Game Gear
Japanese Box | 
Support
FM Unit |
Review by Shion
This SMS adventure platform game has always been a personal favourite of mine. The whole game is superb- it features beautiful graphics and great sound, and it is immensely enjoyable. 
The game picks up exactly where Wonder Boy in Monster Land (the second Wonder Boy release) left off- after killing the deadly Meka dragon at the end of that game, Wonder Boy was turned into a Lizard-man, and the idea of this game is to find the Salamander Cross, the only thing that can transform him back into a human. He turns into four other creatures along the way- a mouse, a fish, a lion, and a bird- each with unique strengths and special abilities. 
The sound in this game is excellent too- several cool tunes (some of which remind me of a cartoon for some reason) and great sound effects. It's a long, challenging journey- and though it's not one of the most difficult games you'll play, it's one of those games you can just keep going back to after you've finished. The long levels hide many secret treasures, and every time you go back, chances are you'll find something you didn't find last time. All in all, a play of this does not disappoint. If you had any doubts about the Master System's ability to produce dazzling graphics, this is the game to teach you otherwise. And if you had any doubts about the Master System's ability to keep even the fussiest game players amused for hours, well then you must let them sample it. With as much quality, lastability, and enjoyment as this game offers, you'd be crazy to overlook it, no matter what sort of games you like. A true classic that should have a home in everybody's collection!
Authors
Ryuichi Nishizawa (Director)
Takanori Kurihara (Programmer)
Hiromi Kurihara (Designer)
Shinichi Sakamoto (Sound composer)
Kanako Kohyama (GG version, Designer)
Rieko Sumi (GG version, Designer)
W.S.S. Sakamoto (GG version, Sound composer)
Napalm Watanabe (GG version, Assistant director)
Versions
The European/US and Japanese versions of the game for Master System are stored in the same cartridge ROM. Depending on the country of the machine running the game, the title screen will show "Wonderboy 3" or "Monster World 2". The game take advantage of the FM unit if it is available, but do not even try to find it if the system is European/US, which would prevent hearing FM musics on a European/US system if someone ever find a way to connect the FM unit. The Game Gear version was modified in some ways, compared to the original game for Master System. Levels were naturally slighty changed to fit the smaller screen. The concept of needed stones to buy certain items was removed, stones being now used to teleport yourself to the town. Some weapons names have changed, and some secret rooms were removed.  In 1993, Tectoy (Brazil) released a modified Master System version under the name "Turma da M�nica em O Resgate", M�nica and her friends being famous comic characters in Brazil. The game is exactly the same except for the plot and text which is in Portuguese, and the characters sprites.
Hints, Tricks and Tips
Entering the "WE5T 0NE 0000 000" password make you start in town with the human apparence, all items and lot of money. There is also another password, "OPEN THE GREN DOR" but some ROM hacking suggested that it's purely coincidental. Last but not least, a guy called Peter made a password generator which is available by clicking here (13 kb). | Sega Master System - 1989
Released as Wonderboy 3 in Europe and USA.
The game, originally named Monster World 2, was in fact never released in Japan. 
Master System - European/US Box
Wonder Boy 3 is a combination of two popular types of game- action platform and adventure role-playing. It's a good combination that works well in this case. It's like Alex Kidd with swords, shields and spells. Not as much of an RPG as it's predecessor, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, but still equally enjoyable, if not more so. 
The game is fast and the control is good. Each of the different creatures into which you transform is distinctly different, and this is necessary for you to find and defeat each of the six huge, hideous dragons throughout the game. The graphics in Wonder Boy 3 look fantastic- sprites and backgrounds are bright, colourful and detailed at all times. The dragons in particular look pretty speccy. This is surely one of the best-looking SMS games around. And in my eyes, the graphics don't look much different to those of Dragon's Curse, the 16-bit TG16/PCE version of the game. 
Sega Game Gear - 1992
Released as Monster World 2 in Japan.
Released as Wonderboy 3 in the rest of the world. 
Musics
The musics of this game were composed by Shinichi Sakamoto, who also programmed the PSG and FM sound engines used in the game. You can listen to the original musics and sound effects in the game itself, but here are some reproductions by fans.
It's a treasure box - Midi - Author unknown
Mind of Hero - Midi - by Martin Skog
The Monster's Lair - Midi - by Martin Skog
Side-Crawler Dance - Midi - Author unknown
Shore Line - Midi - by Ellum
The Last Dungeon - Midi - by Martin Skog
Monster Town - Midi - Author Unknown
Monster Town - Midi - by Ellum
Monster Town - XM - by Shodan
VS. Dragon - XM - by Shodan
Internet ressources
The Legendary Site
Monster World
Wonderboy Games
The Ultimate Wonderpage  |
