Wonderboy Series

Mathius · 07/27/2012, 08:50 PM

Quote from: esteban on 07/27/2012, 08:25 PM
Quote from: guest on 07/27/2012, 03:56 PM
Quote from: meka on 07/27/2012, 11:44 AMThe SMS version had the pig smoking in the shop, I cannot believe that with Western games being censored so much that they let that in.
Sega/Tonka wasn't too strict with censorship a lot of the time, probably out of laziness. They left the Medusas in Rastan and Terrarin in Miracle Warriors topless.
When I think of Tonka, I think "serious multi-media publisher".

And then, "Yellow trucks".

Fixed

esteban · 07/27/2012, 10:10 PM

Quote from: Mathius on 07/27/2012, 08:50 PM
Quote from: esteban on 07/27/2012, 08:25 PM
Quote from: guest on 07/27/2012, 03:56 PM
Quote from: meka on 07/27/2012, 11:44 AMThe SMS version had the pig smoking in the shop, I cannot believe that with Western games being censored so much that they let that in.
Sega/Tonka wasn't too strict with censorship a lot of the time, probably out of laziness. They left the Medusas in Rastan and Terrarin in Miracle Warriors topless.
When I think of Tonka, I think "serious multi-media publisher".

And then, "Yellow trucks".
Fixed

Thanks

.

meka · 08/08/2012, 01:22 PM

I just played through the turbo version of Wonderboy 3 the dragon's trap and it plays much better and is a big improvement over the SMS version.

JapanTokei · 08/22/2012, 09:45 PM

I have not played the Wb3 monster lair game yet.. How would U guys rate it as a plaformer out of 10? I love bikkuriman world to the max, dragons lair was ruined by my frustrating memories of being stuck in it whole I played it on the sms as a child. Dynastic hero I haven't invested the time to play yet (jp version).

CrackTiger · 08/22/2012, 09:52 PM

Quote from: JapanTokei on 08/22/2012, 09:45 PMI have not played the Wb3 monster lair game yet.. How would U guys rate it as a plaformer out of 10? I love bikkuriman world to the max, dragons lair was ruined by my frustrating memories of being stuck in it whole I played it on the sms as a child. Dynastic hero I haven't invested the time to play yet (jp version).

As a fun game in general, I'd rate it 10/10.

It's not a traditional game that fits within cliched genre templates.

It has one of the best pure-video-game-music soundtracks of all time.

Don't worry about getting stuck, the screen constantly moving towards the boss.

esteban · 08/23/2012, 01:22 PM

Quote from: guest on 08/22/2012, 09:52 PM
Quote from: JapanTokei on 08/22/2012, 09:45 PMI have not played the Wb3 monster lair game yet.. How would U guys rate it as a plaformer out of 10? I love bikkuriman world to the max, dragons lair was ruined by my frustrating memories of being stuck in it whole I played it on the sms as a child. Dynastic hero I haven't invested the time to play yet (jp version).
As a fun game in general, I'd rate it 10/10.

It's not a traditional game that fits within cliched genre templates.

It has one of the best pure-video-game-music soundtracks of all time.

Don't worry about getting stuck, the screen constantly moving towards the boss.

Everything CrackTiger said.

I'll try to sum my thoughts... WB3: Monster Lair is ...

reno5 · 09/04/2012, 11:18 AM

Anyone knows why the Game Gear version was named Revenge of Drancon ?

kazekirifx · 09/04/2012, 08:54 PM

Quote from: reno5 on 09/04/2012, 11:18 AMAnyone knows why the Game Gear version was named Revenge of Drancon ?

Good question. Maybe by the early nineties Sega had decided "Wonder Boy" wasn't a very interesting title.

Bloody Wolf · 09/06/2012, 01:17 AM

I got to try out MW IV this weekend! DANG!!! Some good old school platformin right there!!!

T.A.P. · 09/07/2012, 03:03 AM

I grew up playing the SMS version of Dragon's Trap. Is Dragon's Curse for TG16 enough of an improvement to warrant tracking it down? What's different/better about it?

