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The StarSoldier
GAME OF THE MONTH COLLECTION! WONDERBOY III: The Dragon's Trap |
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| Artist
touch: Whoa! A game this good has some really colourful but bad art here.
Cover art rating: 4/10 |
Month
it won: October 2006 (Sega, 1990) |
Special note: This
is also available on the TurboGrafx-16,
just look for the game Dragon's Curse. |
| Introduction and Story: |
| There
were few Sega Master System games that could go head to head with
the excellent games like Super
Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Despite all the heavy competition Sega would not give up and they even
had a secret weapon called Wonderboy. The WB trilogy were all fun action
platform games but it was part III that is definitely the most desirable.
OK, the game is a bit harder to find then other common SMS crap like Global
Defense and Double
Dragon but Wonderboy III here is such a well made title
that it's definitely worth hunting for. If you never played this game before, here is what's going on. You are a brave sword wielding hero who has just successfully conquered the Monster Land (from the previous game Wonderboy in Monster Land). Before the Wonderboy could escape the castle though he meets up with a strange mechanical dragon that's turns you into a small dragon as well. Now you have to deal with several different stages and strange animal powers on a long quest to regain your original human form. |
| Controls and Game Play: |
 Although
being turned into a mutant creature sounds as much fun as being kicked
in the nuts, each animal power has its own unique abilities to help freshen
up the series. For example the Mouse has the ability to go through smaller
areas and to walk up certain walls while the dragon lets you breath fire
from a distance. You can even upgrade your character and his animal alter egos with multiple
swords, shields, and different items so if you liked the role playing
features of the previous Monster Land game then you'll like this too.
Unlike the last game though the game moves a lot quicker now so the overall
action feels much more intense
and even easier to control as well. Another cool feature in Wonderboy
III is that Sega finally did away with that annoying draining health meter
so you are not constantly on the clock. |
| Graphics and Sounds: | |
 Is that pig smoking? Yes and they are smooth and rich tasting Camel Lights! |
One thing that helps Wonderboy III stand out from other Master System
games is the impressive graphics and sounds here. The cute super deformed
characters may look cartoonish but they are all well defined and the backgrounds
are surprisingly colourful for an 8-bit game as well. The game also has a lot of constantly changing musical tracks and good sound effects to help liven up the experience over the long quest. Some of the cute background tracks can get on the nerves but I heard worse. |
| The Bottomline: | |
| Wonder Boy's I & II may have been both good games on the Master System as well but it was part III that really took the series to the next level. The game not only has excellent controls so casual and pro gamers can pick up and play it on the fly but the new animal abilities may help you reach new areas so you can go to some older locations to see if you can find something new the next time around? The game may lack replay value once it's completely finished and the action isn't too different from other platform game out there but it was still a very wild and entertaining ride while it lasted. The game even has a password system now so you don't have to call in sick to work or school just to finish it. If you are looking for a easy to get into a long adventure with impressive graphics and sounds then be sure to get the awesome action game Wonderboy III: The Dragon's Trap. |
 I been a bad Wonderboy! |