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Being a hero must pay well (better than a staff writer!) ‘cos Wonderboy keeps going back to it. This time he’s lost his skateboard but found a suit of armour, which is just as well because he’d look a tad out of place skating around his latest adventure!
Wonderboy finds himself in a magical land plagued with monsters, killer mushrooms and pubs (it’s not all bad. then!). Various problems have been set for ‘Boy-o and if he wants to escape from this world he’d better solve them!
Interaction with local yokels is essential to solve each task. Ordinary passers-by give snippets of information but if you want the hard facts, houses have to be entered to find the people who can enlighten you.
When baddies are killed they leave behind a gold coin of varying value which is spent in any of the world’s shops (sorry, no cheques!). Wonderboy can upgrade his weapon and buy armour and medicine — some of the baddies are pretty tough cookies and give as good as they get!
So jump and run your way through to freedom in the usual Wonderboy vein. Just remember to look before you leap!
He’s back (again!) and this time he’s got his clothes on! Yes, Sega’s original mascot’s resurrected and sent to Monster World to give the poor, oppressed citizens a helping hand.
The latest offering from the one-inch wonder’s a mixture of classic Wonderboy platform-jumping, puzzle-solving and RPGing! And the good news is it works!
To be honest, I always hated these sort of games, so with the type of enthusiasm I usually reserve for a Villa match, I booted the cart. After five minutes, I was hooked! After ten minutes, I’d only solved the first problem, and after an hour-and-a-half I was well and truly immersed in Monster World! I cried when I had to switch it off and go home!
So what makes it so good? Though above average, the graphics are nothing special, and the less said about the sound the better! So what is it? The gameplay, the ease with which you get into the game and the complexity of the puzzles and problems, all mixed with good old platform romping, makes Wonderboy 3 one of the better MS releases.
If you’re after a cutesy platform-cum-puzzle game and don’t fancy some of the recent bland offerings, Wonderboy 3’s for you!
PAUL 80%
I played this on Mega Drive a few months back and the MS version’s just as good. The Wonderboy series started to get a little tiresome, so Sega came up with the bright idea of adding RPG elements. Thankfully, the concept works! With a little help from tips printed in the Pittstop, I got quite far. although it differs from the MD romp in certain places.
Wonderboy 3 definitely makes you think! It’s possible to get infuriated when things aren’t going to plan, but stick with it and you find a hidden area and more of the plot unfolds. The bad guys are easy to beat but it’s the RPG element that’s the important part, so it’s not such a bad thing.
The visuals are nice and colourful. They’re not particularly well animated, though, and flicker dreadfully on some levels. Soundwise, each level has its own theme tune and there are a few spot FX. On the whole, they’re not bad by Master System standards.
There’s a code backup system, so you can play again at a later date if the puzzles are putting a bit of strain on the old grey matter!
Not a bad attempt. A nice mixture of RPG and slice-’em-up, but Wonderboy fans who aren’t nuts about roleplaylng should look elsewhere.
ADE 70%
Nothing new as far as platformers go, but RPG elements add to the enjoyment
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