Game Info
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Developer: Westone
Publisher: Sega
Year of Release: 1987
Game Review & Impressions
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The original Wonder Boy is one of those weird arcade classics which were popular at the time of release, although with it's fruit-munching, platform-hopping, skateboarding shenanigans, its popularity was perhaps something of an enigma. It's very much of it's time, more akin to the likes of Pac-Land and other basic side-scrolling platformers that were popular at the time.
When it comes to sequels, it's usually the case that developers stick with the formula which made the original successful, dump the stuff which was bad, and generally iterate and improve on the original. That clearly didn't happen when Sega and Westone produced Wonder Boy in Monster Land, which goes in a completely and unexpected direction.
This is one of the earliest examples in a really weird sub-genre of, for want of a better description, action RPGs, which started to become popular, due in part to the success of Atari's Gauntlet. Wonder Boy in Monster Land retains the side-scrolling, platforming of its predecessor, but has the player killing monsters for gold coins, buying spells and upgrade from shops dotted throughout the levels, killing bosses for weapon and armour upgrades, and more besides. It's a brave departure from the original game, but the end result is something of a triumph. Action RPGs, particularly Diablo and all of its various incarnations, is one of my favourite genres of game; there's something about the constant upgrade cycle of killing enemies for loot, buying bigger and better weapons to kill even bigger monsters which just appeals to me. Admittedly, WIML is a very linear experience, but there's enough of that game loop on show that meant I really enjoyed my time with this. In fact, it's the very template on which Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap (AKA Monster World II) is based, which was one of my favourite games on the Sega Game Gear.
As with many of these coin-op RPG hybrids, I think they make far more sense as games for the home market than they do the arcade. You'll need at least 40 minutes to play this through to completion, which is a length of time that seems amazing incongruous to the setting of a noisy, smoke-filled arcade. Perhaps the culture and arcade scene in Japan was different to that of the UK, insofar that the environment was conducive to such a prolonged experience, which may explain why the game never received an international release, at least not in its arcade form. The English translation shown in this video is derived from the 2005 Virtual Console release, complete with interesting translation text, but it does at least allow a wider range of players to experience what is, in my opinion, an excellent game.
Chapters
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TBC
Негізгі бет Wonder Boy in Monster Land Longplay (Arcade) [QHD]
Пікірлер: 32