Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap
Encyclopedia
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap is a platforming
and action-adventure
video game developed by Westone. It was published by Sega
and released for the Sega Master System
in 1989 and for the Game Gear in 1992 under the title Monster World II: Dragon no Wana. It was ported
by Hudson Soft
in 1991 and was released for the PC Engine in Japan under the title Adventure Island and for the TurboGrafx-16
in North America under the title Dragon's Curse. In 1993, the game was released in Brazil by Tec Toy
for the Master System under the title Turma da Mônica em o Resgate, with the game retooled to include characters from Brazilian comic book
series Monica's Gang
(Turma da Mônica). The PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 version was released for the Wii
's Virtual Console
service in 2007, while the Master System version was released in 2009. It is the third game in the Wonder Boy
series and immediately follows the events that took place in its predecessor Wonder Boy in Monster Land
.
In Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap, the player controls Wonder Boy who has been cursed after defeating the Mecha Dragon. The object is to remove Wonder Boy's curse by finding the Salamander Cross, which has been hidden by the Vampire Dragon in Monster Land. The player explores Monster Land in a nonlinear fashion while going through differently-themed levels such as underwater, desert, jungle, cave, and sky. Players find items and clues needed to access different parts of Monster Land, and they can transform into other forms and gain different abilities after defeating dragons.
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap received extensive coverage worldwide in gaming magazines from 1989 through 1991. It was praised for its colorful and cartoon-like graphics, rich sound and diverse sound effects, and varied and addicting gameplay. Criticisms include sprite flickering in the Master System version as well as slippery controls. The game has been compared to the Castlevania
and Metroid
series, while one review called it "a straightforward and simple 'Metroidvania' adventure". It won Electronic Gaming Monthly
s "Best Game of the Year" award for the Master System in 1989. Reviews from Mean Machines
have described Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap as one best games on the Master System, while IGN
said it is one of the best 8-bit
titles of all time.
and action role-playing game
. Taking place immediately after the events of Wonder Boy in Monster Land
, Wonder Boy travels into the Mecha Dragon's lair in order to slay him. However, upon doing so, he is inflicted by a curse that transforms him into "Lizard-Man". In the game, the player controls Wonder Boy as he tries to undo this curse by journeying across the land, defeating other dragons, and defeating the Vampire Dragon to obtain the Salamander Cross – the only object that can remove his curse. (Some sources refer to this creature as the "MEKA dragon".) The player uses the directional pad to move Wonder Boy left or right, crouch down (only possible with Hu-Man or Lizard-Man), or to enter doors. Players use the buttons on the controller to attack enemies and to jump. Wonder Boy can attack with his main weapon or with secondary weapons by holding down on the directional pad and pressing the attack button. Pressing the pause button brings up the Status Screen and pauses the game if Wonder Boy is fighting a dragon.
After completing the first level in the game – which is the same as the final level in Wonder Boy in Monster Land – the player begins from a town in Monster Land as Lizard-Man, and the gameplay becomes nonlinear in the same style as Metroid. From there, the player explores and finds items and clues needed for Wonder Boy to access different parts of Monster Land. Defeated enemies drop gold or additional secondary weapons which are collected by touching them. Players can also find gold and items by opening treasure chests. With gold, players can buy additional items in shops and restore their life meter in hospitals. Shops, normally designated as doors with windows on them, are located in town or in caves, and they allow players to buy better equipment. Items in the shop with question marks displayed cannot be bought due to not having enough "charm"; players can increase charm by collecting collect Charm Stones or by equipping certain items. The Status Screen shows how much attack and defense power, and charm Wonder Boy has in the form of "points"; the higher the points, the more of that attribute he has. The amount of attack, defense, and charm depends on his form and what equipment is currently equipped.
Wonder Boy has a life meter represented on the top of the gameplay area by a series of hearts. The hearts turn from red to black when Wonder Boy sustains damage from enemy attacks, and he dies when all his hearts turn black. If he has a life potion ("medicine vial" in Dragon's Curse) remaining as shown on the top of the screen next to the life meter, Wonder Boy will revive with some of the hearts refilled. If the player does not have any life potions left, the game ends
, and the player is taken to a "continue screen"; there the player has an opportunity to earn a free life potion if the cursor surrounding the border of the continue screen lands on a red heart (or a red vial in Dragon's Curse). After that, the player continues the game, starting at the town. Players can visit the town's church to receive a password
in order to continue the game at a later time after turning the system off. The password saves the current player's form, equipment, and amount of gold; but it does not save any secondary weapons or life potions in stock. Dragon's Curse has a "file cabinet" which allows players to store passwords into the game's memory; the player may access these stored passwords and continue the game without needing to manually input them.
Throughout the game, players will go through differently-themed levels: underwater, desert, jungle, cave, and sky. At the end of each level is a different dragon. After defeating a dragon, Wonder Boy changes form, and his abilities change. Wonder Boy begins the game as Hu-Man, equipped with all eight hearts and the strongest equipment. He turns into Lizard-Man after defeating and being cursed by the Mecha Dragon in the first level. At that point, he loses all equipment and all hearts except one. Lizard-Man attacks enemies by breathing fire at them, and he can duck. He can assume other different forms throughout the game: Mouse-Man can walk on walls and ceilings designated by checkered "mouse blocks", Piranha-Man can swim freely underwater and can access underwater places which the other forms cannot, Lion-Man attacks enemies with his sword by swinging from directly above to directly below him, and Hawk-Man can fly freely in the air but sustains damage if he enters water.
; it is the sequel to Wonder Boy in Monster Land
. It was first released for the Sega Master System
in 1989 in North America and Europe. The game was then ported
to the PC Engine in Japan under the title Adventure Island (not to be confused with the Adventure Island
series of games for the Nintendo Entertainment System
); it was released for the TurboGrafx-16
that same year by NEC
under the title Dragon's Curse. Westone allowed Hudson Soft to publish the game provided they made no reference to the Wonder Boy series. Sega then released the game for the Game Gear in 1992 in Europe under the game's original title and in Japan under the title Monster World II: Dragon no Wana. In 1993, Tec Toy
released the game in Brazil for the Master System under the title Turma da Mônica em o Resgate. Tec Toy replaced the sprites with characters from Brazilian comic book
series Monica's Gang
(Turma da Mônica). In 2007, Sega released the game in Japan for the PlayStation 2
as part of a compilation of all the Wonder Boy games titled Sega Ages 2500 Vol. 29: Monster World Complete Collection. During the same year, Dragon's Curse/Adventure Island was released for the Wii
's Virtual Console
service worldwide. The Master System version of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap was released in Europe on and in North America on .
, where they provided a brief overview of the game and a summary of the events in Wonder Boy in Monster Land leading up to the game's plot. Two months later, in its December 1989 issue in its "Best and Worst of 1989", the game won an award for "Best Game of the Year" for the Sega Master System. GamePro
gave a brief overview of the game in its September–October 1989 issue, adding that "it's truly an adventure worthy of Wonder Boy". It received extensive coverage in both the January and February 1990 issues of VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, featuring an overview and a walkthrough of the game. The magazine praised the game for is challenge and overall look, which it says "will have you manipulating your control pad for days on end".
Various UK-based video gaming magazines gave Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap significant coverage. The Games Machine
complimented the game's colorful backgrounds and sprites with "the [Wonder] Boy himself being particularly well-drawn", while they criticized the weak animation on some of the characters as well as its choppy scrolling. They called it one of the best games by Sega but complained that it was expensive, saying "do you really want to spend 28 quid on it?" The magazine's successor, Raze
, reviewed the PC Engine version titled Adventure Island. The magazine praised the game's simplistic and addicting platforming gameplay and its smooth-scrolling graphics, though they said they were "a little blocky". They noted that the game had excellent music which was "worth listening through some headphones". Zero, along with praising the game's graphics and music, called it "enormously addictive"; the review said the ability to transform into different forms and hence being able to progress into new areas kept the game fresh.
UK magazines Computer and Video Games
and its spin-off Mean Machines
– in the latter's premiere issue – gave the game positive reviews. Computer and Video Games praised the animation in particular and called it the best game of its type on that platform, using phrases such as "familiar air of polish and ingenuity" and "piles of addiction guaranteed". Mean Machines Matt Regan
said it "ranks as one of the greatest Sega Master System games ever!"; he compared the gameplay to the Mario
series of video games and praised the game's depth, saying that "there's always something new to discover, be it a key to a previously locked door or even a secret room!" Julian Rignall
praised the game's graphics and the huge world players can explore, which he says contributes to the game's addictiveness. He said that "the combination of adventuring, shooting and platform action results in one of the best games of its type available on any console". Collectively, they praised the game overall presentation and graphics, saying that the sprites complement the background. While they additionally praised its playability for being "accessible from the word go" and longevity, they criticized its sound, saying that it "could have been much better".
German magazine Video Games gave Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap a positive review, saying that the game gave more weight to strategy and tactics, that it "stands out clearly from the two predecessors", and that its graphics became less childlike but more "spectacular". The review continued, saying that its gameplay is a good example about that makes action-adventure game
s addicting to play. It complimented the game's depth and wide array of equipment, saying that it "provides an additional touch, which makes [it] the best thought-out game [at the time]."
Upon the release of the TurboGrafx-16
version Dragon's Curse to the Virtual Console
in 2007, IGN
's Lucas Thomas reviewed the game, comparing the opening sequence of the game to the opening sequence of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
; he proceeded to add that the game parallels with games in the Castlevania
series, calling the game "a straightforward and simple 'Metroidvania' adventure" but with "several layers of unexpected depth". Thomas noted the game's popularity among fans and that is plays almost exactly the same as the Master System version despite graphics and sound improvements; at the time, there were no Master System games on the Virtual Console. He praised the game's rich sound, gameplay depth, and "colorful and cartoony" graphics, which "was perfectly suited to the TurboGrafx platform".
IGN's Travis Fahs, in discussing the SMS version, offered another opinion, praising the game as "not only the crowning achievement of the series, but perhaps one the best games of the 8-bit era," drawing comparisons to both Mario and Zelda
. Thomas again reviewed the Master System version of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap when it was released two years later for the Virtual Console. In this review, he compares the gameplay to Metroid
– more specifically the need to gather additional equipment and abilities to advance in the game. While he acknowledged that this version from one of the best Master System games as well as for any 8-bit system, he felt that the Master System's Virtual Console release had a reduced appeal. He said that the TurboGrafx-16 version Dragon's Curse had already been out for two years and that there was no difference in gameplay between the two versions, but there were improvements in graphics and sound in the TurboGrafx-16 version because of the system's superior capabilities. He also noted that the Master System version suffers from sprite flickering – something the TurboGrafx-16 version did not have. Despite the small differences in the two versions, he decided to give the Master System version the same rating as the TurboGrafx-16 version.
The Master System version of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap was reviewed by Allgame
. The review praised the non-linear gameplay and the ability to change into different forms, which "keeps things interesting and fun" and "keeps the game from getting repetitive". It lauded its visuals and sound effects, saying the "graphics are very colorful and have a cartoon look to them". Criticisms included slippery controls and the difficulty of getting into doors; it said the controls kept the game from obtaining a perfect rating, and the gameplay was still not as good as Wonder Boy in Monster Land
.
The editing staff from magazine Retro Gamer
listed Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap as one of the "Perfect Ten Games" for the Master System, calling it "the best in a long and highly convoluted myriad of multi-titled games" and "a great adventure that every Master System fan needs to own. The review praised the game's brisk pace and gameplay, despite the length of the game.
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
and action-adventure
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video game developed by Westone. It was published by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
and released for the Sega Master System
Sega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
in 1989 and for the Game Gear in 1992 under the title Monster World II: Dragon no Wana. It was ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
by Hudson Soft
Hudson Soft
, formally known as , is a majority-owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation is a Japanese electronic entertainment publisher headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with an additional office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. It was founded on May 18, 1973...
in 1991 and was released for the PC Engine in Japan under the title Adventure Island and for the TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
in North America under the title Dragon's Curse. In 1993, the game was released in Brazil by Tec Toy
Tec Toy
Tectoy is a Brazilian videogame and electronics company. They are best known for publishing and distributing Sega's consoles and video games in that country. The company stock is also traded at Bovespa...
for the Master System under the title Turma da Mônica em o Resgate, with the game retooled to include characters from Brazilian comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series Monica's Gang
Monica's Gang
Monica's Gang is a popular Brazilian comic book series. The series was created by Mauricio de Sousa, who signs his work as "Mauricio". Plots are centered on the adventures of a group of seven-year-old friends in the fictional neighborhood of "Limoeiro" in São Paulo...
(Turma da Mônica). The PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 version was released for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
service in 2007, while the Master System version was released in 2009. It is the third game in the Wonder Boy
Wonder Boy
is a series of video games published by SEGA and developed by Westone Bit Entertainment .The series itself consists of the main Wonder Boy series, and the Monster World sub-series. Games may be part of one, the other, or both. This has resulted in a sometimes confusing naming structure resulting in...
series and immediately follows the events that took place in its predecessor Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Wonder Boy in Monster Land is an action role-playing platform video game developed by Westone. It was released by Sega for the arcades in 1987 and for the Sega Master System in 1988; Activision released the game for the Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, and Atari ST...
.
In Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap, the player controls Wonder Boy who has been cursed after defeating the Mecha Dragon. The object is to remove Wonder Boy's curse by finding the Salamander Cross, which has been hidden by the Vampire Dragon in Monster Land. The player explores Monster Land in a nonlinear fashion while going through differently-themed levels such as underwater, desert, jungle, cave, and sky. Players find items and clues needed to access different parts of Monster Land, and they can transform into other forms and gain different abilities after defeating dragons.
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap received extensive coverage worldwide in gaming magazines from 1989 through 1991. It was praised for its colorful and cartoon-like graphics, rich sound and diverse sound effects, and varied and addicting gameplay. Criticisms include sprite flickering in the Master System version as well as slippery controls. The game has been compared to the Castlevania
Castlevania
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a video game series created and developed by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986, with the release of for the Family Computer Disk System , followed by an alternate version for the MSX 2 platform on October 30...
and Metroid
Metroid
is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...
series, while one review called it "a straightforward and simple 'Metroidvania' adventure". It won Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
s "Best Game of the Year" award for the Master System in 1989. Reviews from Mean Machines
Mean Machines
Mean Machines was a market-leading multi-format gaming magazine released between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. Its style was popular with gamers of the time for its irreverent humor, anarchic editorial tone and style, and its sometimes outrageously outspoken reviews.- Origins :In the late...
have described Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap as one best games on the Master System, while IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
said it is one of the best 8-bit
8-bit
The first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...
titles of all time.
Overview
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap is a side-scrolling platform gamePlatform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
and action role-playing game
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
. Taking place immediately after the events of Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Wonder Boy in Monster Land is an action role-playing platform video game developed by Westone. It was released by Sega for the arcades in 1987 and for the Sega Master System in 1988; Activision released the game for the Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, and Atari ST...
, Wonder Boy travels into the Mecha Dragon's lair in order to slay him. However, upon doing so, he is inflicted by a curse that transforms him into "Lizard-Man". In the game, the player controls Wonder Boy as he tries to undo this curse by journeying across the land, defeating other dragons, and defeating the Vampire Dragon to obtain the Salamander Cross – the only object that can remove his curse. (Some sources refer to this creature as the "MEKA dragon".) The player uses the directional pad to move Wonder Boy left or right, crouch down (only possible with Hu-Man or Lizard-Man), or to enter doors. Players use the buttons on the controller to attack enemies and to jump. Wonder Boy can attack with his main weapon or with secondary weapons by holding down on the directional pad and pressing the attack button. Pressing the pause button brings up the Status Screen and pauses the game if Wonder Boy is fighting a dragon.
After completing the first level in the game – which is the same as the final level in Wonder Boy in Monster Land – the player begins from a town in Monster Land as Lizard-Man, and the gameplay becomes nonlinear in the same style as Metroid. From there, the player explores and finds items and clues needed for Wonder Boy to access different parts of Monster Land. Defeated enemies drop gold or additional secondary weapons which are collected by touching them. Players can also find gold and items by opening treasure chests. With gold, players can buy additional items in shops and restore their life meter in hospitals. Shops, normally designated as doors with windows on them, are located in town or in caves, and they allow players to buy better equipment. Items in the shop with question marks displayed cannot be bought due to not having enough "charm"; players can increase charm by collecting collect Charm Stones or by equipping certain items. The Status Screen shows how much attack and defense power, and charm Wonder Boy has in the form of "points"; the higher the points, the more of that attribute he has. The amount of attack, defense, and charm depends on his form and what equipment is currently equipped.
Wonder Boy has a life meter represented on the top of the gameplay area by a series of hearts. The hearts turn from red to black when Wonder Boy sustains damage from enemy attacks, and he dies when all his hearts turn black. If he has a life potion ("medicine vial" in Dragon's Curse) remaining as shown on the top of the screen next to the life meter, Wonder Boy will revive with some of the hearts refilled. If the player does not have any life potions left, the game ends
Game over
Game Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...
, and the player is taken to a "continue screen"; there the player has an opportunity to earn a free life potion if the cursor surrounding the border of the continue screen lands on a red heart (or a red vial in Dragon's Curse). After that, the player continues the game, starting at the town. Players can visit the town's church to receive a password
Password (video games)
In many video games of the 8-bit and, to a lesser extent, 16-bit eras , after a level was beaten and/or when all continues were used, the game would display a password, that when entered in the game would allow the player to return to this part in the game...
in order to continue the game at a later time after turning the system off. The password saves the current player's form, equipment, and amount of gold; but it does not save any secondary weapons or life potions in stock. Dragon's Curse has a "file cabinet" which allows players to store passwords into the game's memory; the player may access these stored passwords and continue the game without needing to manually input them.
Throughout the game, players will go through differently-themed levels: underwater, desert, jungle, cave, and sky. At the end of each level is a different dragon. After defeating a dragon, Wonder Boy changes form, and his abilities change. Wonder Boy begins the game as Hu-Man, equipped with all eight hearts and the strongest equipment. He turns into Lizard-Man after defeating and being cursed by the Mecha Dragon in the first level. At that point, he loses all equipment and all hearts except one. Lizard-Man attacks enemies by breathing fire at them, and he can duck. He can assume other different forms throughout the game: Mouse-Man can walk on walls and ceilings designated by checkered "mouse blocks", Piranha-Man can swim freely underwater and can access underwater places which the other forms cannot, Lion-Man attacks enemies with his sword by swinging from directly above to directly below him, and Hawk-Man can fly freely in the air but sustains damage if he enters water.
Development and release
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap was developed by Westone and was published by SegaSega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
; it is the sequel to Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Wonder Boy in Monster Land is an action role-playing platform video game developed by Westone. It was released by Sega for the arcades in 1987 and for the Sega Master System in 1988; Activision released the game for the Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, and Atari ST...
. It was first released for the Sega Master System
Sega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
in 1989 in North America and Europe. The game was then ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to the PC Engine in Japan under the title Adventure Island (not to be confused with the Adventure Island
Adventure Island (video game)
Hudson's Adventure Island, also known simply as Adventure Island and released in Japan as , is a side-scrolling platform game produced by Hudson Soft that was first released in Japan for the Family Computer and MSX on September 12, 1986...
series of games for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
); it was released for the TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
that same year by NEC
NEC
, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government....
under the title Dragon's Curse. Westone allowed Hudson Soft to publish the game provided they made no reference to the Wonder Boy series. Sega then released the game for the Game Gear in 1992 in Europe under the game's original title and in Japan under the title Monster World II: Dragon no Wana. In 1993, Tec Toy
Tec Toy
Tectoy is a Brazilian videogame and electronics company. They are best known for publishing and distributing Sega's consoles and video games in that country. The company stock is also traded at Bovespa...
released the game in Brazil for the Master System under the title Turma da Mônica em o Resgate. Tec Toy replaced the sprites with characters from Brazilian comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series Monica's Gang
Monica's Gang
Monica's Gang is a popular Brazilian comic book series. The series was created by Mauricio de Sousa, who signs his work as "Mauricio". Plots are centered on the adventures of a group of seven-year-old friends in the fictional neighborhood of "Limoeiro" in São Paulo...
(Turma da Mônica). In 2007, Sega released the game in Japan for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
as part of a compilation of all the Wonder Boy games titled Sega Ages 2500 Vol. 29: Monster World Complete Collection. During the same year, Dragon's Curse/Adventure Island was released for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
service worldwide. The Master System version of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap was released in Europe on and in North America on .
Reception
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap received coverage in the September 1989 issue of Electronic Gaming MonthlyElectronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
, where they provided a brief overview of the game and a summary of the events in Wonder Boy in Monster Land leading up to the game's plot. Two months later, in its December 1989 issue in its "Best and Worst of 1989", the game won an award for "Best Game of the Year" for the Sega Master System. GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
gave a brief overview of the game in its September–October 1989 issue, adding that "it's truly an adventure worthy of Wonder Boy". It received extensive coverage in both the January and February 1990 issues of VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, featuring an overview and a walkthrough of the game. The magazine praised the game for is challenge and overall look, which it says "will have you manipulating your control pad for days on end".
Various UK-based video gaming magazines gave Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap significant coverage. The Games Machine
The Games Machine
The Games Machine was a video game magazine that was published from 1987 until 1990 in the United Kingdom by Newsfield, which also published CRASH, Zzap!64, Amtix! and other magazines.-History:...
complimented the game's colorful backgrounds and sprites with "the [Wonder] Boy himself being particularly well-drawn", while they criticized the weak animation on some of the characters as well as its choppy scrolling. They called it one of the best games by Sega but complained that it was expensive, saying "do you really want to spend 28 quid on it?" The magazine's successor, Raze
Raze (magazine)
Raze was a multi-format videogame magazine published by Newsfield Publications from October 1990 to September 1991 and was the successor to Newsfield’s own multi-format title The Games Machine. The editorial work for Raze was contracted out to Words Works Limited, which was head by Richard Monteiro...
, reviewed the PC Engine version titled Adventure Island. The magazine praised the game's simplistic and addicting platforming gameplay and its smooth-scrolling graphics, though they said they were "a little blocky". They noted that the game had excellent music which was "worth listening through some headphones". Zero, along with praising the game's graphics and music, called it "enormously addictive"; the review said the ability to transform into different forms and hence being able to progress into new areas kept the game fresh.
UK magazines Computer and Video Games
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
and its spin-off Mean Machines
Mean Machines
Mean Machines was a market-leading multi-format gaming magazine released between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. Its style was popular with gamers of the time for its irreverent humor, anarchic editorial tone and style, and its sometimes outrageously outspoken reviews.- Origins :In the late...
– in the latter's premiere issue – gave the game positive reviews. Computer and Video Games praised the animation in particular and called it the best game of its type on that platform, using phrases such as "familiar air of polish and ingenuity" and "piles of addiction guaranteed". Mean Machines Matt Regan
Matt Regan
Matt Regan was one of the original team that launched UK multiformat videogame magazine Mean Machines. He and Julian Rignall started off as the two main reviewers....
said it "ranks as one of the greatest Sega Master System games ever!"; he compared the gameplay to the Mario
Mario (series)
The video game series, alternatively called the series or simply the series, is a series of highly popular and critically acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping on and...
series of video games and praised the game's depth, saying that "there's always something new to discover, be it a key to a previously locked door or even a secret room!" Julian Rignall
Julian Rignall
Julian "Muppet" Rignall is a longterm publishing veteran with experience launching and managing numerous video game magazines and websites...
praised the game's graphics and the huge world players can explore, which he says contributes to the game's addictiveness. He said that "the combination of adventuring, shooting and platform action results in one of the best games of its type available on any console". Collectively, they praised the game overall presentation and graphics, saying that the sprites complement the background. While they additionally praised its playability for being "accessible from the word go" and longevity, they criticized its sound, saying that it "could have been much better".
