Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap

Genre: Metroidvania

Players: 1

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Review:

Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap is a remake of a classic Metroidvania game that first appeared on the Sega Master System. And while the gameplay has remained the same, the presentation is another story.

In short, for a game that originated in the 8-bit era, this version of the game is absolutely gorgeous, featuring beautiful, wonderfully-animated hand-drawn graphics that add a whole new layer of style and personality on top of the original game. And when I say “add a whole new layer”, I mean that in a literal sense as well, since at any time during the game, with a single button press, you can strip away the remake’s presentation and play the game with its original graphics and sound.

If you read my Sega Ages Wonder Boy: Monster Land review, you’ll note that I wasn’t very impressed with the earlier game in the series. The Dragon’s Trap, the fourth game in the series (and confusingly, the second Wonder Boy title to bear the number “III” in its title) fares much better, with the biggest issues of that game (its slow walk speed and frustrating combat) largely addressed. However, that’s not to say it’s not without its problems. This game frequently gets repetitive, with long stretches of levels that seem designed just to take up space rather than to challenge the player or do anything interesting. I actually found myself getting bored traveling from one landmark to another due to this repetition.

While it’s not without its faults, Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap is a much better game than its predecessor, and this version of it is an absolutely phenomenal remake. I only wish every classic 8-bit game got a remake this good. Fans of classic platforming action should definitely give this one a try, as long as they’re not too bothered by how tedious that action could be at times.

tl;dr – Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap is a stunningly good remake of a classic Sega Master System Metroidvania title. The visuals in this version of the game are fantastic, and you can swap in the original game’s visuals at any time if you prefer to go old-school. It’s just unfortunate that this game also brings with it the classic game’s repetitive, tedious level design.

Grade: C+

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