Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (PS4/Switch/Xbox One/PC, OUT NOW!)

[Thigolf]

Released back in 1989 as the third game in the Wonder Boy series and generally considered to be one of the best Master System games of all time, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap will now return to consoles and PC, beautifully remade:

 

It's the good, old Master System classic, but with a fresh new handdrawn coat of paint and a reimagined soundtrack using classical instruments. 

Other than a vague "Consoles/PC", no exact platforms have been announced, and a date has also not been revealed yet. But from what we've seen so far, I'm sure it'll be worth the wait.

 

What do you guys think? I personally can't wait. It looks freaking fantastic, and since there's still the freaking awesome classic underneath the beautiful new look, I have hardly any worries at all. I seriously cannot wait to get my hands on this.

[Dejimon11]

Wow this game looks absolutely beautiful! I actually want to play it.

[Mania Pipe]

I've never heard of this game before. But after watching the trailer though, I'm really interested in it.

[Blacklightning]

My first Wonder Boy game was Monster World on the Genesis, which I think is technically Wonder Boy IV? I'm kinda curious how much this differs to it - Monster World was honestly one of the best Genesis games for me and I'll probably play this out of respect for that alone, but something tells me I'm in for a completely different game here.

Either way, looks purty. Gimmie.

[Jango]

Holy shit! That looks awesome! I remember this game, it's Hudson Soft's I believe? It certainly came before Adventure Island, because damn, both games are too much alike.

[Indigo Rush]

Gameplay of the original for those interested:

I might be on the verge of a MasterSystem kick now. Hm.

[Person]

This is what I'm talking about! I'll definately give this a try when it comes out. Never tried any of the classic Wonder Boy games, so this'll be a good intro.

Why can't we have a Sonic game like this? If Sonic Team ever goes the 2D route again, they need to have these hand-drawn visuals.

[Gregzilla]

That art style looks right up my alley, I love it.  I'm excited for it based on the art alone, but the gameplay looks fun too.  I'll keep an eye on this one.

But it also makes me wish we could see art styles like this more often.  Imagine this kind of art style used by a huge company with an enormous budget.  We need more art styles like this and Wario Land Shake It, and this trailer makes it seem like that could happen.

[Tailikku]

I just know that if Ruko Michiharu had an account on here, she would probably say that she prefers the PC Engine version known in the US as the Dragon's Curse and Japan as Adventure Island (アドベンチャーアイランド, not to be confused with Hudson Soft's classic series starring their marketing guy Master Toshiyuki Takahashi /Master Higgins known as 冒険島).  I'm kind of partial to that version too since it fixes the error of Bocke having a different design from how he appeared in Wonder Boy in Monster Land.

 

This is what I mean:

Wonder Boy II (SMS box used):

seen further in these sprites

Wonder Boy III:

seen further in these sprites

what does the TG16 version use?

The first design of course

 

[Mr Loopone]

Never thought to see the day! While I haven't to be honest played much of the game where I usually get to the desert then just die (have problems with progress with that, Monster Land and Monster World IV), I do acknowledge how good the game is from the world layout, graphic style, music and gameplay elements. Even ripped a lot of sprites for Wonder Boy 3 except for the enemies a long time ago. The new art style looks really great and pleasantly surprised how fluid it looks.

Also the game is in really good hands. The developer of this is no other than Bock the head of SMS Power who made the MEKA Master System/Game Gear emulator (both of these are Wonder Boy references, Bock the hero from Wonder Boy in Monster Land and the Meka/Mecha Dragon). He is passionate for the console to the point of documenting nearly everything related to it and has collected all sorts of Wonder Boy stuff, well that and Fantasy Zone. Thinking about it, that might explain the last few updates to the emulator since it was on hiatus then updated out of nowhere for a while, probably to help with this game. Bock has disassembled the game and even understood the quirks in the programming regards to obscure object placement/physics however improves the game since the original didn't seem smooth compared to many 2D games at the time (30fps?). I can't think of anyone else other than the late Westone or perhaps WayForward (on the grounds that the Shantae series was inspired by the Monster World series) that would be an almost perfect match for a remake.

[Nepenthe]

Never heard of this series before or even seen much of it. But a traditionally-animated action platformer where you transform into different animals sounds right up my alley. Count me in. <3

[Adamis]

I did play the original on my Game Gear to death when I was a kid and I intend to play this version as soon as it's released ! It's a wonderful game.

[Stasis]

Absolutely ecstatic! I love this game so much. So much so that I'm humming the tunes from the game while I'm writing this. It was my second master system game as a kid after Asterix and the secret mission.  The opening to the game is so suspenseful and chilling that it feels like you are about to experience an amazing journey. Think it's time to dig out the Master System again.

 

[Mauro Fonseca]

I'm not understanding if Westone is involved with this, but I assume they are if the IP's being outright used. Good to see and here's hoping this leads to more remakes, especially Monster World IV, I'd love to see that remade like this

[Pawn]

I remember very little about Wonder Boy, aside from possibly renting one of the Mega Drive games once and the short comic strip from the UK's Sonic the Comic. With such a lovely presentation though, I'll definitely be following this one.

[Thigolf]

New trailer!

Are you in the mood for the old school graphics of the original? The game let's you switch to 8-bit mode anytime via a simple button press! Also, if you still know some passwords from the 1989 original, you can actually put them in here too and they will work! Great additions for fans of the original.

[Tailikku]

19 hours ago, Thigolf said:

New trailer!

Are you in the mood for the old school graphics of the original? The game let's you switch to 8-bit mode anytime via a simple button press! Also, if you still know some passwords from the 1989 original, you can actually put them in here too and they will work! Great additions for fans of the original.

Now if only there was a way to load your saves from the PC Engine version, Adventure Island/Dragon's Curse

[Dejimon11]

The game is out now and here's the launch trailer 

I need this game now. It looks and sounds beautiful and you can tell that the developers but a lot of love into this game.

[Meta77]

Never heard of this game but it looks fun

[Candescence]

For those who have a Switch, get it on that over the other versions, it's a must. This game looks amazing on the Switch's handheld screen, and frankly it's the closest thing you'll get to an authentic SMS/Game Gear experience with this game (PS4 remote play works, I suppose, but it's not the same, and you need a Vita too). The joycon d-pad actually works fine with this game, as well (it's not a proper cross d-pad, but it's still leagues better than the 360 pad because there's no ambiguity in terms of input).

Also, the HD/retro seamless switch button makes it easier to appreciate how utterly detailed and amazing the art is for, well, everything. Otherwise fairly bland environments are fleshed out in incredible ways.

[Meta77]

Well switch it is than

[TCB]

Still getting this on PS4.

This looks charming. Plus the ability to switch to the classic SMS/GG graphics is an adorable callback. 

[Sean]

This just came out on PC the other day. I've played about an hour of it - it has an unbearably charming presentation, and just watching/listening to the game in action makes me hella happy even if the gameplay itself is on the simplistic side and the controls are a tad finicky.