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?

I guess it's time to dust off my Xbox 360

Sorry, I couldn't help myself while coming up with the headline above--which is my tongue-in-cheek take on the old chestnut that used to escape the lips of many a "hardcore gamer" in regards to the Wii (as in: "Hey, Super Mario Galaxy will be out soon. I guess it's time to dust off my Wii!").

So, why am I saying something similar about my Xbox 360? For starters, I'm saying it because the last game I played on my big, black, bulky, Microsoft-branded box was ... Wizorb? Or was it Escape Goat? Regardless, it's been a while since I've booted it up.

I'm also saying it, though, because a rather awesome game is going to be released via the system's XBLA service soon. Which awesome game, you ask? SEGA Vintage Collection: Monster World.

Said collection, which has a tentative release date of April 25 (I'll believe it when I see it, honestly), will include a trio of Monster World/Wonder Boy titles: Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World, and Monster World IV.

Among the many reasons I'm excited about this rather surprising development: This will be the first time English-speaking audiences will be able to understand what's going on while playing the previously Japan-only Monster World IV. Also, each game in the collection will feature achievements, leaderboards and trial modes.

Will any of you be purchasing SEGA Vintage Collection: Monster World upon release (or shortly afterward)? If so, which of these classic platformers are you planning to play first?