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Monster Boy Announced

P

PassiveObserver

Member
Best Wonderboy Game:

40967_front.jpg


Hope Monster Boy makes its way onto the 3DS so I can get a piece of that proto-Metroidvania action.
 
E

Enk

makes good threads.
Boom!

Holy crap I never thought something like this would happen. This is pure megaton news for me. I was fully expecting to enter this thread to be greeted with another "mobile/as a different genre" joke news, but nope, here it is a brand spanking new, and prettied up Monster World successor. This was just one of those series that I really loved in which I just expected to be dead and dead could be. I was really looking forward to Hamster World as that really had the Monster World vibe going for it, but this news has really got the hype juice actually going this ol' gamer's veins.

Give it to me noooow!
 
Z

zero shift

Banned
Monster World on the MegaDrive was great. It just didn't age too well as it contains a lot of jank, bad writing, and amateurish level design. Though what it was trying to do was certainly something special and it when the game was fun it was fun. A modern take on the series could be amazing.
 
A

ALLseeingEYE

Member
This is awesome news, but I assume it is being called Monster Boy because Sega owns the Wonderboy license?

I'm just glad this game is happening, the Dragon's Trap is one of my favorite games of all time, and I will not weep for the lack of Hamsters.
 
H

Hot Coldman

Banned
ALLseeingEYE said:
This is awesome news, but I assume it is being called Monster Boy because Sega owns the Wonderboy license?

I'm just glad this game is happening, the Dragon's Trap is one of my favorite games of all time, and I will not weep for the lack of Hamsters.
Click to expand...

The Monster World franchise is super confusing thanks to the Wonder Boy naming conventions, so "Monster Boy" is a pretty funny naming choice. Makes sense, of course.
 
S

Spieler Eins

Member
I've only got MW4 recently and enjoyed it. Now waiting for a MW3 sale and this looks promising too (more than most other indie Metroidvanias anyway).
 
K

Krejlooc

Banned
stuminus3 said:
Oh my.


I was sold before I clicked the link then that banjo dude started playing Monster-Town from Wonder Boy III and now I'm SOLD.


Oh my.
Click to expand...

Wonderboy always had such charming music. If this game is nothing but wonderboy remixes I would be happy enough. I hope there are some cool new songs, though.

And yeah, the cover in the trailer is terrific. It makes me actually smile, as in I actually feel happy hearing it, and that's the best compliment I can give.
 
Ghost_Messiah

Ghost_Messiah

Member
So let's summarise this amazing news:

*The game is being developed by a hardcore Wonderboy fan indie developer who originally intended to develop a Wonderboy tribute and homage game.
*The game has since evolved into a spiritual successor to Wonderboy that the developer considers to be a definitive and official new entry in the Wonderboy legacy and series
*The series' original creator is heavily involved collaborating with the team in the development of the game; as is one of the original music composers
*The game is designed to be a successor to the best Wonderboy game Wonderboy in Monster World and is essentially a direct sequel/reboot of that game
*The transformation mechanic from the excellent Wonderboy III: The Dragon's Trap is being included essentially making this a Monster World/Dragon's Trap hybrid

This is quite possibly the best Sega-related news ever in over a decade. Wonderboy, a previously dead and dormant series is being resurrected with original members of the team from the defunct Westone involved including the series' original creator. It's a miraculous, almost dream-like scenario. So fucking excited for this.
 
M

marrec

Banned
Whaaaat?! This is amazing news.

What's better is that people who backed the original Flying Hamster II Kickstarter will be getting Monster Boy for free as long as you did the thing they told you to do way back when they originally canceled the Kickstarter.

Great news.
 
E

Eusis

Member
marrec said:
Whaaaat?! This is amazing news.

What's better is that people who backed the original Flying Hamster II Kickstarter will be getting Monster Boy for free as long as you did the thing they told you to do way back when they originally canceled the Kickstarter.

