Wonder Boy Collection Review

The Wonder Boy Collection contains four games: one platformer and three role-playing titles. Wonder Boy, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World, and Monster World IV. Some of these titles may be familiar to you, but it’s nice to see them all collected together in one bundle. If you were a fan of these back in the day, then in the menu there is an option to toggle the CRT lines if you really want to make these games look just like they did in the arcade to recreate that retro experience, without having to spend all your coins!

Wonder Boy is a side-scrolling platformer game with Tom-Tom, our blonde hero in a grass skirt, trying to save his girlfriend, Tanya. The monster Drancon has kidnapped her and is holding her hostage. The levels require you to grab fruit to eat constantly, or your health meter will deplete and you will die. Tom-Tom can ride skateboards through the stage and throw hammers at the enemies who get in the way. At the end of the fourth stage, you will have to battle a boss to get to the next level, travelling through caves, islands, and even the ocean. Does this sound familiar to you yet? When I first started playing,my first through was “Wow, this is Adventure Island on the NES!" After researching, I found that Adventure Island was an adaptation of the Wonder Boy game that appeared in arcades, with changes to make it a different series as the developers sold the rights to another company. So in Adventure Island instead of Tom-Tom, we got Master Higgins trying to save his girlfriend, Tina. Both titles have identical bosses as well as the same hard difficulty. The good news is the collection has a new feature that I use immensely; you can rewind time — using ZL and ZR — if you screw up and die. If you miss picking an item or weapon up, misjudge a jump, or get hit by an enemy, you can rewind to the point and retry. Knowing how complicated Adventure Island is, I don't feel guilty using this helpful tool! Unfortunately, the music in Wonder Boy isn't as good as its adaptation. There isn't a variety of songs here, so hearing the same song gets pretty repetitive after a while!

Wonder Boy in Monster Land looks and plays differently from the collection's first game. Instead of just straight platforming, we have an action RPG that feels a little like the Adventures of Link on the NES. Here Tom-Tom, our main character, looks like a baby in a giant nappy; I'm not sure why the change, but at least he has a weapon. You first walk into a tree and learn that your mission is to defeat the dragon and save the land. Armed with a sword and five hearts for health points, our hero defeats enemies to earn coins to spend on better weapons. He will interact with people like the bartender to get tips to make Tom-Tom stronger so he can slay the dragon. If you like classic-style role-playing titles, this is a game you will want to try.

Next up is Wonder Boy in Monster World, which was released in 1991 on the Sega Mega Drive. In this title you play Shion, a new character in the series. The game now has a battery to save your progress and looks and sounds better. An army of monsters is invading the once peaceful lands, and it is up to Shion to defeat these enemies and restore peace once again. The game looks beautiful with painted backgrounds, cool-looking bosses, and various locations to travel to. This is an adventure game with role-playing elements incorporated into the sword-swinging action. It's not the longest game, clocking in at 3 — 4 hours to beat, but it is a lot of fun!

The last entry in this collection is Monster World IV. Initially released for the Mega Drive, this title is hard to come by if you want to add it to your collection. It is ridiculously expensive, which is an excellent reason to check out this collection. This game marks the first time you can play as a girl named Asha, and she has bright green hair. She explores this new Arabian-inspired universe with dungeons full of puzzles to solve with her small blue pet named Pepelogoo. Your pet helps you overcome obstacles and gaps with constantly evolving and changing attributes. This title is like the previous two with its action role-playing gameplay but is unique from the others. The aesthetics of the characters and world make this game come to life and stand above the other titles in the collection.

All the titles here are good, especially with the feature to rewind if you need it. However, I have to wonder why all the Wonder Boy games aren't here. This collection is for people who have nostalgia for classic games, especially adventure role-playing titles. 

If you aren't a big fan of titles like these, then this collection isn't going to change your mind. I am happy that now I have a chance to beat this version of Adventure Island, finally. Sure it's not exactly the same, but with the same bosses, I say completing Wonder Boy will still count.