Wonder Boy in Monster Land

Not to be confused with Wonder Boy in Monster World.
Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Cover artwork for the Master System version featuring Tom-Tom fighting Red Knight, with bats in the background
Developer(s)Westone
Sega (Master System)
Publisher(s)Sega
Director(s)Ryuichi Nishizawa[5]
Producer(s)Ryuichi Nishizawa
Designer(s)Ryuichi Nishizawa[5]
Programmer(s)Ryuichi Nishizawa
Michishito Ishizuka
Artist(s)Hiromi Suzuko
Rie Ishizuka
Composer(s)Shinichi Sakamoto
Platform(s)Arcade, Master System, Famicom, Commodore 64, PC Engine, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, Atari ST, mobile phones, Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch
ReleaseArcade
PC Engine
  • JP: October 30 1987
Master System
Famicom
  • JP: November 11, 1988
C64, CPC, Amiga, Atari ST
Mobile phones
  • JP: December 1, 2004
  • NA: June 8, 2005 (as Super Adventure Island)
Wii Virtual Console
Master System:
  • JP: December 24, 2008
  • EU: January 23, 2009
  • NA: January 26, 2009
Wii Virtual Console
Arcade:
  • JP: June 21, 2011
  • WW: May 10, 2012
PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360
  • WW: May 23, 2012
Nintendo Switch
  • JP: May 30, 2019
  • WW: June 27, 2019
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single player
Arcade systemSystem 2

Wonder Boy in Monster Land, known by its original arcade release as Wonder Boy: Monster Land,[a] is a platform video game developed by Westone Bit Entertainment and released by Sega in Japanese arcades in 1987 and for the Master System in 1988, with a number of other home computer and console ports following. The game is the sequel to the 1986 game Wonder Boy and takes place eleven years after the events in the previous game. After enjoying over a decade of peace on Wonder Land following the defeat of the evil King by Tom-Tom, later bestowed the title "Wonder Boy", a fire-breathing dragon called the MEKA dragon appeared; he and his minions conquered Wonder Land, turning it into "Monster Land". The people, helpless due to their lack of fighting skill, call for Wonder Boy, now a teenager, to destroy the monsters and defeat the MEKA dragon. Players control Wonder Boy through twelve linear levels as he makes his way through Monster Land to find and defeat the MEKA dragon. Players earn gold by defeating enemies and buy weapons, armor, footwear, magic, and other items to help along the way.

The arcade version of Wonder Boy in Monster Land amassed moderate sales, the Master System version received overall positive reviews in all aspects and has been highly regarded as one of the better titles in the Master System library. Reviews praised the game for its colorful graphics, smooth controls, gameplay, and replay value. Other ports received mixed reception: criticisms included very slow multi-load times on the home computer versions, sub-quality sound, and smaller play areas. The arcade version would later be re-released in emulated form as a digital download for Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It had a sequel, Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap, released for the Master System in 1989.

  1. ^ "Sega Arcade History: 1987" (PDF). Mega Drive Fan (in Japanese). No. 28 (May 1992). Tokuma Shoten. April 1992. pp. 102–105 (103).
  2. ^ "Availability Update" (PDF). Computer Entertainer. September 1988. p. 13.
  3. ^ "[セガハード大百科] セガマーク３/マスターシステム対応ソフトウェア". Sega. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  4. ^ https://retrocdn.net/images/5/5d/BristolEveningPost_UK_1988-08-26_Page_83.jpg
  5. ^ a b "Interview with Ryuichi Nishizawa". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 30 October 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.


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