The series travelled far and wide beyond even SEGA's own platforms, thanks to the unusual licensing agreement that granted SEGA only partial control. Retooled ports like Adventure Island and Dynastic Hero brought these games to all new audiences, many of whom never even knew about their true roots. Some of these mutant versions even spawned their own sequels and became new series unto themselves, while other original clones like Popful Mail and Shantae took the Wonder Boy foundation in their own direction. The history of Wonder Boy can be a tangled mess at times, but sometimes greatness can be hard to contain.
High Above the Mucky-Muck
The legendary series began, humbly enough, as the first effort of a newly formed independent studio with just three employees. Founded by Ryuchi Nishizawa and Michishisto Ishizuka in May of 1986, they called their company Escape, after their favorite key on the keyboard. Lacking even their own offices (they weren't even an incorporated company yet) the tiny independent studio turned to SEGA to get their start in the business. They hammered out an agreeable contract where SEGA owned the characters and names and Escape had rights to the rest -- an arrangement that would eventually make things more complicated than they knew.
The scrolling platform genre was still in its relative infancy in 1986, but the release of Super Mario Bros. was quickly sparking interest from developers across the world. Wonder Boy has taken a fair bit of criticism since its release for sticking close to the Mario formula, but the truth is that both Wonder Boy and Nintendo's seminal classic share a common inspiration in Namco's Pac-Land. Escape's freshman outing played closer to its roots, though, with a timer-based health system and pure arcade action.
It cast a jungle-dwelling island native named Tom-Tom in the lead (there is no actual character named "Wonder Boy"). The story was the usual paper-thin, rescue-the-girlfriend quest, but it didn't matter. The gameplay was pure arcade bliss. It took the race-against-clock excitement of Pac-Land, and paired it with power-ups that allowed Tom-Tom to chuck stone hammers and ride a skateboard throughout ups and downs of its varied levels. Five years before Sonic, Wonder Boy was the fastest platformer yet.
The timing was perfect for Escape's first release. Hitting arcades alongside Alex Kidd, it gave SEGA two fronts of attack to answer Nintendo's challenge. The arcade game became one of the most successful games on the System 1 hardware. The money helped to secure a future for Escape, but it wasn't until the many ports that things really got rolling for the fledgling developer.
Other versions: Immediately following the arcade port, SEGA churned out a home version on their SG-1000 console just as the system was taking its last gasps. A few months later, a very respectable port made its way to their new Mark III (Master System), allowing Wonder Boy to ride the wave of a new generation of hardware. Activision picked up rights to port it to various computers, and years later, SEGA brought it to Game Gear under the name Revenge of Drancon.
The new developer took advantage of their partial ownership of their game to license it out to Hudson Soft. Tom-Tom was a slave to SEGA, so Hudson created a new character, Master Higgins, and called their game Adventure Island. Released on the NES and MSX, the new version was somewhat inferior to the original, but it didn't matter. Hudson had picked the winning horse in the console race, and Adventure Island managed to become an even bigger international hit than Wonder Boy. The arrangement paid off for Escape, and marked the beginning of a long working relationship with Hudson. It also established a new property, and Adventure Island spawned many of its own sequels that had nothing to do with any SEGA or Westone release.
Swords and Serpents
Wonder Boy was a great start, and it helped Escape to establish themselves as a real company. With the money they earned from their first game, they moved into a new office and prepared to work on their next game. Second guessing the cowardly connotations of the name Escape, they decided to rebrand themselves Westone -- a play on the names of its founders. The first letter of Nishizawa's name means "west" and the first from Ishizuka's means "stone."
The simplicity of Wonder Boy was charming, but it wasn't enough to satisfy Nishizawa. Over the previous year, Japan was catching finally catching wise to the role-playing genre. ASCII first introduced turn-based swords and sorcery to the country with Black Onyx, but it was the 1986 Japanese release of Wizardry, along with Enix's Dragon Quest that brought this new style of gameplay to the mainstream. Wizardry's depth fascinated Nishizawa, but as an arcade developer, that kind of complexity was out of reach. He decided for their next project, Westone should attempt to marry the arcade action of Wonder Boy with elements of an RPG.
