Welcome to our review of Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World, the 1994 original that got a mighty fine update.
Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World becomes a real Wonder Boy adventure that stays true to its roots as the latest part of the legendary and successful series, that dates back to 1986. Back then, in the first game of Wonder Boy, caveboy Tom-Tom sets out to rescue his girlfriend Tina from the evil demon. In recent years, the remakes and sequels of Wonder Boy have become smash hits around the world. Monster Boy, as well as Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, were both celebrated by hundreds of thousands of happy fans after the series had been dormant for decades.
And now Wonder Boy is back with Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World! The fully remastered version of Wonder Boy IV is led by none other than its original creator, Ryuichi Nishizawa. He is supported by Maki Ōzora for character design, Shinichi Sakamoto, who created the new and improved music and sound effects that accompany Asha’s adventures, and Takanori Kurihara as a creative manager to create a worthy remake and new entry to the iconic series.
The story of the game remains true to the original from 1994. Asha is tasked to free the four spirits being confined by evil forces whose origin she discovers throughout her journey. Luckily, she does not have to face this adventure alone, as early on she finds her new companion, a special blue Pepelogoo. The players can experience the adventures of the dynamic duo like never before thanks to cell-shaded 3D graphics and 2D gameplay as well as enhanced visuals and refined play content. Especially in the event scenes, the performance is deepened and the world view is reproduced vividly and colorfully. Plus, for the first time in the series, it comes with a character voice – by the popular and talented Japanese voice actress Ai Fairouz.
Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is actually a really decent platformer with some defaults that sadly did not get removed in this glorious upgrade. I must say that the game really shines bright in the graphics department but is that enough for a game to succeed in 2021? That is the big question here, personally, I did enjoy the game for the most part. What I did not appreciate as much, the bosses are a tad more on the painfully hard side.
What I did like, the predictability from the enemies. Yes, I did like this part while most would not enjoy it so much. I loved being able to attack twice, move back, let the enemy do its thing, and go in for another 2 attacks and continue. While this may be a bad example in itself, the game becomes easier when you just maniacally follow the base rule on how to beat a certain enemy. Sure, it may take longer to beat parts of the game, but the ease of the game versus living on the edge?
Something that did baffle me, however weird, was the way I had to go into the retro version of the game. I literally had to click the 3 dots icon on my PS5 and select the other game for it to run. Switching back, the same thing. Luckily it did keep my game active when switching elsewhere and so on.
In conclusion, Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is a cool game and I really appreciate these modern graphics, bringing it alongside the modern Shantae games in looks and feeling. While the game could have used some more polish, the experience was far from bad.
