Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap
A nonlinear action-adventure following Wonder Boy's curse-breaking quest.
Westone developed this platforming action-adventure game for Sega's Wonder Boy series. Sega published it for the Master System in 1989 in the US and Europe. Hudson Soft later ported it as Dragon's Curse for the TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine. In 1989, Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded it "Best Game of the Year" for the Master System.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Westone
- Publisher
- Sega
- Composer
- Shinichi Sakamoto
- Platforms
- Master System
- Game Gear
- PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16
- mobile phone
- iOS
- Genre
- Platform, action-adventure
- Modes
- Single player
- Series
- Wonder Boy
Facts from the source article.
Overview
The game begins immediately after Wonder Boy in Monster Land, with Wonder Boy slaying the Mecha Dragon (sometimes called the "MEKA dragon") but being cursed into a Lizard-Man form. Players control Wonder Boy as he travels across Monster Land, defeating other dragons and ultimately the Vampire Dragon to obtain the Salamander Cross, the only item that can lift the curse. After the first level, which is a simplified version of the final level from the preceding game, the player starts as Lizard-Man in the town of Alsedo, and the gameplay becomes nonlinear. Exploration yields items and clues needed to access different areas. Gold and secondary items are obtained by defeating enemies and opening treasure chests; gold can be spent on equipment and healing at shops and hospitals. Items marked with question marks require charm, which is increased by collecting Charm Stones or equipping certain items. The directional pad moves Wonder Boy left or right, allows crouching (as Hu-Man or Lizard-Man), and opens doors. Buttons control attacking and jumping; holding down on the directional pad while pressing attack uses secondary weapons. The pause button shows the Status Screen and pauses the game during dragon fights. A life meter of hearts appears at the top of the screen; when all hearts turn black, Wonder Boy dies and the game ends unless a life potion (called a "medicine vial" in Dragon's Curse) revives him with some hearts refilled. After death, a continue screen offers a chance to win a free life potion before restarting at the town. The town's church provides a password that saves the player's form, equipment, and gold but not secondary weapons or life potions; Dragon's Curse includes a file cabinet for storing passwords in memory.
Development and release
Westone developed the game, and Sega published it as the sequel to Wonder Boy in Monster Land. It first appeared for the Master System in September for North America. A PC Engine release in Japan was titled Adventure Island (unrelated to the NES series), and NEC released it for the TurboGrafx-16 that same year as Dragon's Curse. Westone allowed Hudson Soft to publish it on condition that no reference to the Wonder Boy series be made. Sega released a Game Gear version in 1992 in Europe under the original title (without the roman numeral "III") and in Japan as Monster World II: Dragon no Wana. In 1993, Tec Toy released a Brazilian Master System version titled Turma da Mônica em o Resgate, replacing sprites with characters from the Monica's Gang comic series. Sega included the game in the 2007 PlayStation 2 compilation Sega Ages 2500 Vol. 29: Monster World Complete Collection. Dragon's Curse/Adventure Island was released for the Wii Virtual Console worldwide that same year. The Master System version reached Europe and North America on unspecified dates.
Reception
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap received wide acclaim from critics upon release. Electronic Gaming Monthly covered it in September 1989, summarizing the plot and game. GamePro's September–October 1989 issue called it "truly an adventure worthy of Wonder Boy." VideoGames & Computer Entertainment gave extensive coverage in January and February 1990, including a walkthrough, and praised its challenge and look. UK magazines Computer and Video Games and Mean Machines gave positive reviews; Computer and Video Games highlighted the animation and called it the best game of its type on the platform, citing "familiar air of polish and ingenuity" and "piles of addiction guaranteed." Mean Machines' Matt Regan said it "ranks as one of the greatest Sega Master System games ever!" and compared its gameplay to the Mario series, praising its depth and discoverable secrets. Julian Rignall lauded the graphics and the large explorable world, stating that "the combination of adventuring, shooting and platform action results in one of the best games of its type available on any console." Reviewers collectively praised the overall presentation, graphics, playability, and longevity, but criticized the sound as "could have been much better."
Remake
In June 2016, indie developer Lizardcube and publisher DotEmu announced a remake titled Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap, released for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One in April 2017, with a PC release in June 2017. It features a modern visual style while retaining the original gameplay, level design, and story, and was developed with series creator Ryuichi Nishizawa. A spiritual successor, Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, was developed by Game Atelier and published by FDG Entertainment for multiple platforms, also in collaboration with Nishizawa but without the Wonder Boy name due to Sega's ownership of the rights.
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