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Monster Boy Announced

Myself and another Monster Boy fan asked Thomas from FDG Entertainment about the release date or release window on the development blog. The response was basically that it's too early to talk about it yet meaning this game still might be quite a few months away. Here's the responses:

FDG, Thomas on Monday, March 13. 2017:
Hi Ghost_Messiah, thanks a lot! About the release date: There's really no further information I can give now. I understand that some are eagerly waiting for an announcement or even disappointed that there's no firm release date available. Sorry about that! I admit that we underestimated the game production time early on which gave a wrong impression. 'See you in 2016' became 2017. The thing is - while making games many surprising things can happen, sometimes we can share those details, sometimes it's under NDA. Please stay tuned!

FDG, Thomas on Monday, March 13. 2017:
Hi Matthew, polishing is essential as the quality standards in games is going through the roof! We like this development as we all like to play good games :) Please know that any delay has a reason. We don't do that to disappoint fans, it's quite the opposite. We respect the fans so we try to deliver the best possible experience. The trailers you see don't depict the game in its entirety. Monster Boy has many things and content we didn't reveal yet.

You have to respect them to a certain extent, the continuous delays are primarily down to quality as they want to deliver a fantastic game that has expanded far beyond the scope of their original design and intention - so in that sense it's hard to blame them. They're just echoing the ethos of great developers like Nintendo (and now Sega too actually as they've recently adopted a similar policy company wide).

It can be a little disheartening though, given the game was originally set to drop 2015 and then that became November 2016, which then became January 2017 and now we're looking at TBD 2017.

For what it's worth Thomas confirmed the game is definitely 2017 still so hopefully it's not that far off. My guess is the Summer, possibly early Autumn.
 
p9905lG.jpg

Looks like they're gauging interest in a physical Switch release.
 

NFreak

Member
Based on their response to the questions regarding the physical version of the game it seems pretty likely especially considering they say they'd have it out at launch.
 

Poppyseed

Member
Another reminder that Switch boxes might damn well be my all-time favorite.

It's just so hard to care about physical releases this time with Nintendo (and for the very first time, with Nintendo), since save-games aren't on the cartridge. That's the primary reason I'm going fully digital this time, and that you can download games to a new system without having to deal with Nintendo directly anymore.

I like the game boxes, but I feel like a pseudo-portable screams for digital.
 

deadfolk

Member
Looks nice, but I'm a little concerned about the lack of enemy variety in that first level. I hope it's not representative.
 

kaos.

Member
I'll buy this instead of the official remake of Wonderboy dragon's trap.
It seems definitely better.
 

FDG Thomas

Neo Member
Hi Everyone,
Monster Boy producer here ^_^

I wanted to check in much earlier but for some reason my NeoGAF registration took quite a while.

Just wanted to let y'all know we're reading and appreciate your comments and feedback. It actually helped us big time during our development process. I know some of you guys from our blog posts and I'll update you here and on the blog when I got any relevant news to announce.

This is an exciting time as we're about to nail Monster Boy's gameplay and design after a long road. It's so much fun to play and I can't wait to be able to share the experience with all of you. Meanwhile we very much enjoyed playing the remake of Wonder Boy: Dragon's Trap and hope you did, too.

cheers!
 

Rodin

Member
Hi Everyone,
Monster Boy producer here ^_^

I wanted to check in much earlier but for some reason my NeoGAF registration took quite a while.

Just wanted to let y'all know we're reading and appreciate your comments and feedback. It actually helped us big time during our development process. I know some of you guys from our blog posts and I'll update you here and on the blog when I got any relevant news to announce.

This is an exciting time as we're about to nail Monster Boy's gameplay and design after a long road. It's so much fun to play and I can't wait to be able to share the experience with all of you. Meanwhile we very much enjoyed playing the remake of Wonder Boy: Dragon's Trap and hope you did, too.

cheers!

Hi, just completed the remake and loved it, so i genuinely can't wait to play Monster Boy as well. Just curious to know if we're on track for the physical Switch release, i'd love to get that.
 
Hi Everyone,
Monster Boy producer here ^_^

I wanted to check in much earlier but for some reason my NeoGAF registration took quite a while.

Just wanted to let y'all know we're reading and appreciate your comments and feedback. It actually helped us big time during our development process. I know some of you guys from our blog posts and I'll update you here and on the blog when I got any relevant news to announce.

This is an exciting time as we're about to nail Monster Boy's gameplay and design after a long road. It's so much fun to play and I can't wait to be able to share the experience with all of you. Meanwhile we very much enjoyed playing the remake of Wonder Boy: Dragon's Trap and hope you did, too.

cheers!

Adored the remake and can't wait for this. Thanks for checking in! :D
 

AEREC

Member
having just came off of Wonder Boy and loving it, this game has my attention now too. Why do they seem so similar? Is Monster Boy an old series as well or is it something inspired by Wonder Boy?

edit. Nevermind, just looked it up on Wikipedia and it looks like a new game inspired by Wonder Boy. Will definitely being picking it up based on how much fun Wonder Boy was, and how good this looks.
 

