You know what it’s like. You’ve got Blonde curly hair atop of your head, a skateboard and next to no clothes on, Just minding your own business adventuring. Then all of a sudden the very same Mecha Dragon that you are seeking to destroy smites you with a curse. A curse that forces you to take the form of a variety of different animals…….no?
Well Wonder Boy does.
Originally released in 1989 on the Sega Master System, The dragon’s Trap was a big hit for Sega, Pushing Wonder Boy as yet another mascot, Sega pumped a number of Wonder Boy games out, so many infact it started to get a little confusing. The Dragon’s trap is the second game in the Wonder Boy 3 series so technically this game should be titled……Wonder Boy 3 : 2……….yea.
Anyway
The Dragon’s Trap Remake is a beautifully hand drawn affair, it really feels like a cartoon as I’m running around villages and dungeons. It feels so smooth and even though I haven’t played the original since release, it feels faithful and precise. A nice feature is you can flip the graphics back to represent that of the master system for ultimate nostalgia feels. The graphics change in real time, it’s a really nice touch and shows that this game is the labour of love and is 100% faithful to the original.
Personally I find the 8bit graphics little garish on my TV, even when using the inbuilt scan line settings. I’m not complaining because the redrawn animation is simply beautiful and a real treat for my eyes.
All the music and sound effects have been recreated, the original melodies have been beautifully composed and you can also flip these back to the old janky chip tunes too. Again, the same as with the graphics, the 8bit sounds are full of nostalgia and a pleasure to relive but i couldn’t play for extended periods. It’s just far too……sharp
As The story unfolds, you play through the end of the last Wonder Boy, revealing that although you defeated the awesome Mecha Dragon but also you are cursed, the curse transforms you into lizard man. Lizard man can breathe fire so it’s not all bad right?
Wonder Boys 2D action really drives home the classic platformer goodness, with a little element of RPG you must adventure through multiple landscapes trying to figure out how to break this retched curse. You negate the levels progressing only limited by your current form. Each Dragon you defeat will transform you into a different animal. Each animal has a different skill. For example Piranha Man can swim and Mouse Man can climb walls. Later in the game you gain the ability to change form all by yourself opening puzzle sections for you to figure out. Which character is the best for this situation? You decide!
The level designs are nice and simple, the puzzles are tough enough to make you think but not too hard. Just a little exploring is normally enough to progress, plus you’ll gain a lot more money this way to spend on weapons and armour. Some purchasable items are essential to play through the game, for example, quite early on you’ll need to grind a little to earn enough gold to buy Lava resistant armour. This allows you to negate un-jumpable pits, otherwise impossible to cross. The grinding is minimal, I almost had enough cash to purchase most things along my quest.
Other than the obvious graphics and sound overhaul I’m struggling to see what else has been done here, the game runs exactly the same as the old one in every way, and this is perhaps this games biggest downfall. A few editions along the lines of mid-level checkpoints or even save states would have been a welcomed change but I guess the developer wanted to keep it as faithful as possible.
Retro game fans will undoubtedly love this but it certainly suffers retro game traits, annoying traits. Cheap deaths and starting all the way back at the village when you continue is the most annoying. Sometimes its so difficult just to get back to where you last died let alone battle through to the end. Personally I don’t mind this but I do play a lot of retro games so I guess I’m used to it.
This remake is honestly nothing more than a reskin, this just lends to the fact that the game was years ahead of it’s time, it still stands up amongst the best indie games of today whilst still maintaining that crucial retro feel.
After getting used to the slight delay on attack I’ve managed to fly through this game pretty quickly, I’ve not finished it yet but I know I’m not too far from the end, or at least if my memory serves me correctly. I’ve probably spent about 8 hours playing so far so I’m happy with this purchase.
I’d recommend this game for retro lovers but for gamers seeking a switch games with a little more meat you might want to give this game a miss, or at least wait for it to be on sale sometime.
Thanks for reading
Love you
Pug
xxx
Retro Pug 