Wonder Boy Collection Review

Game: Wonder Boy Collection
Genre: Action, Arcade, Adventure
System: Nintendo Switch (Also on PS4)
Developer|Publisher: Westone Bit Entertainment, Ratalakia | ININ Games
Age Rating: EU 7+ | US E
Price: US $29.99 | UK £24.99 | EU € 29,99
Release Date: June 3rd, 2022

Review code provided with many thanks to PR Hound. 

Back to the Retro

The Wonder Boy series has received some significant love on the Nintendo Switch with multiple remasters of the older games and even a brand new spiritual sequel in the form of Monster Boy. However, we have yet to see a decent collection of the old classic titles. Even the Mega Drive collection released a few years ago tragically omitted the two Wonder Boy games that were featured on other versions of the collection.

With the Wonder Boy Collection, we have four retro classics (two arcade ports and two Mega Drive ports) brought back with some quality of life improvements. It’s not the most complete retro collection but the games featured are absolutely brilliant making this a must-buy for retro fans or anyone that enjoyed any of the other Switch titles.

The Arcade Ports

For starters let’s do a brief run through each of the titles on offer. To begin we have the original Wonder Boy arcade port in all his grass wearing skirt glory. This is the arcade version title, where you are tasked with rescuing your girlfriend Tanaya from the evil baddie Dancon. The game plays like a side-scrolling platformer with the goal to reach the end of the level, avoiding enemies and hazards while maintaining your stamina bar by eating various fruits and veg dotted about the level. But as you progress to the right you cannot turn around and return.

You need to run and jump your way through some pretty challenging platform levels. You can occasionally pick up the odd power-up hidden in an egg such as the hammer, to lob at enemies, or the skateboard, which looks awesome but will often lead you to your doom as once you have this, you now constantly scroll to the right.

Temporary invincibility

Fairies will grant you temporary invincibility and allow you to smash through any enemies and hazards silly enough to get in your way. Watch out for a bad egg though as it will grant you a grim reaper which will temporarily drain your stamina. It’s a pretty formulaic arcade game and probably my least favourite of the collection but it certainly tickles my memories of playing it on the Game Gear back in my youth. This style of gameplay will live on as the Adventure Island series but Wonder Boy would evolve into something much different.

Arcade Port

Wonder Boy in Monster Land is the arcade port of the second entry in the series. This title would become the foundation of the 2D action RPG style gameplay the series would become most known for. But this game is quite the acquired taste. Try and picture this design, an RPG in an arcade game. Starting in what looks like a nappy, our hero takes on monster land to rid the world of an evil dragon. Coins are an essential collectable found by defeating monsters and jumping at secret spots. If you wiggle the arcade stick while jumping at these secret spots you will gain a higher value of coins.

Thankfully this port of the game features what I like to dub the ‘waggle’ button which performs this technique for you and saves your poor hands in the process. The coins are then used to upgrade your weapons, armour, shoes and shields. Magic spells can also be brought and you can even stop at the bar to buy a beverage and get some advice on the game or discover some secrets.

This game is brutally hard. Featuring tough boss fights and even an unforgiving timer which will drain one heart point the longer you linger in a level making it hard to stay and grind. If you’re new to the series and jump into this one, I could see many gamers jumping off through frustration. But if you stick with it, it actually becomes quite the rewarding experience through old fashioned trial by fire and discovering new secrets as you go. 

The Console Ports

Next up is the Mega Drive port of Wonder Boy in Monster World and easily my favourite of the series. Of this collection, this feels like the most memorable adventure. Now playing as hero Shion you might be able to guess by now that you are on a quest to save the world from those naughty monsters again. Being a console game this title removes all the stresses of the prior arcade title, allowing you to explore the world and grind for coins at your own pace.

This time around you’ll explore a wide variety of areas like deserts, jungles and the underwater realms all littered with unique enemies to combat. For me, there are so many memorable moments in this title that still holds up very well. When raiding a new dungeon you often get to take a unique little companion along with you, like a cute dragon that breathes fire or a little gnome boy who randomly digs up coins for you. Instead of just the sword and shield you can now wield spears and perform a cool spin move to block projectiles and persistent baddies.

Then of course there’s the beautiful pixel art and memorable soundtrack which will stick with you long after the game’s conclusion. After playing through it again I am still awe stuck with how well this title holds up today. Although, I did come across one graphical niggle. Ghost enemies that pulse in and out of visibility sometimes just disappeared entirely which seemed an error in the emulation of the game. Not game-breaking but certainly notable. Monster World is still excellent.

Last but not Least

Lastly, we have Monster World IV which was only ever released on Mega Drive. Now playing as Asha the Wonder Girl it’s back to Monster World to once again save the day in one last adventure. This game mostly follows a similar template to the previous one, but, it has never resonated with me as much.

The game follows a more linear structure where you simply teleport to the next area from the main palace hub area rather than getting all of Monster World to explore. There is still a lot to like here though. Graphics are gorgeous, the best they have ever been for the series in terms of pixel art. Your blue companion Pepelogoo is adorable and grows and evolves as the game progresses providing additional abilities to use in dungeons like double jumping and gliding.

For me, it just lacks some memorable touches. For example, you only use the sword and shield this time with no additional weapons. Despite my niggles this is an adventure well worth playing through and it wouldn’t be a Wonder Boy Collection without it. 

Collection Features

As a collection, you have the familiar features you tend to see in these retro collections. Solid emulation across the board for all four games. You have your save states and handy rewind feature so you can correct those little ‘whoopsies’ you make during gameplay. You have the usual screen filters to tweak and the ability to adjust a few minor gameplay features some of which are mentioned above.

In the main menu, a short description is given for each game. You can also access a small gallery of artwork from the series. It feels quite bare-bones, it feels like a missed opportunity to not have some sort of music player to listen to the various soundtracks from the series.             

It’s worth pointing out that Monster Land was released as a Sega Ages title available digitally now. Monster World 4 was also available if you brought the physical version of the remake. The other two titles are yet to feature anywhere else on Switch to this date.

Missing in Action 

The main niggle in this collection is that it’s not a complete retro collection of the series. Two standout titles are missing Wonder Boy the Dragon’s Trap and Monster Lair 3. If you want to play these titles on Switch, as well as play multiple versions of the other games, you have to pre-order the physical copy from Strictly Limited.

Once again, there’s this really odd situation where game content is excluded from the digital purchase and it’s a darn shame here. It’s saddening for me since the last time I looked the only pre-orders available were for the super expensive versions which I can’t afford. The games featured in this collection are great but it’s disappointing to omit the others from the digital version. 

Conclusion – A Wondrous Trip to the Past 

Wonder Boy Collection was an excellent trip down memory lane for me. I have continued to play these games on and off over the years. Now, having four of them in a nifty collection on Switch to take on the go when I have the Wonder Boy itch is great. This is a series of games that holds up very well especially if you love your retro adventures. The collection feels disappointingly incomplete offering only single versions of each game and lacking two very important entries. Still, whether you are new or old the wonder that is this series is still a worthwhile pick-up. 

Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot