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A bit of a random one. There are better ways to play now, but I still have a blast with the Mega Drive port.



January 2024:


February 2024:


March 2024:
Outrun (Mega Drive)

So, I may have done an “oops” and ordered 7 physical games from GameStop, all for under $90.

Dariusburst: Another Chronicle EX+
G-Darius HD (a dupe, so I’ll have one to sell or trade.
Cotton Reboot
Cotton Fantasy
Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World
Wonder Boy Collection
Zangetsu (used)

So yeah, oops.

marurun wrote:Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World

Nice pick ups. I'd be interested to hear what you think of Asha in Monster World. It seems like it was much less popular than the Dragon's Trap remake, but also that a lot of people seem to have soured on Monster World IV a bit for some reason. Back in the day I thought it was often thought of as one of the best entries in the series, but it seems like people are less fond of it now. Maybe, with it being Japanese only and importing games being a bit more difficult back in the day, it was mythologised a bit. It looks like a solid remake to me anyways (the 3D art direction doesn't seem bad to me) and it includes the original as a bonus, so definitely one I will get at some point.

Anyone else think that Monster World IV is more or less the progenitor of the Shantae series?

Yeah, supposedly the developers of Shantae were directly influenced by it.

It definitely shows. Personally I'd LOVE to score the film rights to Shantae.

Reprise wrote:

marurun wrote:Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World

Nice pick ups. I'd be interested to hear what you think of Asha in Monster World. It seems like it was much less popular than the Dragon's Trap remake, but also that a lot of people seem to have soured on Monster World IV a bit for some reason. Back in the day I thought it was often thought of as one of the best entries in the series, but it seems like people are less fond of it now. Maybe, with it being Japanese only and importing games being a bit more difficult back in the day, it was mythologised a bit. It looks like a solid remake to me anyways (the 3D art direction doesn't seem bad to me) and it includes the original as a bonus, so definitely one I will get at some point.

What set Monster World IV apart is its gorgeous sprite work. It’s otherwise just a pretty straightforward action-platformer, lacking almost all of the “metroidvania” aspects of Wonder Boy: Dragon’s Trap and Wonder Boy in Monster World.

The Dragon’s Trap remake replaced primitive, 8-bit sprites with gorgeous hand-drawn graphics, and it retained all of the original game’s great gameplay and level design. The Monster World IV remake replaced gorgeous sprite work with cheap-looking 3D graphics, which made the original game’s good-but-not-great gameplay and level design a little more apparent.

That’s my take, at least!

prfsnl_gmr wrote:

Reprise wrote:

marurun wrote:Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World

Nice pick ups. I'd be interested to hear what you think of Asha in Monster World. It seems like it was much less popular than the Dragon's Trap remake, but also that a lot of people seem to have soured on Monster World IV a bit for some reason. Back in the day I thought it was often thought of as one of the best entries in the series, but it seems like people are less fond of it now. Maybe, with it being Japanese only and importing games being a bit more difficult back in the day, it was mythologised a bit. It looks like a solid remake to me anyways (the 3D art direction doesn't seem bad to me) and it includes the original as a bonus, so definitely one I will get at some point.

What set Monster World IV apart is its gorgeous sprite work. It’s otherwise just a pretty straightforward action-platformer, lacking almost all of the “metroidvania” aspects of Wonder Boy: Dragon’s Trap and Wonder Boy in Monster World.

The Dragon’s Trap remake replaced primitive, 8-bit sprites with gorgeous hand-drawn graphics, and it retained all of the original game’s great gameplay and level design. The Monster World IV remake replaced gorgeous sprite work with cheap-looking 3D graphics, which made the original game’s good-but-not-great gameplay and level design a little more apparent.

That’s my take, at least!

Yeah, that sounds fair! The 3D look
Certainly has a very 'mobile game' aesthetic about it.

I was surprised to learn it dropped a lot of those 'metroidvania' aspects and is more basic. I swear back in the day, magazines and the internet used to heap praise on it and act like it was a travesty it was never translated and released in the West. I remember reading pieces claiming it was better than Wonder Boy in Monster World. Nowadays though I don't think many people would have that opinion.

The original is still quite a good game. It’s one of those games where the music and art and gameplay all work very well together. Change the art, though, and it loses that synergistic charm and becomes simply a good platformer instead of a great one.

marurun wrote:The original is still quite a good game. It’s one of those games where the music and art and gameplay all work very well together. Change the art, though, and it loses that synergistic charm and becomes simply a good platformer instead of a great one.

Agree 100%

Also, don’t get me wrong…you definitely got a good pick up there. I played through the remake recently, and it’s fine. It also includes the original game, though, which I think I’m more likely to revisit.