The 80s and 90s have never been so close to us. While Alex Kidd prepares to work miracles again in a few weeks, the Wonder Boy / Monster World is being beautified again and again. After Wonder Boy Remix returned, series creator Ryuichi handed the batter over to Nishizawa, the fabulous Wonder Boy: The Dragon Trap by LizardCube and a Monster Boy whose praises we will never stop singing. It is the sixth, completely unknown episode that was entitled to be restored under the name Wonder Boy Asha in Monster World.
Monster World IV is an action and platform game released on Mega Drive in 1994 that Westerners were only allowed to play very late. Sadness, because in his day we can say that he had solid arguments. In addition to the scene change provided by the Thousand-and-One Nights vibe which the Shantae more than inspired, it was illustrated by an enchanting 2D production and some interesting ideas that allow you to have your eyes in front of theirs Closing linearity. And today ?
Asha ira?
Instead of just redrawing the original sprites like Ben Fiquet did for The Dragon’s Trap, or typing in the pixel art that melts so many hearts, Artdink went with 3D. If the first few images were scary, we have to realize that the cel shading used for the characters and creatures is not shocking and that unless the environments are rich and transcendent, they are not a brake on moving forward in this adventure.
On the other hand, this tendency had other consequences Wonder Boy Asha in the monster world. First about handling. Asha, our green mane who is responsible for saving the world, seems a bit stiff and heavy for platform sequences. She reacts pretty poorly when sadly hit by an enemy and, more importantly, often seems out of control during deep attacks that should offer the same rebound pleasure as Duck Tales. Additionally, it’s not uncommon to see some random hitboxes … Finally, the Switch version is unfortunately penalized. Frame rate drops are a regular reminder of a lack of optimization, especially in dock mode.
Could Pepe and you?
More difficult is the fact that no changes were made to make room for the modern – and it’s not just a matter of the mandatory passage of menus that slows down the action. Masked remaster, Wonder Boy Asha in the monster world is satisfied with bringing out the same program … that has aged quite a bit. L o The dragon trap and the boy wonder in the monster world could compensate for a certain simplicity with a more advanced exploration and a certain depth (changes in appearance or weapons, spells …). This component only has four-way attacks for him. A magic punch that is easy to forget, and companion Pepelogoo – kindly called Pepe in the Mishima Lanque voiceover. The little blue flying beetle opens up new mechanisms that are noticeable as it progresses, by clogging lava flows, turning into a block of ice, or denying secret doors. As sweet and indispensable as it is, it lacks caffeine in its veins. It takes a long time to remember and the double jump mechanics are a bit painful.
Know you anmie
Other elements scratch the nostalgic happiness that Asha can walk around Rapadagna, type funny slimes or waddle her butt when opening a safe. The move to 3D will convert a single 16-bit game screen into multiple tracks. And it’s empty, not alive, with repetitions of an arrangement that we already know. Apart from the capital, where you can buy weapons, shields and let the capital beat faster, we are only faced with very linear dungeons – the zones announced as labyrinthine are not complex – in which only droplets of life motivate the exploration (fast) .
The arsenal only changes statistics. The bestiary is made up of apathetic creatures that are too spacious and bosses with clumsy patterns. We don’t get bored, but we don’t get out either. In particular, in the 5 hours of play time it took to finish it (thank you for saving time) and regret the lack of bonuses to satisfy the curious, we especially feel like we are taking Monster World IV out of the fridge, not a good idea without remodeling it.