Mathius · 09/07/2012, 09:54 AM

Quote from: T.A.P. on 09/07/2012, 03:03 AMI grew up playing the SMS version of Dragon's Trap. Is Dragon's Curse for TG16 enough of an improvement to warrant tracking it down? What's different/better about it?

It's not a huge graphical upgrade but the game scrolls much smoother on the Turbo.

Tatsujin · 09/07/2012, 09:57 AM

nevertheless, one of the best hueys outthere to get

CrackTiger · 09/07/2012, 04:50 PM

If you're a fan of Dragon's Trap then you must play Dragon's Curse.

MotherGunner · 09/07/2012, 05:06 PM

It's all about the music in this whole level here.

Aggie Tsubi · 10/13/2012, 08:41 PM

I love the Wonderboy/Monster World series. It sort of goes hand-in-hand with the PC Engine for me. Whoever was the original owner of my PC Engine Duo-RX was obviously a big fan as the lot contained all of the PC Engine versions, so in turn the Wonderboy series is a big part of the overall PC Engine experience for me too. Those are the versions I prefer myself. I don't know why people cling to the inferior SMS versions outside of nostalgia. I also prefer Dynastic Hero over the Genesis version. That said, Monster World IV did end up beating out Dynastic Hero as my favorite game in the series. I'm still ecstatic that Sega released the game in English for the first time on the Virtual Console and PSN and such after all these years. I also own the PS2 Monster World collection, which is a great set despite only having the Sega versions of the games.

CrackTiger · 10/17/2012, 03:53 PM

Quote from: Aggie Tsubi on 10/13/2012, 08:41 PMI love the Wonderboy/Monster World series. It sort of goes hand-in-hand with the PC Engine for me. Whoever was the original owner of my PC Engine Duo-RX was obviously a big fan as the lot contained all of the PC Engine versions, so in turn the Wonderboy series is a big part of the overall PC Engine experience for me too. Those are the versions I prefer myself. I don't know why people cling to the inferior SMS versions outside of nostalgia. I also prefer Dynastic Hero over the Genesis version. That said, Monster World IV did end up beating out Dynastic Hero as my favorite game in the series. I'm still ecstatic that Sega released the game in English for the first time on the Virtual Console and PSN and such after all these years. I also own the PS2 Monster World collection, which is a great set despite only having the Sega versions of the games.

Monsterland/Bikkuriman World is a cheap quarter muncher. As much as I still love it for what it is, the SMS version is much more balanced. Wonderboy for SMS is also better overall than the arcade.

kazekirifx · 10/18/2012, 09:35 PM

Wonder Boy in Monster World is better than Dynastic Hero. The parallax being missing in Dynastic is enough to ruin it for me. The Genesis version was an early release on the system while Dynastic was a later Turbo release that didn't do anything to showcase the system the way it did on Genesis. Plus, the music in the Genesis version is much better - catchier. I had always wished Dynastic had remixed versions of the Genesis soundtrack, rather than new music. Sure, the music in Dynastic is good... it's definitely not bad, but the original Genesis soundtrack is just much more classic and memorable.

Overall, by the time Dynastic was released, it just felt like an okay, but flawed, port of an early Genesis game, with decent new music replacing the even more classic Genesis soundtrack.

When I first saw Dynastic Hero announced, I remember thinking, "Really TTI? A port of an old Genesis game? This is how you're going to save the Turbo?"

esteban · 10/20/2012, 03:34 PM

Quote from: kazekirifx on 10/18/2012, 09:35 PMQUESTION: "Really TTI? A port of an old Genesis game? This is how you're going to save the Turbo?"

ANSWER: Yes.

CrackTiger · 10/23/2012, 08:08 AM

Quote from: esteban on 10/20/2012, 03:34 PM
Quote from: kazekirifx on 10/18/2012, 09:35 PMQUESTION: "Really TTI? A port of an old Genesis game? This is how you're going to save the Turbo?"
ANSWER: Yes.

I would not have stuck my nose up at TTi releasing Shining Force and Phantasy Star II either. Or Super Marios Bros 3 or Phantasy Star 1 for that matter. Good games are good games.

