• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap OT | What is The Secret of Your Power?

liquidtmd

Banned
Before you is the Monster World

Overcoming Various Hardships, you have at last entered into the Monster’s Castle.
Your target is the dreaded Dragon’s Room.

But unbeknownst to you is the fact the Dragon has the power to invoke curses on his enemies​
6GSNrV7.png


Digital Release Worldwide 18th April 2017
Platformer / Action Adventure


Playstation 4 $19.99 US | £15.99 | €19.99

Xbox One $19.99 US | £15.99 | €19.99

Nintendo Switch $19.99 US | €19.99 | £17.99

Size: PSN lists is as 946MB as a guide, should be thereabouts across the board. Unsure if Day 1 Patch, TBC

PC Release: June 8th

annunciata-data-uscita-wonder-boy-the-dragon-s-trap-v3-286810-1280x720.jpg


LAUNCH TRAILER

Site

Reveal Trailer

Dev Diary #1 with 1989 original game designer Ryuichi Nishizawa

Dev Diary #2 detailing Music and Sound Design

Dev Diary #3 The Art process

Proceed with your Adventurous Undertaking.

o6DJBzL.png


WonderBoy: The Dragon’s Trap is a remake of a 1989 Sega Title of the same name, with gameplay reverse engineered from the original Master System code married up to brand new hand-drawn graphics and musical arrangements. The players control an adventurer who is close in reaching and defeating an infamous Dragon (the full quest to actually reach and fight also being the focus of the 1987 ‘WonderBoy in Monster Land’)​

A secret to be told, a gold chest to be bold:

However on doing so, Wonderboy gets turned into a Lizard with the Dragons dying breath. This games focus is a quest across the land to seek a mythical Cross that can return you to Hu-Man form along the way finding treasure, buying weapons and armour, finding secrets and defeating a series of enemies that each bestow a different form and powers on our Hero.​

What powers you ask? How ‘bout the power of flight?

pCvklXm.gif


The Dragons Behind the Trap: Developed by:

header.jpg


Published by: DotEmu

LizardCube

The remake was first announced in June 2016, with development beginning in late 2013. Lizardcube are working on the game in collaboration with original game designer Ryuichi Nishizawa. The game's soundtrack is composed by Michael Geyre, who re-imagined the original soundtrack composed by Shinichi Sakamoto. Lizardcube themselves are a pretty small outfit by the looks of it, with one of the founders being a talent at Media Molecule and Q-Games (Tearaway and PixelJunk respectively.​

TaEkeFQ.gif


REVIEWS:

ggx2ac's review thread

I'll post a few here, they are coming through now. Seemingly across the board reviews are saying it's a fantastic remake, with stellar graphics and sound. Quibbles seem to be focused on the nature of the game by design, in relation to length (it's not a 100 hour collectathon) and the tightness of the controls (some says they consider it feels a bit 'slippy' but again this is faithful to the original)

Nintendolife: 8/10

It's clear that the team at Lizardcube are massive fans of the original Wonder Boy III, and that affection translates into what is without a shadow of a doubt the definitive version of a game which has previously been ported to the Game Gear and PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16. The new visuals are sumptuous and the soundtrack - which uses traditional instrumentation rather than computer-generated audio - proves just how catchy the original tunes were. Despite the passing of the years The Dragon's Trap remains a perfectly-pitched non-linear action adventure which must surely rank as one of the best of the 8-bit era. Its biggest failing is the fact that like the Master System original, it can be completed in the space of an evening. Still, that evening will be one of the most enjoyable you can possibly spend with your Switch, making this a recommended purchase regardless.

Destructoid: 8.5/10

Even though the Master System was an also-ran next to the NES's dominance, there were some real gems created for it, and Wonder Boy 3 just might have been the best game released on the platform. Lizardcube and DotEmu have done a lot of work to bring The Dragon's Trap up to today's standards, and the new version plays as good as it looks. It's plain to see how much effort went into making this into the best possible version of a game that deserves to be a classic, and it's absolutely worth your time.

Bring out your Broadsword

Also into the mix for the 2017 remaster, Wondergirl enters the fray!

WonderBoyWonderGirl-900px.jpg


Introducing WonderGirl

Mix and Match original Art and Music, cross play with Master System saves

Want 60fps with Widescreen treated original graphics paired with remastered OST? Or new graphics coupled to classic 8-bit sound? You got it!

Also it’s been mentioned there is a Hard Mode for veterans who feel up to it (full details not known, a timer is involved / increased damage likely) and equally in Dev Video #1, the guy who went to the hassle of reverse engineering the game mentioned part of the reason he was compelled to do this was in part to see if there were any secret doors he was missing. On this basis, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve thrown a few secret doors and tricks of their own in along the way.

3183227-7649416110-Wonde.png


Hey, I remember this game but it wasn’t called Wonderboy: Dragons Trap. What gives?

