Let me know if you've played this one: in this platformer, the chubby hero has to rescue his girlfriend by avoiding obstacles, killing enemies with his trusty tomahawks, and occasionally hopping on a skateboard (while wearing protective head-wear, of course). His vitality is constantly ticking away, and must be refilled by grabbing fruits and vegetables in the levels before they disappear.
It's Adventure Island, right? Right. Well, Sega fans may have answered Wonder Boy, and they'd be correct as well: they are both the exact same game! Long story short: developer Westone made Wonder Boy in collaboration with Sega, who retained the rights to the name and certain characters. However, Westone retained the rights for everything else, and turned to Hudson to remake the game for the NES, practically unchanged save for the art, and the replacement of Tom-Tom, Wonder Boy's character, with Master Higgins, Hudson's spokesperson.
Now, don't go believing that since Wonder Boy is older, it is probably the worse version of this game. Not so! The Sega Master System was a very capable machine which output bright colors, and detailed graphics. As a result, Wonder Boy is probably more colorful than Adventure Island, and its hero actually looks like a cartoony human, unlike Master Higgins and his deformed face.
The level of challenge in this game is considerable: with a meter ticking away, you have to be constantly moving forward, but the cleverly placed obstacles push your reflexes (or your memorization capability) to their limits. The game may not automatically scroll forward (unless you have the skateboard power-up), but it definitely gives me that BIT.TRIP RUNNER vibe: you constantly have to go at breakneck speeds, but you are also constantly improving and learning. The challenge here is surmountable, as long as you keep at it.
The slipperiness of the hero may put off some people, but it is clear the character's abilities and the level design are perfectly tuned. He may not stop on a dime and his momentum means that it is near impossible for him to turn back after a jump, but that's the game: you cannot hesitate, as it will kill you more often than not. You have to press forward, always, and the obstacles are carefully placed to reward this type of play, with a few exceptions.
And that what makes this game a great arcade platformer, really. There are very few cheap deaths in this game which is all about speed, in a way, and I can't suppress the thought that this makes it the best platformer Sega has ever made, even better than the games of its popular other speedy hero.
I am astounded, really, at how much I have liked this game, as my memories of playing Adventure Island were not particularly positive ones. Now I am just pumped to play more games like this one. Sadly, the Wonder Boy series veered in a completely different direction. And the Adventure Island sequels, sticking closer to this formula, are sadly absent from the VC. Oh well. I suppose I can keep playing Wonder Boy over and over again, as I actually can't seem to get sick of it.
Fans of BIT.TRIP RUNNER and other platformers that are all about momentum and progression as opposed to exploration, check it out!
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