As Ryuichi Nishizawa explained in Retro Gamer Issue 124’s ‘A Westone Retrospective,’ Westone designed Wonder Boy to feel pressured on the player.
Wonder Boy is a prehistoric stone age game developed by Escape before the Westone era. Your health bar constantly decreases, and you must collect snack food to replenish it.
You had to buy items from town shops, improve weapons, armour, and shields, as well as discover secret areas in Wonder Boy in Monster Land. Aside from Wonder Boy, three-quarters of this compilation are influenced by mild RPG mechanics.
It has infuriating platforming gameplay and unfair difficulty spikes since the first two games are arcade coin munchers.
In the Wonder Boy Collection, Wonder Boy in Monster World stands out as a more balanced and faster-moving action-adventure platformer.
It omits series-defining titles and key console ports, unlike Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection, retro gamers question the collection’s worth. The price is higher than retro compilations like Pac-Man Museum+ and Sonic Origins, which are more complete and cheaper.
Pros:
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Arcade-style gameplay for Wonder Boy.
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Platformers with RPG elements.
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Pixel art from Monster World IV.
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Various display options, rewind.
Cons:
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Games feel insignificant.
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Games that guzzle coins.
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Extras compared to Sonic Origins.
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Games and key console versions were omitted.
This game is six out of ten.