Wonderboy in Monsterland

Legerdemain 2023-02-25
(4/10)
Wrote some stuff elsewhere: "But then we have conversions like Wonder Boy in Monster Land (lacking stages, lousy scrolling, millions of little small details missing making it just feel... Off). However, it is playable.. The graphics are okay and many of the things that makes the game good in the arcades are there to be found. It just misses the mark with the presentation and makes some changes to the gameplay that gives one no reason whatsoever to play this version... Which pales in comparation to the Master System version... The PC-Engine version... Not to speak of the original arcade version. Even the C64 version feels more motivated just because it does more with the hardware available even though it is a not so good port."

...and...

"The Amiga version have replaced the final dungeon (which is a huge part of the original game) with a linear gauntlet of bosses. Also, the final boss only has only one form instead of the original two. The bosses are all missing the dot marking how much damage they have recieved, the interaction with enemies feels entirely different from the original, much more stiff... The scrolling is horrible, the collision detection way off and the lag in the controls not impressive.

It is just not that the game differs from the arcade version... It does not have to be a 1:1 conversion to be great (the Master System version takes some liberties, even)... But the presentation is simply a mess, making the game bad even by its own merits."
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AJB1980 2021-12-04
(8/10)
I understand that the Amiga version suffers from slow down, low frame rate etc and comes across as a quick ST port but it still resembles the arcade quite closely and comparing it to some other Sega conversions on the Amiga I was very grateful it was as good as it was. I felt the reviews in the past were way off the mark, an overall score of 75% would be much more accurate i feel. Just had so much fun with this growing up.
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grande316 2020-12-20
(7/10)
Loved playing this on my best mate's Amiga back in the day, but I have been playing it under emulation recently and doesn't quite hold up. Still have good memories of it though. 7/10
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ixien 2018-03-29
(7/10)
As usual with Activision, the team behind this arcade conversion had lack of time and it's a lazy port from the Atari ST version. The arcade game is more colorful, GFX are much more detailed with bosses and bonuses, all is so smoother. If only they had more time and use Amiga hardware. It's always the same problem with the arcade conversions on Amiga

Nevertheless, it remains nice to play, especially in 60hz that give it an interesting boost to the display. And if you play it using WHDLoad, no more slow loadings and keyboard use to open doors
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Aldebaran V 2016-07-19
(8/10)
Quite good for amiga. Of course the arcade machine version is better (I've seen boys play for hours with this game).
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Dottor_Psycho 2016-05-06
(6/10)
The arcade version of Wonderboy in Monsterland is, albeit dated, a true innovator in the platformers field. The Amiga rendition is technically (sound excluded) as bad as it could be but somehow retains much of the original playability. It is easy to point out its many flaws (loading times, colors, frame rate, space bar required to open doors) but the game is great fun anyways (6/10).
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edshot8 2014-05-02
Been playing this on the emulator , decent enough game not bad at all,played it numerous times for the C-64 back in the day!
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Chuckles 2012-06-30
Enjoyed jumping around in this, and the c64 version.
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tony day 2012-03-29
(10/10)
I love this game. So I went to that CU Amgia review with the unfair 41% rating. I knew before I got there who it was... That twonk Tony Dillon. The guy who praised the US Gold version of SF2. This game, despite its gfx, has great atmosphere and playability that puts 90% of Amiga platform games to shame. 8/10
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ReTroViRuS 2011-09-15
(8/10)
I must say I quite like Wonderboy in Monsterland, despite the loading times and the mediocre port of the graphics. The difficulty curve develops gradually over the course of several levels. I think I almost reached the final level during one of my attempts. Good memories.
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mapo 2011-03-17
(5/10)
The AF 51% says it all
average game w/frustrating loading times, rubbish NES-like graphics etc.
8 for the coin op, 5 for this one
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Lord_Maletoth 2010-08-22
(8/10)
One of my favourite platform with cute Japanese characters. The arcade was better in terms of graphics and action, still this is a pretty decent conversion.
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arrow_1987 2009-12-17
(9/10)
The controls of this game might be a little bit sluggish, but that's exactly what i like. It fits somehow.
and i love the epic music of the levels. Thanks David Whittaker.