Great news.
Click to expand...
What I'm wondering about is if the email needed to be responded to or not. Well, I can always fire another one off this time mentioning Monster Boy, and maybe they'll just go "eh screw it" and give it to any proven backer who bothered to try emailing.
 
Ghost_Messiah

Ghost_Messiah

Member
To everyone underwhelmed and disappointed with the art direction just two things:

1) I actually think the art looks pretty good. It's not a direct recreation of the 16-bit Wonderboy style in the vein of something like Shovel Knight so I can see why you might think the magic or ethos of the Wonderboy style has been lost but to me:

9b9bf0a8662d3ea65718f2ea0893ee00_large.png


2) This looks pretty fucking promising and fantastic. Also note the disclaimer at the bottom of the image. Work in progress; this image does not depict the final quality of the game. This game is obviously and evidently extremely early. They have a handful of screens that are extremely likely to be mock-ups and conceptual screenshots as opposed to being direct screengrabs from actual working code which I'm betting they've barely started to work on.

They are almost definitely announcing this super early hence the prototype stage vibe given off by the screens and the fact that they have barely anything to show. This is why the teaser trailer is just a cycle of screenshots and some music. They don't have a working prototype of the game yet so thus can't create a trailer showcasing real footage. The game will almost definitely be iterated and changed as it enters serious development and evolves and improves over time.

Also the developer is probably watching the reaction and response to this like a hawk and if the art is being criticised they'll likely iterate and improve it.

TLDR: It's extremely early. The developer's barely started development. The final end product will be iterated and probably look much better.
 
A

AmyS

Member
Krejlooc said:
NOT QUITE

This is terrific, but the day Fantasy Zone II DX was released was fucking MAGICAL.
Click to expand...

I totally agree.

That was something I could never even have imagined. -- An 8-bit coin-op arcade and Master System game remade with 16-bit graphics on a revised System 16 board with more RAM.

One can't think up such things. "Oh wouldn't it be cool if they remade FXII on System 16" But it happened.

They even made some actual arcade machines for it in Japan.

36_589.jpg

37_255.jpg

38_157.jpg

39_526.jpg


There's a number of ways one can play Fantasy Zone II "DX"

- PS2 import: Sega Ages 2500 Vol.33 Fantasy Zone Complete Collection
- an arcade machine in Japan, if you're so fortunate as to find one
- Trial version for Windows
- MAME
- 3DS eShop
 
T

Tain

Member
I expect it to look better by the end in a few ways, of course, but I think it's fair to be cautious based on what they've shown of the game before the rebranding and what they're showing now.
 
K

Krejlooc

Banned
Boogybro said:
Oh, we're posting WonderBoy music?

My favourite.
Click to expand...

This is my favorite track from Wonderboy III: the Danger Zone

However, I consider this THE Monster World song. It's basically the series theme song AFAIK, it's in almost every game of the series: Nightmare Castle

I constantly flip flop between my favorite song in the series, though. I like this one:

Dwarf/Ice Village theme

and

Under the Ocean/Tundra theme

The ocean/tundra theme sounds so desolate and vast, I love it.
 
K

Krejlooc

Banned
Sword Familiar said:
Pig, snake, frog?, lion and basilisk (might be a dragon, but the head looks like a chicken)?

"Frog" could be a bear of some kind, too.
Click to expand...

I wonder if the snake is a companion character. They were in Wonderboy in Monster World, then obviously had an enormous role in Monster World IV.
 
K

Krejlooc

Banned
AmyS said:
I totally agree.

That was something I could never even have imagined. -- An 8-bit coin-op arcade and Master System game remade with 16-bit graphics on a revised System 16 board with more RAM.

One can't think up such things. "Oh wouldn't it be cool if they remade FXII on System 16" But it happened.

They even made some actual arcade machines for it in Japan.