Bitd, I was more interested in games that are good and fun than showcasing the hardware. If that was my priority, I would have thrown away my TurboGrafx-16 and Genesis and only played Mode 7 games.

Tatsujin · 10/23/2012, 08:44 AM

Dynastic hero has one of the best red book audio in the whole vg history.
only bummer is the 2min limitation of each track.

Imo, dyno blasts the monsterworlds bgm by a landslide.

geise · 10/23/2012, 09:07 AM

Quote from: Tatsujin on 10/23/2012, 08:44 AMDynastic hero has one of the best red book audio in the whole vg history.
only bummer is the 2min limitation of each track.

Imo, dyno blasts the monsterworlds bgm by a landslide.

BLASPHEMY! You know it's GoT! For shame Tats!

Tatsujin · 10/23/2012, 09:49 AM

I wrote one of the best, not THE best

Bardoly · 10/27/2012, 01:34 AM

Just played Dragon's Curse last night for the first time ever, and really enjoyed it! I got as far as getting the Tiger-man curse before I had to put it up. I'll definitely have to finish the game up soon.

ParanoiaDragon · 10/27/2012, 01:58 AM

Quote from: Tatsujin on 10/23/2012, 08:44 AMDynastic hero has one of the best red book audio in the whole vg history.
only bummer is the 2min limitation of each track.

Imo, dyno blasts the monsterworlds bgm by a landslide.

I agree. However, I played Dynastic Hero first before ever playing Wonderboy in Monsterworld. Because of that, the Monsterworld music seems wierd to me. :/

ConHuevos · 06/23/2013, 05:54 AM

Thanks this was a good read.

Mathius · 07/10/2013, 09:28 PM

Here is an interview with Shinichi Sakomoto composer many of the Wonder Boy games, plus many others during his tenure at Westone.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/interviews/shinichisakamoto-interview.htm

Tatsujin · 07/10/2013, 10:38 PM

wow, he did some few PCE goodies.

didn't know westone is still around these days.

SC-88 godness^^

Joe Redifer · 07/11/2013, 03:01 AM

Love Hardcore Gaming 101 and their love for the series. My favorite music from Sakomoto is definitely Wonder Boy 3. It's hard to match or exceed that. Well the Turbo version sounds better, but it's still his compositions.

Damon Plus · 07/11/2013, 03:48 AM

I truly love WB3: Dragon's Trap music, I think it has one of the better soundtracks of the whole 8-bit era. Side-Crawler's Dance is truly addictive. In fact, I think I'm going to listen to it with the MP3 player in my TV.

As for the game, I think it is one of the most fun, cohesive and full of secret games I've ever played. But I've not played the TG-16 version so I can't speak too much about the matter

esteban · 07/20/2013, 03:03 PM

Quote from: Mathius on 07/10/2013, 09:28 PMHere is an interview with Shinichi Sakomoto composer many of the Wonder Boy games, plus many others during his tenure at Westone.

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/interviews/shinichisakamoto-interview.htm

DAMN, THAT WAS TOO SHORT!

I would have at least 2-3 meaty question to ask in order to dig into things a bit.

For folks who want to listen to Wonderboy III: Monster Lair:

https://archives.tg-16.com/01_tg16_monster_lair_wallpaper_PC_iPhone.htm#soundtrack

ALSO: If anyone knows the ACTUAL titles for each track, or can answer any of the questions at the bottom of that page...well, that would be awesome

CrackTiger · 07/20/2013, 04:20 PM

Quote from: Damon Plus on 07/11/2013, 03:48 AMI truly love WB3: Dragon's Trap music, I think it has one of the better soundtracks of the whole 8-bit era. Side-Crawler's Dance is truly addictive. In fact, I think I'm going to listen to it with the MP3 player in my TV.

As for the game, I think it is one of the most fun, cohesive and full of secret games I've ever played. But I've not played the TG-16 version so I can't speak too much about the matter

Less secrets, but 60fps gameplay, battery backup and better graphics and sound. Worth it for the improvement to the soundtrack alone.

https://www.superpcenginegrafx.net/Vengeance_of_Meka.mp3

Tatsujin · 07/20/2013, 10:16 PM

One of the best PSG sounds ever came from any console.

