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Thread: games similar to Wonder Boy in Monster Land?

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    Default games similar to Wonder Boy in Monster Land?

    So recently, this was on sale on the Switch eshop and I bought it, and honestly... I kinda like Wonder Boy in Monster Land so far.

    I recall playing it a long time ago in the distant past, but back then I think I preferred its sequel, Wonder Boy The Dragon's Trap (which I played on the TG16 under the name "Dragon's Curse").

    But playing WBiML now tho... I feel like there isn't enough like it.

    And the thing is, its actually hard to pin down what being "like" Monster Land is, because a couple of other games do feel like they scratch similar itches. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for example, and even some aspects of Hollow Knight. I'm sure nobody but me has ever thought that those three games have anything in common before (and honestly, its hard to pin down what points of commonality I'm seeing.... with Hollow Knight its mostly the swordplay and the way coins drop from defeated enemies, but all three have a sort of "plays like a platformer, feels like an RPG" sort of thing going on).

    Monster Land makes me wonder why there weren't more attempts at this "RPG for the arcade" thing. Its paradoxically relaxing despite the time limit. The only other thing I can think of is Cadash.

    Also yes I'm aware of Monster Land's own sequels, which I need to pick up at some point.

    But besides that, anyone know any games they would call "similar to Wonder Boy in Monster Land?"

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    I would suggest Monster Boy for the PS4/Switch. Although it is basically a sequel, it is a very good game. It's not exactly like Monster Land, but it's pretty damn close. That game is modern though, and I honestly can't think of any other games that are quite like it for classic systems other than the sequels. Also FYI Monster Land physicals have gone up, not sure if the entry fee would be worth it to you, but digital is an option.

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    Faxanadu

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    If you haven't played the other wonderboy games yet i still suggest monster world IV.Officially it came out to the west digitally for wii,360 and PS3 it's also included on the genesis mini.Another series i guess that is similar to wonderboy is the shantae series all of them came out digitally for the switch.The most recent one of course is shantae and the seven sirens.

    Note,LRG is still taking preorders for the original shantae on switch beside them doing a reprint of it for the gbc.

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    Wait, the *entire* Shantae series is on Switch now? Last time I looked it was only Half-Genie Hero, Risky's Revenge, and Seven Sirens.

    Altho I wouldn't mind that GBC reprint either, god knows my GBA barely gets any love these days.

    Back to Wonder Boy, I looked up prices and apparently, WB in Monster World for Genesis goes for forty bucks now, which... I might be able to swing that. Apparently there was a reprint of its Turbo CD version, The Dynastic Hero, by PCE Works. I don't know if their reprints are just burns or if they actually have professionally pressed disks, but if its the latter (IE if it won't kill the laser on my unit) then I might be tempted to go for it... it seems the same price as WB in Monster World.

    Monster World IV... well I may have a reason to get a Genesis Mini now. Or a repro cart. Perhaps both.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Edmond Dantes View Post
    Wait, the *entire* Shantae series is on Switch now? Last time I looked it was only Half-Genie Hero, Risky's Revenge, and Seven Sirens.

    Altho I wouldn't mind that GBC reprint either, god knows my GBA barely gets any love these days.

    Back to Wonder Boy, I looked up prices and apparently, WB in Monster World for Genesis goes for forty bucks now, which... I might be able to swing that. Apparently there was a reprint of its Turbo CD version, The Dynastic Hero, by PCE Works. I don't know if their reprints are just burns or if they actually have professionally pressed disks, but if its the latter (IE if it won't kill the laser on my unit) then I might be tempted to go for it... it seems the same price as WB in Monster World.

    Monster World IV... well I may have a reason to get a Genesis Mini now. Or a repro cart. Perhaps both.
    Yes,shantae the pirates curse,half genie hero,risky revenge,the seven sirens are on the e-shop digitally.I don't think the first shantae is out yet but it's suppose to be out soon i just put in a order earlier with lrg for switch.Also,pce works reproductions are pressed i have one for dynastic hero and it plays correctly.Still the game is just a rebranded version of wonderboy in monster world for the genesis and it's included on the mini.

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    I'm on the fence about Shantae. Part of me wants that physical GBC reprint but another part of me thinks (especially since my funds might be limited if I buy this) that it would be better to just wait and get the entire series as digital downloads on my Switch.

    I mean... the GBC Original IS coming to Switch, right? As a download. I mean?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Edmond Dantes View Post
    I'm on the fence about Shantae. Part of me wants that physical GBC reprint but another part of me thinks (especially since my funds might be limited if I buy this) that it would be better to just wait and get the entire series as digital downloads on my Switch.

    I mean... the GBC Original IS coming to Switch, right? As a download. I mean?
    Both physical and digital,i went physical for switch since i wanted a copy that i can play at anytime.I was tempted by that gbc reprint too but all i have is a retrofreak for playing gb,gbc,gba games.I wasn't sure if it would play on it so i just went with switch instead.When lrg started physical releases of shantae games for PS4 i stuck with it by the time they started doing switch i skipped it.

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    Just bought Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom. Haven't played it yet but.... god, that intro reminds me of when anime used to be good.

    Made this purchase because, as much as I like Hollow Knight, HK has one kinda subtle flaw.... after awhile it can get a bit... depressing, and I just felt like I needed something cheerier as a contrast.

    EDIT: Okay, played a bit of Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom (after listening to both versions of the Intro a few times).

    Right off the bat: "Okay.... this is Wonder Boy all right. I wonder if I can find hidden coins on top of the house.. YUP." I seriously didn't expect it to be THIS faithful, like it might as well have been called Monster World V.

    And soon I discovered the downward stab and realized this also fills the void of being the spiritual Zelda II sequel I long desired.
    Last edited by Edmond Dantes; 10-12-2020 at 05:52 AM.

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    Monster Boy really is a great game and probably one of my favorite non-AAA titles this generation. I bought the switch version because I had a hard time finding the PS4 version when it was released. I remember playing an early build for it at PAX East one year and knew right there that I had to have the game.

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    Yeah, so far.... well, I feel like "Hollow Knight vs Monster Boy" is gonna become quite the lively discussion in the circles I travel. While I like HK I'm honestly having more fun with Monster Boy (which I sometimes jokingly dub "Wonder Boy 6: The Dragon's Trap 2" for obvious reasons).

    Gosh darn everyone is so cute. I do find myself wondering if these people had these animal names *before* they transformed...

    Also love how those church windows make it clear that Tom-Tom and Bocke were NOT the same person. I do wonder why the heroes from Monster Lair don't get murals tho.

    I also beat WB in Monster Land, but only via using a feature the Sega Ages version has that allows you to start a new game with all the equipment you earned on your previous attempt (by "start with" I mean that instead of that old woman giving you a gladius, she gives you whatever you had last time around... you still have to wander around in a diaper until you meet her tho). Now I'm trying to see if I can do this the legit way. The only thing that seems really mandatory is getting the Legendary Sword, and that might be more because of the time limit, as I noticed the Dragon has a very easy pattern. Stand away, wait until he rises into the air, run towards him (causing his fire breath to shoot over your head) and as he's descending, jump and bean him right in the snout. My only concern is that the timer might not give me enough time if I don't have the best weapon and come in with the Ruby.

    BTW, I recently heard the Switch (and other platforms) have another Wonder Boy/Monster World spiritual successor called Aggelos. Ever played that one?
    Last edited by Edmond Dantes; 10-20-2020 at 12:58 PM.

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    Minus the first game. The entire Wonder Boy series. Dragon's Trap. Monster World. Monster World IV. Monster Boy. Aggelos is an indie game similar to the Wonder Boy series. Capcoms Mega Twins. Latter is on the Capcom Vol 2 collection on PSP.



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    And now I own most of the Wonder Boy/Monster World series, the only ones I'm missing are the Dragon's Trap, and Monster World IV. (Technically I'm also missing original WB and Monster Lair but I'm limiting this to just the RPG-esque ones).

    I also now own both Monster Boy and Aggelos, which are both wondrous.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Edmond Dantes View Post
    And now I own most of the Wonder Boy/Monster World series, the only ones I'm missing are the Dragon's Trap, and Monster World IV. (Technically I'm also missing original WB and Monster Lair but I'm limiting this to just the RPG-esque ones).

    I also now own both Monster Boy and Aggelos, which are both wondrous.
    I don't know if you have heard but a MWIV remake is coming still what is shown doesn't look to good.I just hope it improves a great deal,before it does come out but i think they showed it to early.Not to mention i don't think a MWIV remake was really necessary the original still holds up.

    Note wonderboy creator ryuichi nishizawa is involved.

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    I never watched previews but I did keep seeing news headlines about Asha in Monster World.

    Not knowing anything else about it, I just find it odd that the original game dropped the "Wonder Boy" part for an obvious reason, but this remake goes and brings it back, insulting Asha's femininity in the process. Then again, it could've been done just so people know its part of the series, since Wonder Boy seems to be having a second shot at life these days, especially with most of its installments being on the Switch now.

    So... if they just do remakes of Monster Land, WB in Monster World, and Monster Lair, then all the games will have official remakes. Though for WB in Monster Land you could argue the Sega Ages version counts.

    I have the feeling Monster Lair gets forgotten a lot.

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    Aggelos is a pretty good Wonderboy clone. It has some differences, but it's a fun game.
    Proud owner of a Neo 25 Neo Geo Candy Cab!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Edmond Dantes View Post
    Just bought Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom. Haven't played it yet but.... god, that intro reminds me of when anime used to be good.

    Made this purchase because, as much as I like Hollow Knight, HK has one kinda subtle flaw.... after awhile it can get a bit... depressing, and I just felt like I needed something cheerier as a contrast.

    EDIT: Okay, played a bit of Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom (after listening to both versions of the Intro a few times).

    Right off the bat: "Okay.... this is Wonder Boy all right. I wonder if I can find hidden coins on top of the house.. YUP." I seriously didn't expect it to be THIS faithful, like it might as well have been called Monster World V.

    And soon I discovered the downward stab and realized this also fills the void of being the spiritual Zelda II sequel I long desired.
    I actually just started playing this around the same time, maybe a little later. I finally beat the game. I really enjoyed except for one area in the game which the puzzles imo were bs simply because it was so easy to overlook something and several times in that area I had to refer to a guide. I'm going to say that overall I really enjoyed it, but that area so so infuriating it pretty much ruined the entire game for quite a bit there until after getting passed it I started to enjoy it again, atleast except for the first stretch of the very last dungeon which was bs. No matter how bad that absolute bs part was, whenever I do actually ever replay the game I'll remember what I overlooked and won't have an issue in future playthroughs.
    Everything in the above post is opinion unless stated otherwise.

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    I actually 100%ed it without a walkthru, although one puzzle (the one about uncorking the well) I actually solved almost by accident.... I got what the idea was but I don't think I was doing the exact method, but I kept trying and when I didn't even think I was done, suddenly the cork comes out.

    The only other thing I didn't like was it doing the thing where you have to go over old ground to find artifacts. Admittedly two of them were in places I wanted to explore anyway, but then one was kinda BS.

    I'm now actually almost done with Wonder Boy in Monster World on the Sega Genesis... I'm kinda shocked with how short the game was. Like "I'm at the end already? Seriously?"

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    @Edmond

    Spoilers for everyone else.

    The Haunted Mansion was where I got stuck. Multiple times. I was pissed. So the first part was the ghost that jumped to different objects, now, I didn't notice the ghost jumped into the cabinet, and the cabinet didn't glow yellow like everything else, so after not being able to solver the globe sort of thing, I then looked up a readable guide which I was like wtf, I still can't get through, and then looked up a video guide. So much time was wasted on this and again, I was sooooo pissed. Then I got to the point where I had to use the telescope, I tried and tried and tried to complete it and I was doing it correctly and until I looked it up, I was like, wow, this is fu**ing bs, that this is here before you even get access to it. I tried to make it again and again to the metal ball up top and for the life of me couldn't. I didn't realize that the ghost that appeared stopped and you had to attack it to create another, again, video guide. Then finally, after getting to the point with the door that you unlock by going into the lock, I didn't notice at first you have to BREATH FIRE to make the area open up, I only blew fireballs, again, video guide. And after I did that I went into the lock I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to pass it until again a fucking video to see that you had to hit the lock to the side.

    I did the rest of the game on my own, but there were so many parts on the Haunted Mansion that were complete bullshit simply because the developer just assumed that all of these things that you've never once had to do in the game that you'd actually be able to understand it. Never once have you ran into something with the lion form that wasn't a specific button, so the lock itself allowing you to move it by running into it was bullshit. Never once did you find, even where any other cat statues were located at that breathing fire actually did anything. You didn't even have the ability to complete the telescope when you got to it and if I didn't remeber it saying shine a beam of light out of the telescope I would have had to look that up too because how fucking obtuse is that. And like everything else the cabinet didn't glow yellow and I didn't notice it, how the fuck do they expect us to get past the part when it doesn't glow so you just assume you can't enter it. Oh, and one last thing. You can barely, BARELY see the light coming out of the tub to let you know that you can go through the tub with the snake. Who the fuck is going to look a mile a fucking way on a secret that's all the way across the map? Yes, it's another fucking bullshit "puzzle" that I couldn't figure out after wasting so much fucking time on this piece of shit area. As you can see, I've just gotten more and more pissed just talking about this fucking area, and yeah, I'd remember the shit now, but I wasted so much fuckng time trying to figure that shit out on my own which the game does an absolute piece of dog shit job at advising the player. I'm talking hours, fucking hours, at that God damn bullshit. That one part almost ruined the entire experience I had at the game and I was pretty much done. I should have just watched a God damn walk through and did it step by step and saved my fucking time, but I was so close to either snapping the game in half or selling it, one or the other.

    I know for certain that when I do eventually go back to the game in the future and replay it, despite now knowing exactly what to do, that area is going to forever piss me off because of my past memories. The one and only fucking area in the game that I had to look up a guide multiple times and each time try to progress on my own until I hit a brick wall again. The rest of the game was amazing though and none of that bullshit experience either.
    Everything in the above post is opinion unless stated otherwise.

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    Bump well another is trailer is up for the mwiv remake and the port for the original shantae is coming to switch finally.


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