This Week in Defunct Games - May 11, 2012

What Is It? The Wonder Boy series gets no respect. Despite there being six installments over a ten year period, few gamers have the proper fondness for this forgotten gem. Worse yet, the Wonder Boy game people are familiar with was later turned into Hudson's Adventure Island for the Nintendo Entertainment System. And just to throw salt on the wound, the best game in the series (Monster World IV) was never released outside of Japan. That is, until now. 2012 is the year Wonder Boy gets the respect he deserves.

Set a long, long time after the earlier installments, Monster World IV features a green-haired girl on a quest to save Monster World from total destruction. But it won't be an easy quest, because Asha must traverse an open world full of traps, tricks and, you guessed it, monsters. She's added by Pepe, an adorable little pepelougoo creature who can pull off all kinds of useful tricks. For example, Pepe's has large ears that allow him to fly towards hard to reach ledges. Together the two must travel the 2D landscape and save the day.

Does It Still Hold Up? With gameplay similar to Metroid and recent Castlevania games, it's surprising that it's taken Sega this long to release Monster World IV in the United States. The gameplay is responsive and the Arabian Nights-inspired visuals are gorgeous. Like so many games that came before it, Monster World IV has some check point problems. Not only does this Sega gem hold up, but it's the best in the Monster World series.

Is It Worth The Money? After taking half a year off, Nintendo is on a roll with their Virtual Console releases. Monster World IV is the type of game Nintendo should be releasing on the Wii. Enough with the Street Fighter II re-releases, bring us games that have never come out in the United States. Even with the slightly inflated price tag, Monster World IV is a fantastic game that deserves to be in everybody's library.

What Is It? This is yet another example of Nintendo double dipping. If the name Wonder Boy in Monster Land sounds familiar, it's probably because I talked about it years ago when the Sega Master System version hit the Virtual Console. This is the original arcade game, an arcade product Sega released back in 1987. It sees a brave warrior named Bock on a quest to rescue his girlfriend from the, ahem, "evil king". It all leads to an dramatic fight between our hero and the MEKA dragon, one of the most memorable moments in Wonder Boy history.

Does It Still Hold Up? There are definitely things about this game that do not hold up, especially when you look at the limited gameplay and the mediocre graphics. However, those minor complaints are trumped by all of the items and accessories available to you as you play through the game. This game may not blow you away in a technical sense, but it's definitely a lot more innovative than many people give it credit for.

Is It Worth The Money? As much as I love the Wonder Boy franchise, Monster Land is a tough call. Although this is the best version of Wonder Boy's second installment, the Master System port is also strong enough to stand on its own (and four dollars cheaper). Plus, with Monster World IV hitting the Virtual Console on the same day, it's tough to get too excited about this 8-bit effort. Wonder Boy in Monster Land is a great game that people should definitely play, but it's a toss-up over which version you should buy.