Wonder Boy in Monster World

released on Oct 25, 1991
by Sega

,

Escape

Monsters have taken over the land, and every day the citizens fear for their lives, hoping that a hero will step forth and bring peace to the embattled country.


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After I played through the Dragon's Trap remake and Monster Boy, it only made sense that I should try this game. Played it for a little while using Genesis Plus on my modded Wii, but didn't make it very far. I will return to this game some day to determine if it's worth finishing or not.

Significantly inferior to its predecessor, Wonder Boy in Monster World, or just "Monster World III" is a very slow-paced, repetitive, and grind-heavy adventure game that doesn't have much to offer besides some very minuscule sparks of brilliance.

That last boss battle was awful, and that ending was outright insulting.

The game looks cute, though.

Jeremy Parish called Monster World II a "masterpiece" of the Metroidvania genre. MWIII then, is the 16-bit evolution of that masterpiece. Westone is not given enough recognition for their contribution to the medium, and I think it's notable how many modern games are still similar to this 1991 gem. It's simplistic by modern standards, sure, but that simplicity---along with its pleasant visuals---make for a comfy game that's a breeze to revisit. A classic.

Despite Wonder Boy III The Dragon's Trap being one of my favorite games on the SMS, I somehow didn't play this follow up. It's a direct evolution of the series along action-RPG lines, continuing the series mix of side-scrolling puzzle solving, exploration and action.

The size of the world has expanded to include multiple towns with more space for varied environments between them, all of which feature unique gameplay elements and visual styles. The boss fights are much improved - and more challenging - over WBIII, making defeating them feel like an accomplishment. As with the rest of the series, the sandtrack is another highlight.

The gameplay is on the more sedentary side of the spectrum, with a moderate movement speed that caters to deliberate, careful play rather than frenetic action.

I found a few of the dungeons challenging for the wrong reasons - one in particular is a made of nearly identical passageways and doors that warp you around them that require complex weaving to navigate (I took to some graph paper to diagram it out). And the final boss serves as a big plot twist (yay) and a horrible gameplay experience (boo!).

But on the whole this a very fun, challenging action-RPG that is much more fleshed out and feature-rich that earlier games in the series. If you are wanting to discover what the Wonder Boy games are all about, this is a great place to start.

Played on Genesis Mini.

I'm sure this is a good game, but I just couldn't stick with it. The combat isn't very fun, the RPG mechanics don't appeal to me, and the settings feel very toothless and uninteresting. Probably has a place in the "cozy game" ouevre.

Honestly, whoever thought that putting a boring puzzle in the first dungeon would be a great idea?