and 9 points from me.
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lobogris_1976 2009-11-02
I have returned today to this awesome action/adventure platformer game and is so addictive that I played a lot of times reaching round 6! I love this game I played a lot in the past... And my first version was the crappy c64 one, but I have sweet memories about that version too, because the nice gameplay is untouched.
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hitchhikr 2009-05-28
(6/10)
Probably another straight ST conversion.
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petrucci 2009-03-13
(6/10)
The c64 conversion of WBIM was a disaster because of the ugly, small graphics, grainy backgrounds and unrecognizable sprite of the boy; except for a bit part of gameplay. This conversion looks more similar to the original and could be OK, after all. Action is slow but everything's acceptable. It could have made a lot better, tho: what was the difficulty of remaking a game like this?
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Reo77 2008-09-24
The SNES version is fantastic. I have never played in Amiga
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VEGNAcore 2008-09-19
HA, how long did this take to load.zzzzzzzzzzzz.But well worth the wait!
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dwyloc 2008-01-02
(6/10)
Fun but hard, and much improved by whdload I always used to get fed-up with the loading times when I played from disk.
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Yure 2007-05-07
(7/10)
Cute and cool japanese console-ish super deformed platform game. Gfx under the average, but very playable.
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Zagrebo 2007-04-19
(7/10)
Very primitive-looking (the graphics are only slightly-better than the Sega Master System version) but fairly good none the less.
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Kai 2007-03-06
(7/10)
Game: good. Loading times: AWFUL. (73%)
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superturbo 2006-09-14
(7/10)
Quite a nice game actually! Way better than that crappy C64 conversion!!
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HoraceAndTheSpider 2006-05-15
(7/10)
No complaints about loading times these days with whdload!!

i loved this game at the time, and it still retains its charm today.
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Maff Rignall 2006-05-01
(9/10)
In spite of the horrendous loading times, the jerky scrolling and a couple of glaring omissions from the arcade version, this is actually really good fun. Everything that made the coin-op fun has been retained, and if you can get past the initial sense of disappointment (and allow your eyes adjust to the lurching screen movement), there's an absorbing console style platformer lurking underneath.

Playing from floppy is a test of patience - the long loading times completely kill the flow of the game (and why does need to load so often anyway? The entire game takes up less than 400k). Get the WHDLoad install and play it from hard drive instead, it makes a world of difference.

9/10 (HD)
6/10 (Floppy)
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Little Monkey Lost 2006-04-21
I could not beat the end of game monster. Graphics and sounds could be better but this game works at some level anyway. If you are not looking for anything spectacular, then this may be fine.
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Stomperud 2006-03-21
(8/10)
The first game I ever completed on my trustworthy A500 back in the day. What a victory! I felt like a king! It became one of my favourites. There is an optional sidequest in the game, mostly consisting of visiting creatures behind hidden doors, picking up stuff from them and delivering it to different places througout monsterland. Acomplishing this would give you the means to strike down the dragon in 1 or 2 blows. Don't really see the point though, he dies easily from just a few bombs
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amigabill 2006-02-10
(6/10)
Really loved the coin-up version .. Completed it many many times! And C64 was really good not in graphics but in the essense of the game. Too bad the Amiga version wasnt..! Well u cant have everything I guess
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fx 2005-11-27
(5/10)
I love Wonderboy in Monsterland, but the Amiga version is unfortunately not a good port. Bad framerate and long loading times.
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DeAdLy_cOoKiE 2005-11-09
(7/10)
Nice conversion of a really nice game. Good entertainment.
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Eiji 2005-11-03
(8/10)
Fantastic game. Lovely music and nice characters. Many hidden places and a nearly undefeatable endboss
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raven 2005-05-03
(9/10)
This was an entertaining title, easily the best of the wonderboy (or adventure island...whatever) series. Making Death your bitch via a sword you purchased on your way to the bar; whereupon the fact that a dragon-snake in a waistcoat was serving you and freely offering advice clearly was of no concern; was always good fun.
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Kriko 2005-02-13
(8/10)
Good fun even if it looks dated (well, it is!), I liked it. A bit easier than the original. The music from the first level is still playing in my head...
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blackautt 2005-02-08
(6/10)
Quite an amusing game, if you can stand the HORRIBLE loading times! Expect to wait for a good 5 minutes between each level. If this doesn't deter you, there's some OK entertainment here
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