Game: Wonder Boy Asha in Monster World
Genre: Action, Adventure
System: Nintendo Switch (also on PS4)
Developer|Publisher: MONKEY CRAFT | ININ Games, STUDIOARTDINK
Age Rating: EU 7+ | US Everyone
Price: US $34.99 | UK £31.49 | EU € 34,99
Release Date: May 28th, 2021
Review code provided with many thanks to PR Hound
A Wondrous Series
The Wonder Boy series has seen one heck of a revival over the last few years, with the release of Wonder Boy Returns a sort of remake of the very first game in the series, Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap an exceptional remake of the Master System classic and Monster Boy, a remarkable spiritual sequel that easily became my favourite game the year it came out.
A game in the series that never got a lot of love in the west was Monster World IV. Originally confined to Japan on its original release to the Mega Drive in 1994. It would not be until 2012 that we would see a localized Western version released on Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360. The latter being the version I played. Now Almost ten years later, we have a remake of the game coming to Nintendo Switch. But is it any good? Let’s dive into Monster World again and find out.
Save the Spirits
After hearing the pleas for help from the Elemental Spirits, Asha, a young girl is compelled to pick up a sword and save the day. But she doesn’t have to do it alone. Not long into the game, she finds an egg that hatches a blue ball of adorable cuteness called a Pepelogoo who accompanies you on your quest to save the Elemental Spirits.
If you have familiarity with the previous Monster World games, particularly Wonder Boy in Monster World (Fun Fact: One of my favourite games of all time) you may appreciate the game’s nods in this title. This includes references to the previous game’s companions, the Queen being a descendant of a known character and if you look around the castle you will see artwork from the Wonder Boy games in general. If you don’t know anything about the series don’t worry, no prior knowledge is required and with such a simple story premise it’s not hard to get lost in this adventure.
Combat and Puzzles
The game plays as a 2D adventure. Asha’s weapon of choice is a sword which she can use to slash enemies as well as a downward or upward thrust on jumping. Pressing down on the controls will pull out Asha’s shield to defend against enemy attacks. It’s not all about killing enemies and collecting the gold they drop. Your cute blue Pepelogoo can help you navigate around the dungeons by activating switches, double jumping, gliding down pits as well as other uses.
The game also balances a lot of the action with some puzzles to solve. You may want to have a pen and paper handy or make use of the Nintendo Switch screenshot feature as you may need to memorize the odd fact here and there to progress. Overall, it’s a nice balance of combat and puzzles. The controls are nice and responsive and the game performs brilliantly in TV and handheld modes.
Return to Town
The main aim of the game is that Asha journeys to the main city hub, hunts for a hidden emblem, which you take to a tower that will warp you to a new dungeon filled with enemies, puzzles and multiple boss encounters. It certainly keeps its design simple but having the ability to travel to new areas like the previous games is missed. The instant warping kinda takes some of the fun adventures out of the experience. After finishing your time in the dungeon you can return to town to spend your hard-earned cash on upgrading your sword, buying a new shield, armour (or bracelets that increase your max health).
A nice touch here is that the new items will appeal cosmetically on Asha, even the swords look slightly different, a feature that was actually absent from the original game. You need to choose your upgrades wisely. The only way to upgrade everything is to grind for gold by re-entering levels, a grind that does feel a bit tedious and artificially lengthening the game more than it needs to be. Hidden throughout the game are also these blue tears, collecting 10 will permanently upgrade your health. They are hidden in the main town as well as throughout the dungeons.
New 3D Looks
The biggest difference between this game and the original is the graphical overhaul. The graphics are now 3D rendered which is a bit of a contrast from the colour 2D sprites of the original. Initially seeing screenshots of this game I wasn’t sure how I felt about this design. Some games are just better at sticking to the 2D style. However, the developers surprised me with their efforts here.
The 3D models have a cell-shaded feel to them which feels a little like Wind Waker from the Zelda series. This really brings out the cute factor to Asha and Pepelogoo and brings to life their innocence and charm. Some of Asha’s animations, like when she is skidding on ice, doing a weird butt wiggle before opening a chest or just holding a heavy Pepelogoo are quite charming. The environments and backgrounds are still just as vibrant and colourful as the original creating a family-friendly feel throughout the entire experience.
Other Changes
As well as the graphics a few changes have been made compared to the original Mega Drive release. The game features a new easier difficulty option which makes the game a little more accessible to people new to the series. You are also now able to save the game anywhere as opposed to having to find the old man in designated places to do it.
Just remember to actually manually save. Don’t do what I did and play through two dungeons die, only to have to reload an old save much further back than you were. Ouch! You can now revisit dungeons to grind for gold and collect any blue tears you missed. For the most part, this is the same game that may be worth considering if you have played the original game to death.
Before You Buy
If you purchase the physical edition of Asha in Monster World you will gain access to the original retro version of Monster World IV in all its 16 Bit glory. However, if you opt to go digitally you will not have access to this version. So if you are looking to pick this game up for the original game to make sure you go physical for both the Switch and PS4 versions. Yes, this is pretty silly and it’s a shame we have another example of content being locked to physical media. But alas that’s the state of the modern games industry.
Conclusion-Wonder Girl
Asha in Monster World is a good remake that maintains the heart and soul of the original whilst adding a few quality of life improvements for good measure.
If you are a fan of the 2D adventure genre or are a fan of the Wonder Boy series and somehow missed out on this game the first time, this is well worth picking up. As a fan of the series myself, it’s great to see it continue to thrive on modern systems.
Final Verdict: I Like It A Lot
