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Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap Discussion (Nintendo Switch) [game]
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05/18/17, 02:24 Edited: 05/18/17, 02:25
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Finally got to try this, it's been on reserve at the library forever but at last made it to my hold, and OH MY GOSH this game is pretty. The hand drawn art is AMAAAAZING. So, so good. I literally just sit and stare at the backgrounds and characters, and sometimes I will run back and forth just to enjoy the turning animations. WOW.  As far as the game itself, I agree with you Zero, it does not let you get away with much. I wish it felt different to play, but I understand why they did what they did. It would be a very different game if it felt like Shantae or even Castlevania. I keep hoping to unlock a double jump (or a better jump in general) but those hopes are fading at this point. Still, I am so enamored with the art and style that I'm happy to forgive some design choices I'd have made differently! And there's always Easy Mode if things get too rough. One last note, possibly my favorite part of the whole thing is their Archives/Unlockable section. It literally may be the very best unlockable section I've ever seen in a game. Not only does it give you great little previews you can then click to expand to enjoy in glorious detail, but they even have clips of the music being played on real instruments for the recording sessions. So cool to watch someone with more guitar skill than I'll probably ever have jamming to the tunes in this game! |
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I remember getting stuck somewhere and it was really brutal, and then I *think* I realized I was missing an incredibly helpful transformation, or armor, or something. I wouldn't be ashamed to look something up in this game. Some parts of it haven't aged well. If you can get over any difficulty humps, it'll be worth it. I found the latter parts of the game quite fun.
Did you know that this game is a direct sequel to Wonder Boy in Monsterland? I just finished it on XBLA (a Monster World collection was on an XBox 360 Sega Ages compilation years ago). I do not recommend playing it. It's an arcade game designed to devour your quarters, and the only way to really tackle it is to a.) Cheat by glitching the game out and getting tons of coins, and b.) Severely abusing the Save State system. I still actually really enjoyed it, but yeah, it's brutal. Anyway, the end of the game is the very beginning of Dragon's Trap, complete with the same music. It does the Dracula X/Symphony of the Night thing before those games did it years later. Pretty cool. |
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This doesn't have anything to do with Dragon's Trap, specifically, but I've actually gone through a couple of Wonder Boy games recently. Oh a whim, I started one when I was sick a while back, and I've since beaten it and its sequel. I played these games through the Sega Vintage Collection: Monster World, which is on XBox 360 and XBox One (through backwards compatibility). There's a slim chance some of you own this without realizing it because it was a Game With Gold a while back.
The Wonder Boy series is pretty convoluted. It started with the original Wonder Boy, which if you notice, looks a hell of a lot like Adventure Island. That's because it basically IS Adventure Island, which was changed when Hudson got the rights to the series from developer Escape (known as Westone). I have not played this version.
I DID play its successor: Wonder Boy in Monsterland, which is the title that directly relates to Dragon's Trap. This is the first game in the Sega Vintage Collection. This was an arcade game, later ported to the Master System and other platforms. This is where Wonder Boy not only became more medieval in theming, but also started including RPG elements like shops and equipment upgrades. This game is absolutely brutal. To the point where it's incredibly unfair. It's one of the hardest games I've ever played, if only because it's designed to DEVOUR your quarters at the arcade. I could only beat it by playing through most of the game a couple times, and then save scumming my way to victory. You basically can't beat the game unless you have the best armor, and that's tricky because you need money, and THAT'S tricky because you have to glitch the game out to get more coins. It's not good. BUT, the music and theming and branding of the game is fantastic.
There are two versions of Wonder Boy 3. One in the arcade and one for the Sega Master System (and TG16, titled Dragon's Curse). The arcade version is just a shoot em up. It's a fun little game, but nothing special. Wonder Boy 3: The Dragon's Trap, is what the Switch remake is based on. It is a direct sequel to Monsterland, and the second game in the Monster World subseries of Wonder Boy. As many of you know, it's really awesome. You should all play it.
The second game on the Vintage Collection, Wonder Boy in Monster World, is probably more well known to western gamers. While more linear than Dragon's Trap, it has many similar elements. It follows in the footsteps of games like Zelda 2, where you accomplish some side scrolling platforming and combat while getting new gear, solving puzzles, and visiting towns filled with NPCs. It's really good, though it should be noted that yet again, unless you get all of the game's best armor, you're going to have a really hard time. I could NOT beat the final boss and had to backtrack to the final area, where I thankfully found the best armor. Lots of nods to Dragon's Trap and Monsterland here.
The third game on the Vintage Collection is Monster World IV, which drops Wonder Boy out of the equation altogether. In this game you play as Asha, who will remind you a LOT of Shantae. The entire game (and series), actually, feels a lot like Shantae. This game has more of a middle eastern vibe, no doubt inspired by Aladdin on the Sega Genesis. This game is more linear than the previous two games, as you only return to the same hub town throughout the adventure. Still, the action is really good. Asha is more mobile and capable than her predecessor, Shion, as she can up thrust and down thrust like Link in Zelda 2. She is also joined by her pet Pepelogoo, which helps her double jump, glide, and solve puzzles. You can still upgrade your weapons and armor like in previous games, but the emphasis does seem to be more on the moment to moment action than a grander, RPG inspired adventure. It's still really, really good, and it's crazy that it never released outside of Japan.
ANYWAY, that's just my way of saying that this series is apparently awesome and you should all play the Monster World games if you're looking for more. It's also my way of reminding you that Monster Boy: The Cursed Kingdom is coming to most platforms in December! It was recently delayed. This game is a spiritual successor to the Wonder Boy/Monster World games. Development assistance is even provided by Wonder Boy/Monster World creator Ryuichi Nishizawa, who also lent a hand to the Dragon's Trap remake. Music assistance and composing is being provided by: " a team of Motoi Sakuraba, Michiru Yamane, Yuzo Koshiro, Keiki Kobayashi, Takeshi Yanagawa, and Haruka Shimotsuki, with some rearranged music from past entries in the series." Sooooo yeah that sounds pretty promising. This game also looks way better than it did even just a year ago. Check it out!! It'll be $40, but if that's too steep for you, check it out when it's on sale.
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