Wonderboy historically is a series of games published by Sega, developed by the now defunct Westone Bit Entertainment stretching back to 1986. The series comprises of the Wonder Boy series, and the Monster World sub-series. Games may be part of one, the other or both. This has resulted in a sometimes confusing naming structure resulting in titles like "Wonder Boy V: Monster World III". North America and Europe received every game that was under the Wonder Boy brand, but Japan received one title that was exclusively part of Monster World (the excellent Monster World IV) that was region exclusive until it finally received an official English language release on the Wii VC, XBL and PSN for PS3 in 2012

Westone had a unique licensing arrangement with Sega whereby Sega retained the rights to the names ‘Wonder Boy’ and ‘Monster Land’, but Westone retained the rights to everything else. Westone, in turn, had a licensing arrangement with Hudson Soft who created new characters and titles and ported these games to non-Sega platforms. The most well known of these is ‘Adventure Island’.

WonderBoyTheDragonsTrap-04.jpg


WonderBoy: The Dragon’s Trap was actually ported to the PC Engine in ’91 under the name ‘Adventure Island’ (no relation to the Adventure Island series on the NES) and was released for the TurboGrafx-16 in 1990 under the title ‘Dragon’s Curse’​

Wonder-Boy-Dragons-Trap-Wonder-Girl-Reveal.jpg


That’s complicated. My brain hurts.
Ignore everything above as background flavour. This is a stand alone quest that is to be enjoyed. Get sword. Fight dragons. Turn into animals. Become Hu-Man again.​
No simultaneous PC version Day 1? BAH Pre-order cancelle…oh
As mentioned, they seem a small outfit and have briefly mentioned the workload around getting three versions out the door is demanding and enough currently but are indeed hard at work on it via a blog post. June was projected at some point. Please understand....

Edit - but no need anymore!
Steam and GOG.com
Here's the Steam link http://store.steampowered.com/app/543260/
It looks like it's already available on Steam! At least in Spain, 7 hours earlier.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/543260/Wonder_Boy_The_Dragons_Trap/

LaunchCover-PC.jpg


giphy.gif


tumblr_nextblLvpd1qd4q8ao1_500.gif


I thought Wonderboy was now Monsterboy, an alcoholic and didn’t look like this?
You’re thinking of the completely separate title, ‘MonsterBoy and the The Cursed Kingdom’ (formerly ‘MonsterBoy and the Kingdom of Booze’), which is a new game in the series being made by Game Atelier in co-operation with OG Wonderboy designer Ryuichi Nishizawa (seen in Dev Diary #1 above). Go here for a simple breakdown on the deal with that:​
Monsterboy and The Cursed Kingdom FAQ

What’s up with the OT title?

Tenacious D song that has a similar sense of adventurous whimsy the game shares

Why should I buy it right now and board this hype train?
Because it’s built upon a classic, immensely playable title that was excellent to play in its own right. It won a whole host of awards back in the day and didn’t get ported to a variety of platforms for no reason. It’s not being remade and released due to the overwhelming strength of the Wonderboy name in 2017… As such, hopefully gameplay and graphics alone will sell this to a new generation. Based on a game that was doing Metroidvania before Metroidvania was a thing, the new style looks fantastic coupled with remixes of the timeless OG melodies. Look at these screens and check out at least Dev Diary #3 above if not all of them. Equally it’s a great palette cleanser in an era of behemoth inventory laden fetch quests. Really feel the Belgian-Franco influences in the style.​

WonderBoyTheDragonsTrap-B007.jpg


Anything else?

The Westone name was derived from the first characters of the names of company founders, Ryuuichi Nishizawa (Nishi = West) and Michishito Ishizuka (Ishi = Stone). I didn’t know that but found it on whilst doing this OT. Other than that, no we’re good. Go buy it. Start petitioning for MonsterLand and MonsterWorld remakes.

Enter the Last Dungeon one more time!

WonderBoyTheDragonsTrap-02.jpg


Big, big thanks to fellow Gaffer LordKano for contributing assets for this thread!

JyBCzCJ.png


Edit: launch day info from their official site, thanks ggx2ac!

FAQ

Price?

$19.99
€19.99
¥2200
And equivalent price depending on your region/platform.

Performances?

The game runs identical and at 60 FPS on all platforms.

Regions? The game should be available in most regions of the world:

Americas: Switch, PS4, Xbox One.
Europe: Switch, PS4, Xbox One.
Japan: Switch, PS4.
Australia, New Zealand: Switch and PS4 only. Xbox One version will arrive later.
Asia (other than Japan): we are working on bringing the game to you, please hold on for a while.

Switch users: it is really easy to access eShop from other countries on any Switch. Look it up if you don’t find the game in your local eShop ;)

Languages? The game supports the following languages, regardless of which region you downloaded it from:

English
Japanese
French
Italian
Spanish
German
Brazilian Portuguese

Package size?

