Monster Boy and the cursed kingdom

7/10

Uma aventura bem carismática, visual bom lembrando Akira Toriyama, OST bem simples mas com qualidade, Gameplay simples e legal e bem dificilzinho..

Vale a tentativa.

While some parts were fun, the majority of the game left me frustrated with necessary fast and precise controls. No idea why I picked up this type of game that I normally do not play. I guess I felt masochistic that day? This low review is because of my bad time with the controls. It's not a bad game per se!

I did enjoy the different "monster" (aka animal) forms you can control. Snake to get into small spaces. Frog to launch yourself to higher platforms. Lion to charge. There's more! Plus some of the forms can benefit from the armor and weapons you find or purchase.

If you have never played any of the Wonder Boy / Monster World games, then Monster Boy is merely a vividly colorful, beautifully animated metroidvania with a long quest, tons of varied areas, great puzzles and action, charming characters, fun abilities and a killer soundtrack.

But if you have played the prior games, Monster Boy is all that plus richly realized love letter to every game in the series, packed end to end with homages and references to the earlier games, right down to new versions of nearly every classic tune from the series, plus a ton of original tracks from an array of great composers, including some banging tracks from my personal favorite game composer, Yuzo Koshiro. I'll never forget the feeling I had when the delightful new rendition of the Side-crawler's Dance (the beach theme from Wonder Boy III) started playing at the beginning. Or the delightfully frenetic running animation of pig-boy in a wind-swept field under the sun while euphorically joyful music jams. Or the hilarious prison escape sequence, solving the big secret in the volcano, or the series of cascading epiphanies that result in clearing the haunted mansion.

A beautiful love-letter to one of my favorite series, it's one of those games that feels like it was made just for me. Monster Boy is everything I love about videogames.

I genuinely can't think of many other game series that have it as good as the Wonder Boy/Monster World lineage of games. From having every game of the original series be a well-revered classic among those that have played them, their lineage being preserved by M2 in the wonderful Sega Ages 2500 collection, and the Dotemu remaster of Dragons Trap that was made with more love for the source material and attention to detail towards it than most AAA remakes these days, Wonder Boy fans have been and continue to be eating fucking phenomenally. Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is absolutely no different, being a fantastic tribute to a series that's already so respected and beloved among the retro gamermen.

This game continues to evolve the style of open-ended yet still focused and linear design of Dragon's Trap and Monster World. It definitely leans towards the whole "metroidvania"-y style of genre moreso here than in those other games, but it still doesn't really fall in the design conventions of that genre all too well. The animal transformations return from Dragon's Trap (you can now play as the pig!), and unlike that game where most of the transformations were relegated to their own sections of the game, here you can switch between any of the 6 different forms you can earn on the fly whenever you want. There's the Pig that can sniff for secrets and use magic, the Snake that can go in tight passages and climb grass walls, the Frog that can use its tongue as a grappling hook, the Lion which can dash through blocks, the Dragon that can fly and breathe fire, and the Boy that can use a series of air-dashes. Each form has their own time to shine in the various levels, as the level layouts make the most out of each ability that you can use, with plenty of secrets throughout. If anything I do wish that there was more taken from Monster World 4, as I felt like having a changable Pepelogoo companion that could interact with each form in a unique way would have been cool. Designwise, it just feels like the culmination of what would happen if Dragon's Trap and Monster World were freed of their technical limitations, yet still designed in a very old-school traditional way.

The Monster World games are also known for their tight cohesion and continuity with one another, and despite not explicitly carrying the Wonder Boy name in its title, this game continues to have all the callbacks to previous titles as you would expect. The final dungeon from Monster Land is still here, each of the main sacred relics are artifacts from previous games, hell the in-game sanctuary is even adorned with stain-glass windows depicting all the previous heroes from games gone by. It's not so in-your-face that playing the previous games is required reading, but I would say that series familiarity will make this game hit like 10x harder than it would be if you went in blind.

And the music, oh my GOD the music dude. From the goddamn TITLE SCREEN I knew I was in for a fucking good OST. They literally got the whole ass avengers of game composers to make new tunes and arrange existing Wonder Boy tracks. They got Keiki Kobayashi, Yuzo Koshiro, Motoi Sakuraba, Michiru Yamane, and Takeshi Yanagawa in the kitchen to make some absolute bangers for this game alongside the studios in-house composer, Cédric Joder assisting with arrangements. Everyone on the sound team is firing on all cylinders, giving this game one of the best god damn game soundtracks I have ever listened to.

