In anticipation of the Nintendo Switch physical release of Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, I figured I would take the opportunity to dust off my copy of Wonder Boy In Monster Land for the Sega Master System.
Wonder Boy started its life in the arcades way back in ‘87. Since then, it has graced the SMS, Genesis, several vintage PCs, and the Game Gear.
The game is a classic action RPG platformer which if you think about it, is like getting three games in one. Surprisingly, it does all three fairly well. The gameplay moves along at a good pace. The graphics are colorful, as every game on the SMS seems to be. Only the color pallette on the ZX Spectrum, which appears to have been coded by a color blind programmer during an LSD trip, can rival Sega’s 8-bit wonder. The RPG element isn’t very deep so there is no need for monotonous grinding. The only complaint I have about the game is the slippery controls. The key to a good platformer is tight controls and nothing is more frustrating that missing a jump because of unruly momentum.
Overall, the game is fun and a great prequel to play before snagging a copy of the snazzy new remake.