Tho, the FM sounds very nice on the SMS too

Mathius · 07/20/2013, 10:22 PM

Quote from: Tatsujin on 07/20/2013, 10:16 PMOne of the best PSG sounds ever came from any console.

Tho, the FM sounds very nice on the SMS too

I wouldn't know. Damn regional differences. Cruel joke that one.

CrackTiger · 07/20/2013, 10:27 PM

The fm soundtrack mostly sounds like an incomplete conversion to me. The story segment bgm is the best update.

Joe Redifer · 07/20/2013, 10:51 PM

My biggest problem with the TG-16 soundtrack is that there's an instrument missing in its rendition of Side Crawler's Dance and that kind of annoys me. I guess because maybe the weak TG-16 doesn't have as many sound channels as the Master System. It probably sounds better on the PC Engine which is a completely different system.

CrackTiger · 07/23/2013, 10:31 AM

Quote from: Joe Redifer on 07/20/2013, 10:51 PMMy biggest problem with the TG-16 soundtrack is that there's an instrument missing in its rendition of Side Crawler's Dance and that kind of annoys me. I guess because maybe the weak TG-16 doesn't have as many sound channels as the Master System. It probably sounds better on the PC Engine which is a completely different system.

That's the one track that sounds the most improved to me and is the only one which is hard to listen to on SMS.

Which instrument do you think is missing? I just listened to both versions again and it sounds like the Turbo version only improved the music by taking two instruments off of the same channel, so that they don't have to take turns.

Mzo · 08/30/2013, 03:33 PM

This is one of my favorite game series, and it's what actually led me to finally get into PCE/TG16 games.

Imagine my profound sadness when I saw what Dynastic Hero is selling for these days.

Joe Redifer · 08/30/2013, 06:06 PM

Quote from: guest on 07/23/2013, 10:31 AMWhich instrument do you think is missing? I just listened to both versions again and it sounds like the Turbo version only improved the music by taking two instruments off of the same channel, so that they don't have to take turns.

This one:

_{► /crap/WB3channel.mp3}

After listening to the Turbo version again it's definitely there, but it's really quiet. After the song loops at :36 or so the instrument gets more energetic. The Turbo version does this as well but you can barely hear it. The Turbo version sounds like it is simply looping whereas on the SMS version you can clearly tell that new notes are being played. I want to hear those notes, they're a great part of the melody and don't deserve to be stuffed into the background like that. The song needs more energy and variety and the way they ported the tune did not provide this. Instead they just sped it up for no reason.

esteban · 09/15/2013, 07:09 AM

I love that Joe pointed this out!

For the record, this is one of the best SMS soundtracks of all time.

FOR LAZY BASTARDS:

SMS Side-Crawler's Dance (begins @1:27, synth solo @2:03 is prominent in this version, but subdued in PCE tune)

*** VERSUS ***

PCE Side-Crawler's Dance (one of the things irking Joe is the LACK of a strong synth kicking in @0:30)

STATUS: If you listen to the links above, and the selection Joe provided, it is pretty clear PCE version has a different arrangement. However, THEY ARE BOTH FANTASTIC! I couldn't say one was categorically better than the other, since they are both lovely

Quote from: Joe Redifer on 08/30/2013, 06:06 PM
Quote from: guest on 07/23/2013, 10:31 AMWhich instrument do you think is missing? I just listened to both versions again and it sounds like the Turbo version only improved the music by taking two instruments off of the same channel, so that they don't have to take turns.
This one:
_{► /crap/WB3channel.mp3}
After listening to the Turbo version again it's definitely there, but it's really quiet. After the song loops at :36 or so the instrument gets more energetic. The Turbo version does this as well but you can barely hear it. The Turbo version sounds like it is simply looping whereas on the SMS version you can clearly tell that new notes are being played. I want to hear those notes, they're a great part of the melody and don't deserve to be stuffed into the background like that. The song needs more energy and variety and the way they ported the tune did not provide this. Instead they just sped it up for no reason.

Yeah, I hear what you are saying. The PCE version totally holds its own, despite the changes in arrangement, though.