FDG Thomas

Neo Member
completed the remake and loved it, so i genuinely can't wait to play Monster Boy as well. Just curious to know if we're on track for the physical Switch release

Thanks a lot! We're very happy about the voting results on Twitter and things look really good for a physical release. We're currently talking with distribution partners which means this is the final stage before we can confirm it. Fingers crossed!
 
Thanks a lot! We're very happy about the voting results on Twitter and things look really good for a physical release. We're currently talking with distribution partners which means this is the final stage before we can confirm it. Fingers crossed!


Excellent ! Count me in for a switch copy.
 

jimboton

Member
Hi Everyone,
Monster Boy producer here ^_^

I wanted to check in much earlier but for some reason my NeoGAF registration took quite a while.

Just wanted to let y'all know we're reading and appreciate your comments and feedback. It actually helped us big time during our development process. I know some of you guys from our blog posts and I'll update you here and on the blog when I got any relevant news to announce.

This is an exciting time as we're about to nail Monster Boy's gameplay and design after a long road. It's so much fun to play and I can't wait to be able to share the experience with all of you. Meanwhile we very much enjoyed playing the remake of Wonder Boy: Dragon's Trap and hope you did, too.

cheers!
Hi Thomas, is Monsterboy coming from the same team that worked on Oceanhorn? If so, is the approach of the team different in any way for the new game? I say this because (no offence) that game seemed to me extremely basic and handholdy, as if intended first and foremost for very young or 'casual' audiences. To put it another way, is Monsterboy more like Oceanhorn, or more like Wonder Boy: Dragon's Trap?

Game's looking quite sweet challenge concerns aside ;)
 

FDG Thomas

Neo Member
having just came off of Wonder Boy and loving it, this game has my attention now too. Why do they seem so similar? Is Monster Boy an old series as well or is it something inspired by Wonder Boy?

edit. Nevermind, just looked it up on Wikipedia and it looks like a new game inspired by Wonder Boy. Will definitely being picking it up based on how much fun Wonder Boy was, and how good this looks.

Monster Boy compares best to the newer Mega Drive/Genesis games: 'Wonder Boy in Monster World' and 'MWIV'. We continue the series with a fully licensed successor in all but name. That means we officially borrow from the whole Wonder Boy universe with many nods to the classics but offer an all new adventure. The gameplay in Monster Boy is very modern, quite dynamic and the world is bigger than prior adventures. Variety of enemies, places to explore and gameplay styles is insane.
 

FDG Thomas

Neo Member
Hi Thomas, is Monsterboy coming from the same team that worked on Oceanhorn? If so, is the approach of the team different in any way for the new game? I say this because (no offence) that game seemed to me extremely basic and handholdy, as if intended first and foremost for very young or 'casual' audiences. To put it another way, is Monsterboy more like Oceanhorn, or more like Wonder Boy: Dragon's Trap?

Game's looking quite sweet challenge concerns aside ;)

Monster Boy is coming from French development partner Game Atelier, they are not related to Oceanhorn. Monster Boy is in no way a basic experience because it has a lot more gameplay variety than any prior Wonder Boy game. You can transform your character anytime and instantly - you can even extend abilities with specific equipment and items. The game will provide a normal and hard mode. Normal Mode should be no problem for the majority of players. If you compare it to Dragon's Trap there's no warp back to village if you fail (lots of checkpoints in Monster Boy) and you won't get stuck in a horde of enemies that jump on you. The challenge will be a more brain teasing one figuring out which transformation and ability to use to beat a boss or finish an area.
 
Hi Everyone,
Monster Boy producer here ^_^

I wanted to check in much earlier but for some reason my NeoGAF registration took quite a while.

Just wanted to let y'all know we're reading and appreciate your comments and feedback. It actually helped us big time during our development process. I know some of you guys from our blog posts and I'll update you here and on the blog when I got any relevant news to announce.

This is an exciting time as we're about to nail Monster Boy's gameplay and design after a long road. It's so much fun to play and I can't wait to be able to share the experience with all of you. Meanwhile we very much enjoyed playing the remake of Wonder Boy: Dragon's Trap and hope you did, too.

cheers!

hi, nice to see you here! Was a backer of flying hamster 2 at the very beginning! Monster boy is one of the game i'm waiting the most this year! Thank you again for bringing this to us¨!
 

jimboton

Member
Monster Boy is coming from French development partner Game Atelier, they are not related to Oceanhorn. Monster Boy is in no way a basic experience because it has a lot more gameplay variety than any prior Wonder Boy game. You can transform your character anytime and instantly - you can even extend abilities with specific equipment and items. The game will provide a normal and hard mode. Normal Mode should be no problem for the majority of players. If you compare it to Dragon's Trap there's no warp back to village if you fail (lots of checkpoints in Monster Boy) and you won't get stuck in a horde of enemies that jump on you. The challenge will be a more brain teasing one figuring out which transformation and ability to use to beat a boss or finish an area.

