Wonder Boy Collection review

Like some other recent compilations, Wonder Boy Collection offers a subset of the franchise’s history. The two arcade and Genesis/Mega Drive titles are adeptly emulated, but the subset of entries and the limited amount of supplementals undermine the effort.

Few properties have a history as circuitous as Wonder Boy. The original arcade title was released by Westone in 1986, but several of the plucky protagonist’s ports were crafted by developers such as Sega and Activision. Later that year, Hudson wanted to publish a NES adaptation. But since some of the property rights were under Sega’s control, changes had to be made to the game’s name and lead character. The result was Adventure Island, which would branch off and form its own franchise. Retro aficionados might even remember Mr. Higgins, a character designed to resemble Hudson Soft executive Takahashi Meijin.

To make matters even more perplexing, Wonder Boy evolved significantly across the era. The inaugural release was fundamentally a platformer, undoubtedly inspired by the success of Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. But with Monster Land, light role-playing elements were added, pushing the property in a distinctive new direction that encouraged exploration and experimentation.

Fittingly, the release of Wonder Boy Collection for the Switch brings its own perplexing issues. If you pre-ordered Limited Run Gaming’s physical edition, you received a comprehensive compilation of Wonder Boy, with the €99.99 version offering 22 different titles and iterations.

While the digital version is more accessible (the physical copies are all sold out now) and far cheaper, you’re getting a much smaller anthology of Wonder Boy games. Instead, the downloadable iteration of Wonder Boy Collection demonstrates four of the franchise’s outing, with entries split between the franchise’s coin-op and console-based entries. Let’s make a look at the individual titles.

Wonder Boy

Revisiting 1986’s Wonder Boy exposes the techniques employed by arcade game designers. Luring players in with vibrantly hued and delightfully charming visuals, the game’s protagonist begins his persistent journey by trekking across a horizontally scrolling playfield. Like many games of the era, it’s deceptively easy as first, as you jump over the occasional rock and grab pieces of fruit than dangle above to keep your energy meter charged.

But deviously, adversity increases. At first, you’ll encounter unmoving opposition, like snakes that linger on the road. But before long, you’ll encounter threats that move, like boulders that careen down inclines or frogs that jump toward you. Occasionally, you’ll stumble upon a giant egg. Cracking open the object yields a variety of benefits. Skateboards speed you along and if you inadvertently hit an enemy, you’ll lose the tool but won’t forfeit a life. Other times, you’ll earn a weapon that can be tossed at foes.

Momentum is key. As you enter areas where Wonder Boy hops across clouds, you’ll land in the ocean if you don’t have enough speed. Like most games of the era, success revolves around fast reflexes but also memorizing each level.

Wonder Boy in Monster Land

Released in arcades in 1987, Wonder Boy in Monster Land shifted from straightforward action to an expedition where the protagonist gradually grew in power. You start the game in Wonder Land with little more than a sword and a single revival potion, tasking with killing a dragon and restoring peace to the kingdom.

Across a succession of twelve levels, you’ll kill monsters and scour the environment to earn coins. That money is used to purchase a multitude of different items, from drinks that restore your health, regular and magic weapons, and helpful gear like boots and shields. But being an arcade game, time is always scarce. Although you can find icons that help refill the onscreen hourglass icon, once time has expired, you’ll quickly lose health.

Wonder Boy in Monster Land requires players to experiment. Perhaps the first time you’ll enter one of the game’s mysterious doorways hoping for a perk. But what you can find are challenging mini-boss battles that can wear down your health. I made the mistake of investigating an entrance where a giant mushroom continuously spawned smaller spores, resulting in a quick game over. Memorization is essential for surviving Monster Land.

Wonder Boy in Monster World

With 1991’s Wonder Boy in Monster World, the franchise shifted from arcade game to console title. As such, the pace is a bit more relaxed, as Shion sets out to save Monster World from the evil BioMeka, without worry of an emptying hourglass. This time out, combat is a bit more complex, with the protagonist able to crouch while attacking to eliminate shorter enemies. You’ll have two weapons this time out. Although swords can be used with shields, spears offer the advantage of a longer reach. Occasionally, you’ll even get accompanied by five different familiars, who are both insanely cute and quite assistive in the game’s dungeons.

Unlike the rather linear dungeons in previous entries, Monster World’s chambers are suitably sophisticated, often dangling object just out of reach. Wandering through these areas demonstrates a key difference, and it’s obvious that the tempo isn’t trying to acquire a steady succession of quarters. There’s even a single save slot, which you’ll undoubtedly need. The English version of Monster World featured here has a tougher final boss.

Monster World IV

Yes, there’s a very good reason why Monster World IV omits the word “Boy” from its title- protagonist Asha is a girl. The other key change is a shift in venues; with the game trading it’s Euro-fantasy setting for a colorful Arabian locale. Seemingly, developer Westone had witnessed how fertile the context would be after witnessing the success of Disney’s Aladdin, which released one year earlier.

Beyond saving the world, this time the plot also focuses on Asha’s journey to become a full-fledged warrior. Comparatively, there’s not a lot of exposition. But the first time you start the game, you’ll hear quite a few words of encouragement before taking on your first slime. Structurally, Monster World IV offers a single town for upgrades, while you’ll explore four different temples.

The key addition is found in the form of a cute little blob named Pepelogo. It’s a very versatile assistance that will help Asha double-jump, float, and activate switches. Even better, it can be tossed and used as a platform or function as a shield, since it has a resistance to fire. Given all these different functionalities, it hardly surprising that Monster World IV has sone of the largest and most interest dungeons in this compilation.

Conclusion

The digital iteration of Wonder Boy Collection offers only a subset of the franchise’s legacy. But that said, this abridged anthology does reveal how the series evolved from a linear platformer to a more sophisticated journey that reflected gaming’s shift from arcades to homes. But ultimately, it’s a rather restrained retrospective, with a small art gallery giving any insight into the design process.