BigusSchmuck · 11/08/2013, 01:10 AM

All I have to say is if you ignore any of the different incarnations of Wonder boy iv you are really missing out. I just recently picked up Dragon's Curse again after I won it in a raffle here.

Tatsujin · 11/08/2013, 01:52 AM

yeah, wonderboys and even its rebranded offshoots are all worth to be played. such funny games, doesn't even matter much on which platform (ok, the genny monsterlair was hilarious bad compared to the PCE one).

funnily the pce WBs are some of the best outthere:

dragon's curse / adventure island = best version
monsterlair = best version (grafics almost 1:1 pixel perfect arcade and a superb OST that beat the shit out the arcade)
dynastic hero = imo best version due to the more vibrant colors and superb OST
bikkuriman world = beside the changed boss characters an almost 1:1 pixel arcade port
if you count hudsons branched off NAI into the serie, this one is a real gem. and as good as a classic WB only can get.

Mathius · 11/08/2013, 07:31 PM

I am looking forward to getting the Turbo Flashcart so I can finally play the PCE version of Bikkuriman with its English translation.

Playing the original Wonder Boy in the arcades back in the 80s was an awesome experience. I remember how crisp and colorful the graphics were. If I had been smart enough to get the SMS version of WB back when I had the system (the first time) I probably would have been floored by how well it was ported.

BigusSchmuck · 11/09/2013, 10:21 PM

If Mario and Zelda had a love child he would be called Wonder Boy! I just wish that I could change characters on the fly in Dragon's Curse like you can in the Sega Master System version.

CrackTiger · 11/10/2013, 12:43 AM

Quote from: BigusSchmuck on 11/09/2013, 10:21 PMIf Mario and Zenda had a love child he would be called Wonder Boy! I just wish that I could change characters on the fly in Dragon's Curse like you can in the Sega Master System version.

How do you change characters on the fly in the SMS version?

ParanoiaDragon · 11/10/2013, 01:03 AM

I'm curious about this as well.

CrackTiger · 11/10/2013, 01:56 AM

Quote from: ParanoiaDragon on 11/10/2013, 01:03 AMI'm curious about this as well.

It would break the game, so I'm pretty sure you can't.

Tatsujin · 11/10/2013, 03:53 AM

Could you do that in the SMS version other than in the change chamber? Dunno reallt remember that.

BigusSchmuck · 11/10/2013, 11:12 AM

Quote from: Tatsujin on 11/10/2013, 03:53 AMCould you do that in the SMS version other than in the change chamber? Dunno reallt remember that.

Equip the Tasmanian sword, and jump into the air. While in the air, hold and let go of 1 on controller 2 and 2 on controller 1 at the same time. You'll transform when you land!

CrackTiger · 11/10/2013, 03:09 PM

Quote from: BigusSchmuck on 11/10/2013, 11:12 AM
Quote from: Tatsujin on 11/10/2013, 03:53 AMCould you do that in the SMS version other than in the change chamber? Dunno reallt remember that.
Equip the Tasmanian sword, and jump into the air. While in the air, hold and let go of 1 on controller 2 and 2 on controller 1 at the same time. You'll transform when you land!

So it's just a cheat code.

The game is already easy enough, so I wouldn't have much use for that. Since it's a cheat, chances are it's also in the PCE version.

The charm stone warps and infinite bosses are what really sets the SMS version apart.

Mathius · 11/10/2013, 03:27 PM

Quote from: guest on 11/10/2013, 03:09 PM
Quote from: BigusSchmuck on 11/10/2013, 11:12 AM
Quote from: Tatsujin on 11/10/2013, 03:53 AMCould you do that in the SMS version other than in the change chamber? Dunno reallt remember that.
Equip the Tasmanian sword, and jump into the air. While in the air, hold and let go of 1 on controller 2 and 2 on controller 1 at the same time. You'll transform when you land!
So it's just a cheat code.

The game is already easy enough, so I wouldn't have much use for that. Since it's a cheat, chances are it's also in the PCE version.

The charm stone warps and infinite bosses are what really sets the SMS version apart.

Infinite bosses?

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Wonderboy Series