Which game looks better? (Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap edition)

Considering how much I tend to love adorable games, it probably seems weird that I've barely even acknowledged any of the various iterations of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap that have been released over the years.

After all, each and every one of that Westone-made title's many ports are cute as all get-out. Don't believe me? Check out the video footage--of the 1991 PC Engine version--below.

You may notice that the video in question refers to the game Adventure Island. That's because Hudson decided to change things a bit when it moved The Dragon's Trap to NEC's Japan-conquering 16-bit console.



Other publishers similarly opted to recast this platformer's title during the porting process. A couple of examples: Sega called its on-the-go Game Gear effort Monster World II: The Dragon's Trap, while Hudson and NEC transformed Adventure Island to Dragon's Curse while localizing the former for the North American market.

I bring up all of the above because publisher DotEmu and developer Lizardcube just revealed that they're busy working on a remake of the game that will be called Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap.

Apparently Lizardcube is a two-person company. Normally that would concern me, but in this case, it doesn't--thanks to the fact that the people in question (Omar Cornut and Ben Fiquet) both had a hand in creating the excellent Soul Bubbles, aka Awatama, for the Nintendo DS.



Sadly, the trailer above doesn't reveal when this prettied-up take on The Dragon's Trap will see the light of day.

In the meantime, let's chat about which one looks better. Personally, I think both sport some pretty stellar visuals. Obviously Lizardcube's reimagining is the more glossy and modern of the two, but Hudson's spritework is nothing to be sneezed at either.

What do all of you think? Also, what do you think of this latest take on Westone's classic?

'Memory Beach 02'

It's always a great day when a new piece of Ashley Anderson's artwork appears on Flickr.

The latest example of this Atlanta-based artist's talent is called "Memory Beach 02," and it will soon grace on the walls of a local yogurt shop.

Being the curious chap I am, I asked Anderson if he'd be willing to share which games are represented within this eight-inch-by-eight-inch piece. Here's what he had to say:

"The girl's face is from Ao no Senritsu for the Famicom. The polaroid border on the photo of the girl is partly drawn by me and partly borrowed from SimCity for the SNES. The thumbtack is from scratch. The ocean, beach, sunset, and ship are from the end screen for Goonies for the NES. The octopus is from Adventure Island for the NES. The seagulls are from Family Composer for the Famicom. The crab holding the turtle is from Kame no Ongaeshi - Urashima Densetsu for, I think, the Famicom. The stereo is from Guile's stage in Street Fighter II. The car is from Famicom Grand Prix II - 3D Hot Rally for the Famicom. The bonfire is from Kazekiri for the PC Engine."

Go here for more information about "Memory Beach 02." To see more of Anderson's portfolio, go here.