That's good news, thank you!
 
Thanks a lot! We're very happy about the voting results on Twitter and things look really good for a physical release. We're currently talking with distribution partners which means this is the final stage before we can confirm it. Fingers crossed!

YAAAAASSSSSSsss!!!
 
Monster Boy compares best to the newer Mega Drive/Genesis games: 'Wonder Boy in Monster World' and 'MWIV'. We continue the series with a fully licensed successor in all but name. That means we officially borrow from the whole Wonder Boy universe with many nods to the classics but offer an all new adventure. The gameplay in Monster Boy is very modern, quite dynamic and the world is bigger than prior adventures. Variety of enemies, places to explore and gameplay styles is insane.

Great news...WBiMW and MWIV are 2 of my favourite MegaDrive/Genesis games and they hold up incredibly well, especially IV (prior entries are still good but really 80's/8bits in their game design).
 

FDG Thomas

Neo Member
Thanks a lot for the warm welcome here.

Hopefully the recent attention and apparent success of wonderboy will translate to this game.

The recent attention is great for the series but we also know that it's of no value if we don't deliver a great game. That's why we take big care in gameplay quality & fun to deliver something extraordinary too.
 
Amazing to see you here Thomas! Welcome! You might remember me from the development blog, I've posted quite a lot there under this name as I'm absolutely fascinated by what looks like a fantastic project that I'm very much looking forward to playing soon. The game looks great and I love the energy and passion behind it - hopefully the extended development time will pay off and that will result in a wonderful successor to the Wonderboy series in everything but name.

Wonderboy was my childhood and I absolutely can't wait for your game. Please keep us updated with news!
 

Rodin

Member
Thanks a lot! We're very happy about the voting results on Twitter and things look really good for a physical release. We're currently talking with distribution partners which means this is the final stage before we can confirm it. Fingers crossed!

That's great to hear! Looking forward to it :)
 

Zalman

Member
Thanks a lot! We're very happy about the voting results on Twitter and things look really good for a physical release. We're currently talking with distribution partners which means this is the final stage before we can confirm it. Fingers crossed!
Great news!
 

FDG Thomas

Neo Member
Amazing to see you here Thomas! Welcome! You might remember me from the development blog, I've posted quite a lot there under this name as I'm absolutely fascinated by what looks like a fantastic project that I'm very much looking forward to playing soon. The game looks great and I love the energy and passion behind it - hopefully the extended development time will pay off and that will result in a wonderful successor to the Wonderboy series in everything but name.

Wonderboy was my childhood and I absolutely can't wait for your game. Please keep us updated with news!

Hi Ghost_Messiah, yes of course I remember you! ^_^ Very happy to see everyone still excited for the game despite the project delays. Hope to have news soon!
 

Skeletos311

Junior Member
Hey, Thomas. I'm very much looking forward to Monster Boy. I have a few questions for you.

Is the game structured similarly to Wonder Boy in Monster World and Dragon's Trap? I mean, is it non-linear, free-roaming, maybe with a hub town, and you can go to new areas once you get new abilities?

Why did they change the main character's head and is this new head the final head? I don't think it matches the piece of art that they always use. It was used in the boxart mockup.
 

FDG Thomas

Neo Member
is this new head the final head?
We've been struggling a bit with the look of the Hu-Man and it may still change a bit in the final version. We're almost there.

Is the game structured similarly to Wonder Boy in Monster World and Dragon's Trap? I mean, is it non-linear, free-roaming, maybe with a hub town, and you can go to new areas once you get new abilities?

Absolutely that's a big yes! Monster Boy has a completely interconnected open world, free roam all across the map. When you visited all areas and open the auto-map, you'll see a beautiful coherent and connected world map with different colors for each area.
 

jonno394

Member
We've been struggling a bit with the look of the Hu-Man and it may still change a bit in the final version. We're almost there.



Absolutely that's a big yes! Monster Boy has a completely interconnected open world, free roam all across the map. When you visited all areas and open the auto-map, you'll see a beautiful coherent and connected world map with different colors for each area.

Sounding great! Thanks for the updates.
 

Grampasso

Member
Hi Thomas, keep up the good work! Looking forward to your game, I've been following your project for almost 2 years now and it's one of my most wanted titles this year! Cheers :D
 
We've been struggling a bit with the look of the Hu-Man and it may still change a bit in the final version. We're almost there.

Absolutely that's a big yes! Monster Boy has a completely interconnected open world, free roam all across the map. When you visited all areas and open the auto-map, you'll see a beautiful coherent and connected world map with different colors for each area.

Sounds fantastic. Will be there Day 1, will be getting the physical version. My family grew up with wonderboy and we'll all be jumping at this game.

Good luck finishing everything off, can't wait to see the final result.
 
The Remake was pretty awesome already, but this is more of what a new Wonderboy release in 2017 should feel like, so I expect the gameplay here to just be above and beyond the remake.

Can't wait based on the little demo I was already able to play. Day 1 for me :)
 
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