The game is just a banger, through and through. My only real gripes can be with the games length being a bit longer than my personal preferences for a Monster World game, mostly due to some sections having a few more mandatory subsections than was really necessary imo. The haunted house section was also a bit of a low point but that could have just been me being stupid and taking way too long to figure out the puzzles. If you are a fan of the Monster World series, this is such a no-brainer must-play that you've probably already went through this by now lmfao. If you enjoy classic open-ended sidescrollers, the whole Monster World series is seriously worth your time. Most fans of other game series would kill to be able to eat even half as good as Monster World fans do.

This was a really charming Metroidvania with tons of great ideas, even if slightly flawed. To start you will immediately see just how beautiful the game is, it is full of vibrant colors and unique locations that make just seeing the game instantly fill you with a sense of adventure and fun. Quickly the game introduces the main mechanic that creates the metroidvania gating system: animal transformations. This is by far my favorite part of the game, each of the 6 forms feel unique with their own pros and cons, and each have wonderful animations to boot. While some like the Frog or Lion are much more useful on balance each form has their time to shine.

The Metroidvania part of the game really isn't too in depth, a lot of the time it plays just like a linear 2D action platformer. You aren't often lost on where to go next, but you do get to open sections where you have to problem solve to unlock the boss. The boss fights are a treat, they are all really fleshed out multistage affairs that keep you on your toes. The combat is pretty basic, but there is a light RPG gear system that is a bit underused but it isn't bad, I liked that it gave you options but didn't really require you to spend tons of time mixing and matching.

Ultimately I really enjoyed this game but the back third was a bit of a mess so I had to dock it a bit, the difficulty just spikes out of nowhere which leads to quite a bit of frustration and it gets a bit obtuse. As you near the end of the game it also doesn't tell you some collectables aren't actually optional, you needed them all along. If the game was balanced slightly better and was a bit more forthcoming with information in the final stretch this would have been a really amazing game, but even as is I had a lot of fun with it.

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is a stellar 2D metroidvania. It harkens back to older games in the Monster Boy series with demanding gameplay and old-school design principles while also implementing a modern, beautiful presentation. With every new area I traversed through, I kept being awed by the expressive hand drawn background art and character animation. The fast-paced action, expressive art style, and varied soundtrack all aid the pacing and made this game difficult to put down until it was over.

All of the gameplay hallmarks of an excellent metroidvania are here. There's a complex and varied world to explore, upgradeable animal forms that expand traversal options, pattern-based boss battles, and plenty of equipment to sift through. These systems are all implemented well, but as a big fan of platforming games, my favorite aspect of Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom was the emphasis placed on platforming-based challenges and puzzles. Navigating many of the game's spaces requires switching between animal forms to take advantage of each form's unique movesets. This emphasis makes the act of navigating Monster Boy's world a puzzle in itself.

For a game that emphasizes switching between different animal forms on a regular basis, I feel that this mechanic could have been implemented more smoothly. Selecting a new character with the default radial wheel option necessitates a pause in the action which takes away from the game's rhythm. There is another option to switch between forms one at time using buttons on the controller, but I found this to be a bit cumbersome as well. I've seen this type of control be effective in certain games, but it doesn't quite land for me here due to how critical the fast-paced gameplay was to my enjoyment of the experience.

Favorite Tracks:

Green Fields: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-HloEoBPDI&list=PLA2FBJVTopFZ24Co2_HyAmLnE-nNOFN_n&index=3

The Sewers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG7V5FIdHAI&list=PLA2FBJVTopFZ24Co2_HyAmLnE-nNOFN_n&index=40

Crystal Caves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRoTHTat-V4&list=PLA2FBJVTopFZ24Co2_HyAmLnE-nNOFN_n&index=2

Castle of Lupia Phase 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FraSbAukV-k&list=PLA2FBJVTopFZ24Co2_HyAmLnE-nNOFN_n&index=4

Antes de tudo, queria deixar registrado de que esse jogo foi uma das melhores recomendações que recebi em 2023.
Para a pessoa que me recomendou isso, muito obrigado.

Monster Boy é uma espécie de sucessor espiritual de Wonder Boy (jogo do Master System e Mega Drive) e não, eu não joguei nenhuma das duas versões antes ou fui atrás de informações sobre o jogo. Apenas me joguei confiando na recomendação.

Começamos o jogo com uma incrível abertura animada e cantada para logo mais sermos introduzidos de fato ao jogo.
Jin, nosso personagem, está pescando pacificamente quando do NADA aparece seu tio Nabu em cima de um barril voador passando por uma ilha em formato de caveira, e com sua varinha mágica ele transforma nosso peixe inofensivo em um predador. Certo, após Jin presenciar isso tudo o que ele decide fazer? Simples. Ele pega sua espada, escudo e vai atrás do seu tio.
E é aí que o jogo começa.
Monster Boy está repleto de cenários desenhados em alta resolução com efeitos de iluminação, sprites bonitos, chefes gigantes, músicas cativantes, jogabilidade atrativa e a possibilidade de poder se transformar em 5 animais e herdar suas habilidades.

