Wonderboy / Monster World Collection

[Aussie Ben]

Well, I discovered that Monster World Complete Collection was going on Play Asia for thirty bucks, so I bought myself a copy. It contains the following games:

- Wonder Boy

- Wonder Boy in Monster Land

- Wonder Boy: Monster Lair

- Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap

- Wonder Boy in Monster World

- Monster World IV

It's a pretty sweet collection, especially for thirty bucks. My favourite of the lot is Dragon's Trap - I remember being blown away when I played it as a kid. Being able to turn into a fire-breathing lizard, a mouse, a pirahna, a hawk - each with their own special abilites - it was just so different (and way cooler!) than anything I'd ever played at the time. Also that one of the bosses was a Pirate Dragon that threw a barrage of hooks at you, that was pretty damned cool too.

And of course, the classic Wonder Boy is great too - hard as buggery, but it looks pretty damn good, especially the Arcade version (depending on the game, you get about four different versions of it). The collection is decked out with other extras too, like Japanese and English instruction manuals scanned in, concept art, sheet music (!) and sound tests. English versions of the game are included for Wonder Boy III and Wonder Boy in Monster World (but the only games entirely in Japanese are Wonder Boy in Monster Land and Monster World IV).

Some group has completely patched Monster World IV so that you can play it in English, which is a great thing indeed - it plays similar to the later Monster World games, but has an Arabian Nights flavour to it and some very nice sprite art. If you buy the collection (and even if you don't) I'd reccommend playing Monster World IV - it's a pity it didn't end up getting a local release.