Needless to say, this meant a radical departure from the original. Rather than simply bill it as Wonder Boy II, they instead dubbed it "Wonder Boy in Monster Land." The tribal jungle setting of the original was (mostly) purged, in favor of medieval castles and dungeons. In classic RPG fashion, the legendary hero began his quest a weakling, dressed in only a loincloth, without even a sword to defend himself. Better equipment could be purchased at shops with money collected from monsters. There were spells, items, keys, and permanent health upgrades – nearly all the components of a real RPG, save for a true experience system.
Of course, there are limits to how far you can push an arcade game, since most players will only stick around for a few minutes. The levels scrolled in all directions, but you couldn't go back and forth between areas, and a timer ensured you had to keep moving along at all times. While it didn't have the breakneck speed of its predecessor, the action was fierce, and the merciless difficulty is notorious to this day. This was no leisurely stroll.
Monster Land was largely made by the same staff as the first, but it marked one very important addition to the staff. Shinichi Sakamoto was brought on to compose a proper soundtrack, and his work was a sigh of relief for those still haunted by the repetitive loops of the arcade original. His soundtrack was appropriately epic, lending to the authentic RPG feel, and setting the tone for future releases in the series.
When it hit arcades in 1987, audiences didn't know quite what to make of the experimental title, and it wasn't an immediate hit. The audience caught on eventually, though, and it went on to be a steady long-term seller. Despite this success, Westone still knew that it was the home market that would be the best vehicle for this new design.
Other versions: Once again, SEGA brought the game to the Master System with an impressive, if slightly downgraded, port. The arcade release never officially made it to the West (though English bootlegs exist), so this was the first chance for the game to connect with audiences in North America and especially Europe, where the Master System had a stronger presence than in either of the other territories. This version would also make its way to Brazil with the comic strip character Monica re-cast in the lead. Activision once again brought the game to computers with ports of widely varying quality, including the infamous Amiga port that interpreted Wonder Boy as a diaper-clad baby.
Westone once again gave Hudson a crack at their game, and this time the brand new PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) was the beneficiary. Their version, Bikkuriman World, shoehorned in characters from a popular anime, but beyond that it was a surprisingly faithful facsimile of the arcade version, and one of the more interesting launch titles for the system. NES owners were not as lucky. Westone licensed their game to Jaleco for a Famicom port, and the result was Saiyuuki World, a less than spectacular re-skin that set the game in ancient China, and made some unneeded alterations to the level design.
The Black Sheep
After sticking with 8-bit arcade hardware for longer than they should have, Westone readied themselves to see what SEGA's flagship System 16 board could do. Having taken two radically different approaches with their first two games, they decided to once again shake things up. The result may have defied expectations and genre conventions alike, but it failed to capture the imagination of players in the same way as its precursors.
Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair seems like an attempt to marry the simple arcade style of the first game with the swords and sorcery of its sequel, but the inclusion of shooter elements turn it into a different beast entirely. It revives the timer and the fruit-collecting of the original, but automatic scrolling takes away the sense of speed. Instead, you can shoot using any number of different weapons scattered throughout the level, making it something of a basic run-and-gun. At the end of each stage, there's a classic shoot 'em up stage where you fly on the back of a dragon and challenge a large boss.
Monster Lair was by no means a bad game, but after Westone broke so much new ground with Monster Land, the simple arcade action seemed like a step back, bereft of depth, and lacking in staying power. While it pulled elements from both of its predecessors, it felt detached from the series, and fans mostly shrugged it off as a peculiar misstep. Without its proud siblings to live up to, it might be considered a good game on its own merits, but it just wasn't Wonder Boy.
Other versions: Not surprisingly, the less popular third entry in the series didn't travel nearly as far as the others. Hudson got dibs on their own version, as usual, and it was by far the most faithful job they ever did. Apart from losing the "Wonder Boy III" part of the title, their PC Engine CD adaptation of Monster Lair was a faithful port, with a redone CD soundtrack to boot. A Genesis version made it out in Asian markets, but never reached the rest of us.
A Tale of Two Threes
After the experiment that was Monster Lair, Nishizawa decided it would be best to do a true sequel to Monster Land, still popular in arcades and at home. The arcade platform was really Monster Land's biggest limitation, so the director was keen to see what he could do with a direct-to-console release – the first in the series. The idea of a longer, deeper, more involved quest was simply too much to pass up.
Since the home version of Monster Land was called Super Wonder Boy in Monster World, they decided to call the fourth Wonder Boy title "Monster World II." And, since Monster Lair never made it to the US outside of a limited arcade release, SEGA wanted to call it Wonder Boy III over here. Alas, things don't always go as planned. The Master System was floundering against the Nintendo juggernaut in Japan, so SEGA pulled the plug on the game in its native land, shortly before its release. Because of this, we're left with the peculiar situation of two unique games called Wonder Boy III, followed by a Wonder Boy V.
Naming confusion aside, Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap was the true sequel that Monster Land deserved. Picking up right before the end of Monster Land (the two stories overlap) it re-imagines the final boss fight with the Meka Dragon, and continues the story from there. Our hero is cursed to take the form of a dragon, and begins his sprawling quest to regain his humanity.
The gameplay fundamentals don't stray far from its predecessor, but the vast, open-ended world certainly does. There are no longer discrete levels. You can travel back and forth freely, and revisit old areas whenever you like. The cursed bodily forms bestowed by each boss are the biggest new addition, and they introduce some amazing variety and occasionally brilliant puzzle design. Each dragon curses the legendary hero with a new beastly body, each with its own powers. The piranha form can swim, the mouse can climb vertical walls, the hawk can fly, and so on. After a while, there are areas that will allow you to cycle between bodies to use the form best for a situation. It's a clever mechanic that allows the game to open up little by little in classic Metroid fashion.
The blend of RPG-like depth, clever puzzles, and a healthy of old-fashioned plattforming action made Dragon's Trap not only the crowning achievement of the series, but perhaps one the best games of the 8-bit era. The colorful graphics were brimming with personality, and a perfect showcase for the aging Master System. The mix of genres made it a rival for both Mario and Zelda. Truly it was all the vindication any Master System could ask for.
But, as we know so well, the gallant hero arrived too late to save the Master System. It went unreleased in Japan, and largely unnoticed in North America, where the situation wasn't that much brighter. The European market managed to stay healthy for a few more years, allowing the game to reach appreciative fans and soak up praise from critics, but it still never got the attention it deserved. Wonder Boy would have to wait for Sega's next console for a chance at redemption.
Other versions: As the routine goes, Hudson gutted the characters and bosses from Dragon's Trap, and released their own mutation on the TurboGrafx-16 called Dragon's Curse (oddly enough, this version is called Adventure Island in Japan). This reworking is fairly faithful, perhaps a bit too much so, with minimal alterations made to make the game look 16-bit. The controls were likewise imperfect, and the redone characters lacked charm, but its availability on the Wii's Virtual Console might make it worth a look for newcomers anyway.
Japan was eventually graced with an official Monster World II release three years after its intended debut, thanks to Sega's Game Gear. This version is virtually identical, barring some minor alterations to the level design to accommodate the smaller screen. Of course, by then they had already released a fifth game in the series, completely messing up the intended order of the series. Still, a late release is certainly better than none at all. TecToy in Brazil cashed in with a Turma da Monica version as usual, featuring a small girl who hits enemies with her stuffed rabbit.
The Next Generation
By the end of the '80s, Westone had enough success behind them to do some serious expanding. At the turn of the decade, they were developing the anime-licensed platformer Aoi Blink for the PC Engine, an arcade shooter, Aurail, for SEGA, and an RPG for the NES based on another anime license. When it came for Monster World's 16-bit debut, Ryuchi Nishizawa was occupied with Aurail (and later Riot City), and thus Wonder Boy V: Monster World III (Wonder Boy in Monster World to us) became the first and only game in the series not to be directed by Nishizawa.
This was a real turning of the page for the series, leaving behind the 8-bit Master System that built their audience, and moving to the sleek new Genesis and all the luxuries the new hardware and added storage could afford them. Appropriately, the team decided to turn the page on the story as well, with an all new Wonder Boy named Shion, and a re-imagined Monster World with an entirely new set of towns and locations -- even if it did have quite a few nods to the older games.
It followed in the grand tradition of Dragon's Trap, but the world was no longer built around a rigid hub structure. Instead, it was a sprawling, intertwined map of many different towns and villages, and demanded much more in the way of exploration. Doors allowed you to travel between different layers of the background, making for a more seamless world than that of its predecessors, and many of the abstractions of the level design were replaced with more believable layouts (no more doorways floating in midair). The transformation system was abandoned, but a more extensive equipment system meant that many of those same abilities were still available through the use of different items. The inventory system was beefed up a bit as well, with more adventure-like inventory puzzles scattered throughout.
