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?

The Great Gaymathon Review #12: Monster Lair (PC Engine CD-ROM2)

Game: Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair

Genre: Platformer/Shooter

Developer: Alfa System

Publisher: Hudson

System: PC Engine CD-ROM2

Release date: 1989

I'm pretty sure I've told this story a number of times before, but I'm going to share it again just in case my memory is failing me (it certainly wouldn't be the first time): Monster Lair was the game that prompted me to buy the TurboGrafx-16 CD attachment way back when. I'd never played--or even heard of--the arcade original, so that wasn't what attracted me to this platformer-shooter hybrid. No, what attracted me to it was its bright, beautifully drawn graphics--especially its so-cute-they-could-make-you-puke enemies and bosses. There's more to Monster Lair than fetching foes, though; there's also a rockin' Red Book soundtrack and a whole lotta challenging levels (14, to be exact). All that said, I wouldn't buy this game expecting it to become your favorite PC Engine title, but I would expect it to be well worth whatever you pay for it (which, at this point, should be less than $20).

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

Mystery note

You know how I mentioned (here) that the online import game shop wolfgames.com is having a going-out-of-business sale? Well, shortly after I published that post I ordered a few heavily discounted games from said store.

Among the games I ordered: The PC Engine CD version of Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (aka Monster Lair in the States).

While flipping through the game's manual a few minutes ago (my order arrived earlier today), a small piece of paper slipped out of it and fell onto the floor.

This is what I found when I unfolded it:

I can't read a word of Japanese, so I have no idea what the note says. That hasn't stopped me from obsessing about it, of course.

Was the author of this note a previous owner of the game? Did he or she like it, or hate it? Is he or she warning me that this copy of Wonder Boy III is cursed?

Those are the kinds of questions that are going through my head at the moment.

(Note: This post originally appeared on my other blog, iwasateenage pcenginefan.wordpress.com)

Is this an awesome cover or what?

While writing up today's "10 video games that made my life gayer" post, I came across the following box art, which graced the cover of the Japanese Mega Drive version of Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair.

I'm sure some of you will say it's scary, but I think it's awesome. Of course, I've always had a soft spot for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 version of the game, so I'm hardly unbiased on this subject.