36_589.jpg

37_255.jpg

38_157.jpg

39_526.jpg


There's a number of ways one can play Fantasy Zone II "DX"

- PS2 import: Sega Ages 2500 Vol.33 Fantasy Zone Complete Collection
- an arcade machine in Japan, if you're so fortunate as to find one
- Trial version for Windows
- MAME
- 3DS eShop
Click to expand...

I own an actual System 16 fantasy Zone II DX board

*hyperbrag*
 
K

Krejlooc

Banned
Aeana said:
I love the desert music from The Dragon's Trap/Curse. The PC Engine version is probably my favorite version of it.
Click to expand...

I really like all of it, I keep using the word, but if there was a single word I could use to describe the entire wonderboy series - even the side scrolling games - it would be charming.

These are among the most charming games I've ever played. They always make me smile. I didn't grow up with games like Megaman or Mario. I read people's reactions when Mega Man 9 came out and how they said they grinned like a kid and felt young again.

This is that for me. Wonderboy in Monster Land was the very first game I ever played, and I stuck to the series like jelly. I outright love this series. Those tunes just flat out make me feel happy.
 
stuminus3

stuminus3

Member
Since they're doing the beast transformations like Dragon's Trap they should totally throw in some incohesive world design. Kids today won't get it, but there was something magical and other worldly about the whole "suddenly, you're on a beach" thing.

Also: purple smoking pirate church pig.
 
K

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Wonder Boy in Monster Land was a cornerstone of my gaming childhood. I miss my Sega Master System, sometimes.

Will definitely keep an eye on this development.
 
S

Santar

Member
H

Hypron

Member
I'll get that game simply because of Nostalgia. I remember playing Wonderboy in Monster World as a kid and struggling a lot because I couldn't understand English back then. I still loved the game though.
 
S

Shepard

Member
I had no idea about this series but that teaser's music+screens made me pumped to buy the game, lol. Will get it on Steam.
 
K

Krejlooc

Banned
Shepard said:
I had no idea about this series but that teaser's music+screens made me pumped to buy the game, lol. Will get it on Steam.
Click to expand...

Go buy the wonderboy vintage collection on psn, xbla, or buy the genesis collection on steam, or buy the games individually on Nintendo's vc. Any game in the series is worth playing, but virtually everybody will say that wonderboy 3: the dragon's trap or wonderboy in monster world are the two best in the series. My personal favorite is wonder boy in monster world. It's zelda 2 done right, with a metroidvania progression style.

Love this series so much.
 
S

Shepard

Member
Krejlooc said:
Go buy the wonderboy vintage collection on psn, xbla, or buy the genesis collection on steam, or buy the games individually on Nintendo's vc. Any game in the series is worth playing, but virtually everybody will say that wonderboy 3: the dragon's trap or wonderboy in monster world are the two best in the series. My personal favorite is wonder boy in monster world. It's zelda 2 done right, with a metroidvania progression style.

Love this series so much.
Click to expand...

Hey, thanks for the advice, I'll give them a shot.
 
H

Hot Coldman

Banned
Krejlooc said:
Go buy the wonderboy vintage collection on psn, xbla, or buy the genesis collection on steam, or buy the games individually on Nintendo's vc. Any game in the series is worth playing, but virtually everybody will say that wonderboy 3: the dragon's trap or wonderboy in monster world are the two best in the series. My personal favorite is wonder boy in monster world. It's zelda 2 done right, with a metroidvania progression style.

Love this series so much.
Click to expand...

My two favourites are Wonder Boy in Monster World and Monster World IV. IV is very linear, but it's utterly gorgeous for a Mega Drive game, and the plot is the best of the lot too.
 
A

Aeana

Member
Ulthwe said:
(proceeds to click, begins listening and thinks "of course". Sees there's FM version... Mind blown!).
Click to expand...

The sad thing about North American Master System games is that their music was downgraded since NA never got the FM unit that the Japanese MkIII had available. Phantasy Star is one of the biggest sufferers (cue djtiesto coming in to defend the PSG music). At least the retranslation patch re-enabled the FM music so English players can enjoy it.
 
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