, which is a cel-shaded 2.5D aesthetic. That said, it looks and feels very budget-y. Character animations are kind of stiff and Asha's model looks a little off considering the perspective. It reminds me a bit of those "Hudson Selects" remakes of Bonk and Adventure Island that were Japanese exclusives in the early 2000's. The option to switch graphic styles like in the Dragon's Trap remake would have been nice.

I think the gameplay has been improved significantly after playing both the Genesis original and this remake back to back, which of course is more important than presentation. Movement feels far snappier, and even if I've never been a fan of double-tapping to run in any game like this, it seemed to work a bit better in this version. There's also a new "magical hit" mechanic that allows you to launch an extra strong attack after the meter builds up, with sword upgrades decreasing the amount of hits required to charge it. It's nothing major, but it does help add to the incredibly simple combat the Wonder Boy games always stuck to.

The original game did not allow you to backtrack for missing life drops, which was a common complaint even from the people praising it as the best of the series. Not only is this remedied here, but you're also given a tally after clearing each dungeon's boss. You can still be locked out of some due to an event that happens in the game's plot (no spoilers here- but I will say it happens shortly after Ice Pyramid 3 for those who want to save ahead of time) but it's still a nice improvement.

I'll admit that I still didn't care for the Ice Pyramid whatsoever, and it's still by far my least favorite dungeon in the series. There are some improvements that make it a little more bearable, thankfully. First, enemies don't respawn when you defeat them. This is a massive relief considering how confusing the pyramids are, and definitely helped in reducing the tedium for me. Second, instead of button prompts in the first pyramid, you're just working with the d-pad to input the commands to open the color coded doors. Kind of minor, but assured dummies like me wouldn't accidentally hit the wrong button. (An issue I've always had with more modern games with QTEs)

The biggest contemporary tweaks (which some will no doubt scoff at) are the ability to save anywhere and stack elixirs. In Monster World IV, if you discovered a chest with an elixir while already carrying one, you'd have to use up the one you already had and then backtrack to wherever that chest was to make use of it. Depending on where the chest was at (many of them are deep within the dungeons), you might not even be able to return to it. No such issue in this remake.

That being said, being able to stockpile elixirs on top of enemies dealing less damage (even on normal mode, which is described as being akin to the "classic" experience) means the game is much easier. So much so, in fact, that it's completely feasible to facetank all of the bosses without ever fearing a game over. Even without the best equipment, you can do this so long as you're thorough in exploring the dungeons and hang onto enough elixirs. Personally, I think axing the ability to save anywhere but perhaps keeping the original damage outputs and fixed save points of the original game would have made for a better balance on normal.

It still doesn't beat out Dragon's Trap for me, but I still had a lot of fun with this remake and would definitely recommend it if you can look past the somewhat unpolished presentation. (And you aren't the kind of person who gets upset over older games being made a little easier)

When I first saw gameplay footage for this one a couple of years ago, I remember highly doubting I’d ever consider buying it.

For starters, it is a remake of Monster World IV (from the Wonder Boy series), a SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis game only released in Japan back then, highly praised for its visuals - which are, frankly, super beautiful and well made, especially for a 16-bit game -, an aspect that was replaced by 3D models and environments, turning it into a 2.5D platformer.
That decision alone was enough to make me, a fan of the Monster World games, completely uninterested in the thing. Whilst the original was pretty, the remake has 3D cel-shaded models that resemble something from the GameCube era, and I thought it really harmed the charm of the original.

The thing is… I didn’t really enjoy the original as much as I enjoyed the other games in the franchise, to begin with. It was a flawed game in MANY aspects, and the charming visuals and sound presentation were the only redeeming aspects it had for me at the end. It was just OK.
So, because of that, I unpretensiously decided to pick this remake up when it got on sale on Steam just to see how it looked like and how the gameplay aspects were handled… and, to my surprise, I ended up enjoying it more than its source material.

The visuals here are not as bad as I once thought them to be. Actually, it’s quite nice looking, even if it ultimately butchers the gorgeous pixel art from the original. I really wish the developers could follow the same path that was taken by Monster Boy and the Wonder Boy III remake by using hand-drawn characters, environments and animations, but the results here are pleasant, cute and mostly faithful to the original. (It has SOUL, guys!)

It was also made easier. I’m not that crazy about making things easier most of the time, but the QoL changes made here, in my opinion, were for the best. Apart from the controls being a tad more fluid, you can save at any point of the game, relieving A LOT of the stress that came from the game’s many unfair moments.

That said, the core experience was made intact, which is a bit of a bummer. As I said, the game already had its fair share of flaws (mostly regarding its level design), and instead of changing and improving some bits of level design here and there, the same issues from the original still persist here, and that keeps me from rating it any higher.

…that said (again), MWIV still is a fun little platformer from the 16-bit era, with inventive mechanics and a charming Arabian Nights setting, and I believe this remake did a good job of trying to keep its legacy alive. It would be a lot better if they made an option for playing it with the original graphics (again, like the Wonder Boy III remake) or if they made the original version available as an unlockable after you beat your first playthrough, but it is fine as it is, especially since not only it made the gameplay a bit more refined, but it also made it more accessible. The original eventually got released in the west, but the only way you can get it is digitally from a legacy console like the PS3, so it is nice to be able to get this one on multiple current-gen platforms.

Yeah, it’s still far from a fantastic game, unlike the masterpiece that Wonder Boy III is and the amazing metroidvania that Monster Boy presented us some years ago, but Asha in Monster World IS a fun and worthwhile experience, all things considered, so you might as well pick it up when you get the chance.

I just wish that Wonder Boy in Monster World, another SEGA Genesis game, got this treatment instead!

As someone who has little experience with the Monster World series, I gotta say this game was decent for what it is. I've never played the original Monster World IV, but I can tell this mostly a close to spot on remake since it really doesn't seem to do anything that an old 16-bit platformer couldn't do.

The graphics are actually very pretty in most places, sometimes it feels a little too bright, the music definitely sets the tone as you play but aside from the town them, I doubt I'll remember any of the songs. The story is very simple, though that works against it since the pacing seems too fast at points, for it to be a remake it kinda zooms by moments that need a little bit of a break to set in. The gameplay is mostly smooth, certain things such as climbing took a little bit to get used to, but by midway into the game I had everything in control.

Without context of the original game, I can only say this game was good on it's own, doesn't excel in anything and plays it safe as a platformer with the barest of RPG elements in it.