Despite the improvements, Wonder Boy V was a game trapped between generations. Released just four months after Sonic the Hedgehog, it faced a major identity crisis in control and design. The graphics were as colorful as they were beautiful, and the game itself large and complex, but it still featured the kind of floaty controls and slow running speed that were quickly going out of fashion. Some recognized it for the famous design that was still so distinctive, but other criticized it for its antiquated ideas about platform action. The move to Genesis hardware was a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it was available to a much larger audience, but it also had to fight harder to stand out.
Other versions: The Master System was dead in Japan and the US by the time Wonder Boy in Monster World rolled around, but in Europe there was still a lingering market, enough to justify a Master System release in 1993. The scaled down version made some major cuts to the quest, and the controls were a little iffy, but gave Wonder Boy a fitting send off on the system that made the series famous.
Hudson did a PC Engine CD port called Dynastic Hero, with an enhanced soundtrack, and another original cast of characters. The questionable character design did look a bit too much like a cross between Mega Man and a beetle, but the port was otherwise a solid conversion. Brazil got its usual bastard version with another Turma da Monica game.
Wonder Girl?
After the release of Sonic, SEGA moved on to bigger things, and their interest in Wonder Boy series cooled. Third party support was booming in all three major territories and many of the franchises that were once the cornerstones of SEGA's lineup were put on the shelf in favor of newer series like Streets of Rage, Ecco the Dolphin, and Vectorman. Westone had no trouble keeping busy in the mean time, but eventually they came back to SEGA with a new idea to revitalize their flagship series.
In the years that had passed since Wonder Boy first visited Monster World, the medieval fantasy setting that once seemed so novel and new to Japanese audiences was gradually losing its appeal. Afraid of seeing their series go stale or succumb to cliché, Nishizawa returned to the director's chair with a radically new take on the series. Monster World was re-imagined as an Arabian kingdom, and the legendary knight that would save it was named… Asha?
That's right, the newest Wonder Boy was a girl, and so the last game in the series was simply called "Monster World IV." The gameplay was modernized quite a bit, as well. It's striking to see how many subtle control conventions changed during Wonder Boy's hiatus. The momentum-based precision platforming was gone, as was the need to perform a lot of difficult jumps. Running and dashing around the screen was a breeze, without even the need to equip expensive boots. Blocking became a more versatile defense, but it was no longer automatic, making defense a larger part of combat. Most importantly, Asha was given as sidekick, a blue creature named Pepeloogo.
Pepe was a cute, flying critter who vaguely resembled Nintendo's Kirby. He could be used to assist Asha with different moves, like gliding across long jumps, or pulling her up for a double-jump. Throughout the course of the game, you would raise the baby creature and he learned new abilities. Some saw the character as a shallow attempt to inject some cuteness in the series, but it also brought a novel twist to the gameplay.
But just because Asha shattered knighthood's glass ceiling, it didn't mean the fans had to like it. For many devoted followers, the changes to the controls, setting, cast, and gameplay were simply too much to take all at once. The lower difficulty also alienated some older gamers who grew up with the series, and believed Monster World IV was targeting a younger audience.
Monster World IV could have easily been billed as a new series, and no one would have batted an eye. Beyond the assumptions made by devoted followers of the series, it was an excellent game by any measure. Despite being released in April of 1994 -- the peak of SEGA's popularity -- SEGA of America and Europe opted not to bring the game overseas. It's a regrettable decision, and it's arguably the best Japanese exclusive on the system. Monster World IV was buried all too soon. There was no Hudson version, no Brazilian release, and indeed no future at all for the series.
Westone continued to go on without Wonder Boy, but he never left their homepage through its last update in 2000 before it went down. Westone has since reemerged and changed direction, doing largely uncredited co-development, but Wonder Boy remains their proudest work. It seems unlikely that SEGA will ever feel compelled to give it one more try for old time's sake, and even less likely that a game so deeply rooted in 2D could find a place in 2008. To SEGA, Wonder Boy was always a second stringer, but last year they did at least have the good sense to celebrate its legacy with a complete compilation for PS2. It never made its way abroad, but with the Wii Virtual Console slowly filling in the gaps in the Master System and Genesis library, it seems like only a matter of time before we finally get caught up.
