Retro Gaming Australia

Our latest episode of Retro Gaming Theatre takes on the Master System iteration of Wonder Boy. This is my preferred version of the game, probably due to the fact I played it first. We ended up skipping a couple of levels to make the video a bit more snappy – don’t judge us!

Sega are pulling out all of the stops with digital distribution this month. Hot off the heels of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 comes the third round of Sega Vintage Collection games for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.

Twelve games will be released as part of this run – Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Super Hang-On, Revenge of Shinobi, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World, Monster World IV, Streets of Rage, Streets of Rage II, Streets of Rage 3, Golden Axe, Golden Axe II and Golden Axe III.

The games are packaged differently based on which service you decide to use. On PlayStation Network, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Super Hang-On, Revenge of Shinobi, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World and Monster World IV will be available May 22nd for $US4.99 each.

Meanwhile, on Xbox Live Arcade, the games will be available in packs of three – Monster World Collection (Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World and Monster World IV) and Alex Kidd & Co. Collection (Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Super Hang-On and Revenge of Shinobi) on May 23, while Streets of Rage Collection and Golden Axe Collection will arrive on May 30. All Xbox Live Arcade collections will be 800 points.

Two more titles from the classic Wonder Boy series, Wonder Boy in Monster Land and Monster World IV (pictured), are launching on the Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console service on May 10.

Wonder Boy in Monster Land is an action role-playing platformer developed by Westone and released for many systems including the Sega Master System , Amiga, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Atari ST. In Wonder Boy in Monster Land players reprise their role as Wonder Boy (now in a Medieval world) to rid the land of a fire-breathing dragon and his minions. The Sega Master System version of Wonder Boy in Monster Land was released on Virtual Console in 2009, however, it is the 1987 arcade version that Wii owners will get to experience anew from tomorrow.

More exciting is the release of Monster World IV, the sixth and final installment in the Wonder Boy franchise (though technically not part of the Wonder Boy series and exclusively part of the Monster World series). Monster World IV is a 1994 adventure platformer also developed by Westone and released for the Sega Mega Drive – only in Japan. This Virtual Console release is the first official release of the game outside of Japan. Featuring a female protagonist and Middle Eastern setting, Monster World IV sees players journey to save the Elemental Spirits and defeat the bad guys.

Wonder Boy in Monster Land and Monster World IV will set you back 900 Nintendo Points each.

Source: SEGA Blog

Remember the Sega Vintage Collection on Xbox Live Arcade? It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Well, they’re relaunching it, starting with Monster World Collection, a three in one collection that includes Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World and the previously Japan-only Monster World IV.

On top of that, the collection is being done by Japanese studio M2, a developer known for producing painstakingly accurate ports of old games to new systems. For those unfamiliar with M2, they were responsible for a lot of the emulation technology behind Virtual Console, and produced the lion’s share of the second half of the Sega Ages 2500 collection – which included Monster World Collection (but that version had Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap, which is not in this collection – Oh Sega!?!).

The collection is launching on April 25th, and will boast a few neat little extras.

With Sega acknowledging that Wonder Boy exists, could a revival happen in the future?