The game is about 900 MB (some variation depending on the platform).

Windows/Mac/Linux version?

We are working on a computer version and they should arrive later. We hope to have the Windows version available in June, but please don’t quote us on that yet ;) You can already check the Steam Page and wishlist the game on Steam to receive news when we have them.

Physical release?

The game is a digital download only. We are investigating the possibility of doing a physical release later, however if it happens it probably wouldn’t be for all platforms/regions and may be in limited quantities. We are looking into it, please bear we us that physical goods may not be at our reach and few studios at this point know how to manufacture e.g. Switch games. So it might or might not happen.

Turma da Mônica?

Our Brazilian friends are often asking about incorporating their famous Turma da Mônica comic character into the game, as she was incorported into the 1993 TecToy release of “Turma da Mônica em: O Resgate” for the Master System. Unfortunately that would require obtaining a license from both Mauricio de Sousa Produções and TecToy, and our project is already such an imbroglio of licensing that it would be too complex for us to do it in time. However we can’t stop modders from trying to do it. ;)
 

xxracerxx

Don't worry, I'll vouch for them.
This game just looks marvelous. The art direction behind it is just top notch.

Also, looks like you may have hit submit before you wanted to...haha.
 

liquidtmd

Banned
LOL - yep too soon

Mods: please remove / Lock

Will be posted in full tomorrow

Edit- or just keep it up and add the thread title I've edited please. It was pretty much complete. Just will add screens. Up to the mods and everyone. Was having PC issues, links now fixed too
 

cireza

Banned
I keep getting confused. There are two of these projects, right?
Yes. This one is a remake from Dragon's Trap (Monster World 2) and is a faithful port of the game. This game is considered a cult classic, and one of the best Master System games.

There is another project slated for 2017 called Monster Boy I think. This one is a brand new entry in the Monster World series (basically Monster World V).

Also, there is a Wonder Boy remake (the very first game, so not the Monster World sub-series), but it does not look too hot.
 

cilonen

Member
I get the Wonderboy (Dragon's Trap / Monster Land) games confused; is this the larger non-linear one, or is this the more straightforward platformer?
 

jonno394

Member
Really looking forward to this, trying to finish up Shovel Knight before I pick this up on Switch.

The designs of the characters are great, and love how they evoke a kind of personality for each of the creatures.
 

Neff

Member
What can we expect from the game length? :eek:

First time, about 6-8 hours. Experienced players can crack it in 30-40 mins though.

I get the Wonderboy (Dragon's Trap / Monster Land) games confused; is this the larger non-linear one, or is this the more straightforward platformer?

This is the Master System Wonder Boy Metroidvania title, aka Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap.
 

jonno394

Member
Is it just me or are none of the links working in OP? When I quote the post, all web addresses have an extra : after http:
 

cilonen

Member
First time, about 6-8 hours. Experienced players can crack it in 30-40 mins though.



This is the Master System Wonder Boy Metroidvania title, aka Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap.

Aha, you said Metroidvania - I think that's the one I really liked as a kid; I remember playing through one and thinking it was OK as a platformer and then not picking up (or, rather, asking for) the other game when it came out but a school buddy lent it to me later and I was blown away by it.
 

DrArchon

Member
Day 1 on Switch. I haven't played a single game in this series before, but I heard it inspired the Shantae games, which I'm fond of, plus it looks phenomenal so I'll give it a shot.

Unless reports come out saying that it runs terribly on the Switch, which I seriously doubt will happen.
 

Protome

Member
Definitely picking this up on Switch. It's absurd how good it looks given it's a remake, especially compared to the other similar projects in the work.
 

JPS Kai

Member
Reviews will go up on day of release.

Supposedly I have the first 100%, so I can't wait to talk about my impressions in a couple of days.
 

jackal27

Banned
So crazy excited for this! I love the Moster World Series so much and it's great to have it back.

Let's hope we get a remake of Wonder Boy 3 or Monster World 4 next! Actually, I'd really be down for an original game as well.
 

AEREC

Member
Will grab it for Switch unless there's glaring issues. Never played the Wonderboy games but I did play Adventure island which I think is related to it in some way.
 

Beartruck

Member
I know this game has a option to use old passwords from the original game in the new remake. Does it let you use passwords from the Turbografx version?
 
Never played a Wonder Boy game before, but I've had my eye on this remake for a while and I'm looking forward to finally getting to play it. Going to be getting it on Switch.
 

ggx2ac

Member
Will grab it for Switch unless there's glaring issues. Never played the Wonderboy games but I did play Adventure island which I think is related to it in some way.

I'd be shocked if it ran bad.

It's emulating running a Sega Master System game with higher res assets and new sound/music.
 
Top Bottom