Wonder Boy, for me, is one of those franchises that I never got into in any of its various forms. I skipped Adventure Island, I didn’t play Monster Lair on the Turbo Grafx-16, I literally skipped this series. Except for one entry – Monster World IV on the Sega Mega Drive (I played the fan translation and love it). That is part of the reason I was excited when I heard Wonder Boy the Dragon’s Trap was coming to modern platforms. Not having the greatest computer (I use computers as tools to create content, not really game) I had to sit aside and watch everyone having fun. Then I saw it was ported to Android. Oh joy, oh joy.
I immediately used my Google Play credit to buy a copy (launch discount in effect) and immediately realized I hate on screen controls. No biggie, I put down my Galaxy S7 and went back to Google Play on my computer and was set to install Wonder Boy the Drgaon’s Trap to my GPD XD. No go. Not supported. Neither is my newly purchased NVIDIA Shield TV. Things were not looking up for me enjoying Wonder Boy like it was meant to be enjoyed.
Then I read online that the Shield controller can be used as a Bluetooth controller. I quickly paired it with my phone and after a bit of fenagling I was able to get it working with Wonder Boy the Dragon’s Trap. Thankfully Wonder Boy recognizes it and has the keys mapped to a comfortable layout, so I was all set in this regard.
If you are wanting to enjoy the newest Wonder Boy game and either don’t have a PC that can run it well, or don’t want to shell out $20 for it then grab the Android version. Normal price is $10, launch promo price is like $6 or so. Get a Bluetooth controller and cast to your television.
What is here is a solid 2D side scrolling action game, almost two in one. As with the big brother version that hit PC’s and consoles such as the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, you can jump between modern graphics and sound and classic versions of each (or mix and match) at the touch of a button. Well, on the Shield controller it is a press up/down on the right analog stick to switch graphics and a tap of one of the Left shoulder buttons for audio switching.
This is not a review so I will not go into detail about various things in Wonder Boy the Dragon’s Trap but suffice to say, it is worth every penny if you are even remotely interested in this style of game.
Grab Wonder Boy the Dragon’s Trap on these platforms:
Android – http://bit.ly/WBANDR
iPhone – http://bit.ly/WBiPhone
PlayStation 4 – http://bit.ly/wbps4
Xbox One – http://bit.ly/WBXBONE
Nintendo Switch – http://bit.ly/WBNSwitch
Steam - http://bit.ly/WBStea