German magazine Video Games gave Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap a positive review, saying that the game gave more weight to strategy and tactics, that it "stands out clearly from the two predecessors", and that its graphics became less childlike but more "spectacular". The review continued, saying that its gameplay is a good example about that makes action-adventure game
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
s addicting to play. It complimented the game's depth and wide array of equipment, saying that it "provides an additional touch, which makes [it] the best thought-out game [at the time]."
Upon the release of the TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
version Dragon's Curse to the Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
in 2007, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Lucas Thomas reviewed the game, comparing the opening sequence of the game to the opening sequence of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami in 1997. It is the 14th installment of the Castlevania series, the first installment released for the PlayStation, and a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.Symphony of the...
; he proceeded to add that the game parallels with games in the Castlevania
Castlevania
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a video game series created and developed by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986, with the release of for the Family Computer Disk System , followed by an alternate version for the MSX 2 platform on October 30...
series, calling the game "a straightforward and simple 'Metroidvania' adventure" but with "several layers of unexpected depth". Thomas noted the game's popularity among fans and that is plays almost exactly the same as the Master System version despite graphics and sound improvements; at the time, there were no Master System games on the Virtual Console. He praised the game's rich sound, gameplay depth, and "colorful and cartoony" graphics, which "was perfectly suited to the TurboGrafx platform".
IGN's Travis Fahs, in discussing the SMS version, offered another opinion, praising the game as "not only the crowning achievement of the series, but perhaps one the best games of the 8-bit era," drawing comparisons to both Mario and Zelda
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda, originally released as in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Nintendo, and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Set in the fantasy land of Hyrule, the plot centers on a boy named Link, the playable protagonist, who aims to collect the eight fragments...
. Thomas again reviewed the Master System version of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap when it was released two years later for the Virtual Console. In this review, he compares the gameplay to Metroid
Metroid
is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...
– more specifically the need to gather additional equipment and abilities to advance in the game. While he acknowledged that this version from one of the best Master System games as well as for any 8-bit system, he felt that the Master System's Virtual Console release had a reduced appeal. He said that the TurboGrafx-16 version Dragon's Curse had already been out for two years and that there was no difference in gameplay between the two versions, but there were improvements in graphics and sound in the TurboGrafx-16 version because of the system's superior capabilities. He also noted that the Master System version suffers from sprite flickering – something the TurboGrafx-16 version did not have. Despite the small differences in the two versions, he decided to give the Master System version the same rating as the TurboGrafx-16 version.
The Master System version of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap was reviewed by Allgame
Allgame
Allgame is a commercial database of information about arcade games, video games and console manufacturers.Allgame is owned by All Media Guide, along with Allmusic and Allmovie....
. The review praised the non-linear gameplay and the ability to change into different forms, which "keeps things interesting and fun" and "keeps the game from getting repetitive". It lauded its visuals and sound effects, saying the "graphics are very colorful and have a cartoon look to them". Criticisms included slippery controls and the difficulty of getting into doors; it said the controls kept the game from obtaining a perfect rating, and the gameplay was still not as good as Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Wonder Boy in Monster Land is an action role-playing platform video game developed by Westone. It was released by Sega for the arcades in 1987 and for the Sega Master System in 1988; Activision released the game for the Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, and Atari ST...
.
The editing staff from magazine Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Although launched as a quarterly publication, Retro Gamers soon became a monthly...
listed Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap as one of the "Perfect Ten Games" for the Master System, calling it "the best in a long and highly convoluted myriad of multi-titled games" and "a great adventure that every Master System fan needs to own. The review praised the game's brisk pace and gameplay, despite the length of the game.
External links
- Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap at SegaSega, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
.com - Dragon's Curse Virtual Console site
- Wonder Boy series at Sega-16.com
- The Legend of Wonder Boy at IGN Retro — Retrospective of entire Wonder Boy series, including all off-shoots (This hyperlink is to the entry for Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap.)
- Wonder Boy series at HardcoreGaming101
- Wonderboy LAND