Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap is what happens when someone decides to do a true to the word remaster & does a pretty damned good job at it.
The game starts you of with your choice of either cosmetic choice of the titular Wonder Boy or new to this, Wonder Girl. Once said & done, you start of playing the last sequence of events of the previous games in the series. A cool way to start off people new to the series, like myself, or to refresh some memory to vets to the series. Nonetheless the plot is extremely minimal in this action platformer, most of it dumped in the opening scene & ultimately not necessary to enjoy the game. A quick set up to set you off in your grand adventure cast off this monstrous curse cast on you by the previous game’s last boss.
As mentioned Wonder Boy is an action platformer with exploration & problem solving, albeit basic, very similar to what is now known as the Metroidvania genre. Each curse transforms you into a different creature starting of from a very basic Dragon, which overall has nothing going for it, to a Mouse-kid(?) which allows you to fit into small gaps or stick to specific tiles & such to even a Merman, which of course allows you swim in water instead of sinking like a stone. Each creature has its own Attack & Defense rating further enhanced by swords, shields & armor that can be bought or found though be aware that some are creature specific, either granting a bigger bonus or none at all depending on the wearer. The game does give you a small not-entirely-vague hint as to who benefits from the equipment, so have no fear. Consumable items, either found in chests or dropped by slain enemies, such as Fireballs, Boomerangs & Arrows round out your arsenal. Lastly, Potions which as well can be found, gotten from enemies or bought, can revive you on the spot though you are limited to 3 & 1 in Hard mode.
Combat, much like the rest of the game is basic & difficulty is overall manageable in most cases. Moments of frustration are due to lack of modernizing or touching up some aspects of gameplay so as to keep it as near 1:1 as the original game. Optional minor things such as a map would have added a nice touch in regards to backtracking though as mentioned an optional thing. Other flaws involve hitboxes & how tight they are, leading you to get hit or missing swings when at inopportune times & then getting juggled around by enemies & hazards alike or bouncing an enemy into you. By grace, the i-frames don’t reset until your feet are firmly planted on the ground & thankfully the game lacks instant death pits but g’damned was it annoying. Lastly, beware attacking enemy whose sprites are merged, as you will only hit 1 enemy & the other will carry on his merry way, often straight into you.
The art & sounds in Wonder Boy is pretty damned amazing though. Beautiful hand-drawn art & excellent animations kept me going through the minor annoyances enough to keep going & kick the final boss’ ass. A neat feature in this remaster is being able to switch between both the art & audio on the fly to its retro look & sounds, both separate to each other. It was neat arriving into a new area or seeing a boss for the first time & just in the simple press of a button switch between the modern & retro look & compare the work & thought put into the game. What would be an empty barren hallway in the old game would be an amazing work of art in its modern incarnation. Overall high praises from me in that aspect.
In any case, Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap is a neat remaster & a new experience for me that I wholeheartedly recommend, even with its minor annoyances. Old school charm as they say, that veterans & newbies alike will enjoy. Available on all 3 consoles, PC, Linus & Mac you will not lack from choice in regards on what system to pick it up from & picking it up I highly recommend.
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