Geral

Se mover, atacar, pular e entre outras ações não serão problema para ti nesse jogo... quero dizer, caso você já esteja acostumado com o gênero metroidvania. Bem, eu sou um jogador de primeira viagem desse gênero e acredito que ele seja bem light se compararmos com, por exemplo, Hollow Knight.
É uma porta de entrada para novos(as) jogadores(as).
Gente, a exploração é a chave para tudo nesse game. Você só irá ficar mais forte e entenderá mais das mecânicas se explorar o mundo de Monster Boy com as transformações que desbloqueiam conforme a estória progride.

Você pode até achar o Monster Boy algo fácil, mas até mesmo na 1ª fase suas habilidades com o controle serão testadas assim como um tutorial. Sua dificuldade é até um pouco elevada depois de algumas horas avançando, ainda mais com os puzzles que alguns podem te fazerem questionar do por quê não estar dando certo aquilo de acordo com seu raciocínio.
Os inimigos e chefes não terão pena de você. É tu ou eles, escolha.
Equipamentos irão te ajudar bastante ao longo da jornada, isso é claro que eu entenda que você juntou umas moedinhas. Com tais moedas podemos comprar cura, armas, escudos, armaduras, feitiços, habilidades das transformações, upar o Jin e até mesmo colecionáveis.
Nenhum equipamento é inútil nesse jogo, até mesmo aquela bota que você deixou de lado no início do jogo pode vir a ser extremamente útil lá na frente.

Detalhes das transformações:

- Humano/Jin pode usar todos os equipamentos, fazer combos pequenos, usar magias/feitiços e mais pra frente usar esquiva;

- Porco perde a capacidade de usar qualquer tipo de equipamento, pode cheirar o ambiente para descobrir segredos, pode usar magias, fazer combos e nosso peso aumenta ao ponto de afundarmos na água (cuidado com a respiração);

- Cobra possuí tamanho e peso menores, pode passar por lugares estreitos, pode escalar paredes com musgo, nosso pulo é reduzido e jogamos veneno;

- Sapo consegue nos trazer a possibilidade de usarmos nossos equipamentos novamente, nosso pulo está aprimorado, podemos nadar e respirar na água livremente, nossa língua nos ajuda para o alcance de objetos, lugares mais altos e devorar insetos para restauração do HP;

- Leão quebra blocos por baixo e por cima (esse é mais tarde), e tem um dash que permite o player correr sob a água e parecer um tanque de guerra sem deixar ninguém contar história;

- Dragão pode voar e soltar fogo, só que no início tais habilidades são limitadas, porém ao decorrer da gameplay conseguimos um item que remove tal limitação.

Se sentiu o Ben 10 agora?
E sim, podemos nos transformar livremente entre cada forma, pois existirão puzzles que irão nos desafiar para trocarmos entre as transformações em timings corretos.

Conclusão

Cara, pode parecer rude da minha parte, mas nesse jogo você vai precisar usar seu cérebro. Tem que fazer ele acordar de fato.
Tudo o que nosso personagem fará se resumirá em progresso e coleta dos itens, e apenas isso.
O jogo foi uma surpresa incrível para minha pessoa e com toda certeza recomendaria para alguém sem pensar duas vezes. O tempo de duração não é curto, ainda mais se estiver atrás do 100%, mas relaxe não é nenhum desafio que irá te levar a loucura. A estória é simples, contudo é bem palpável pra você continuar pela curiosidade imposta na mente.
Caso você tenha feito o 100% em alguma run (consiste em explorar o mapa 100%, encontrar todos os corações, abrir todos os baús do jogo, completar a masmorra secreta, obter todas as peças do conjunto dourado e etc) já fique sabendo que não existe NG+ nesse jogo, e isso me deixou triste. Adoraria se tivessem alguns Extras após fazermos tudo do jogo só pra sentirmos um gostinho de "eu consegui esse conteúdo adicional".
De resto gostaria muito de ver um Monster Boy 2 algum dia e que ele consiga se manter na mesma qualidade que o 1º.

Confesso di essere in parte dispiaciuto di dare solo 3, il fatto è che non eccelle da nessuna parte pur portando un buon gioco sotto quasi tutti i punti di vista. L'assenza di una certa peculiarità non fa abbandonare il gioco quanto meno, che perlomeno nel suo essere un metroidvania dà tutto quello che deve dare un titolo di questo genere, senza però mai fornire sfide particolari e mantenendo una linearità che va in contraddizione con l'elemento di ricerca che dovrebbe essere la base di questi titoli. Oltre a ciò confesso di non essere un amante dello stile grafico