18 years later and this title still holds up. I recently rediscovered it on the Virtual Console and it’s just as much fun now as it was back in the day.



In Wonder Boy in Monster World, you play the titular “Wonder Boy” aka Shion. Our protagonist is a rather quiet young man with a penchant for hairbands and sidekicks. Shion’s mission is to save Monster World from the evils of BioMeka, who, until the final boss scene, is never viewed by the player. Suffice it to say, that BioMeka is bad news and it is your mission to destroy it.



WBiMW was the fifth installment in the series and the last one to ever be released on American shores, but it is by far my absolute favorite of the series. The game incorporates RPG elements with side-scrolling action/adventure gameplay. If you only ever had a Genesis, this was the closest thing you were going to get to a Legend of Zelda experience. And, while some gamers dismissed it as a knock-off of LoZ’s epic awesomeness and originality, WBiMW utilizes some new tricks--at that point--not seen before in the LoZ series.



Most notably, you had the opportunity to have a sidekick in most areas. Each zone featured a particular NPC who accompanied Shion as he traversed the treacherous terrain of Monster World. In each case, the leader of each zone will tell you that one of the colorful residents is in grave peril. So your first mission is to save them and then, after doing the whole hero shindig, you get to have them follow you around and help you out.



The first of these sidekicks is Priscilla, a fairy from Alsedo who used her wand to bop enemies on the head. While her attack was the weaksauce, she could heal you by making hearts appear out of thin air.

Hotta was your second sidekick. He’s a dwarf from the village of Lilypad. He busts up walls and can reveal hidden entrances. Good times, lots of fun.



Shabo is by far my favorite of the sidekicks. He lives in the Darkworld village of Childam and has an EFFING FLYING SCYTHE. Badassery not included.

Rotto is the most complicated sidekick to retrieve, but his firebreath is the awesomesauce. He’s the Elder Dragon’s grandson and he accompanies you into the volcano.



Where Wonder Boy shines is in the boss battles. Everyone from the overgrown mushroom to the final battle with BioMeka will test your patience and your reflexes. Be sure to load up on gemstones and potions for the final fight, because you are going to need them if you want to stand toe-to-appendage with BioMeka. And be certain to power up your shield spell. You’re going to need it.



WBiMW utilizes the old dynamic of having you find X item to access Y area. Thankfully, the maps are laid out that you don’t have to do a great deal of backtracking as you progress—warps are littered throughout the countryside, and unless you are using a newly acquired special item to access a previously unreachable area, you won’t find yourself wandering unnecessarily through areas where your strength far outmatches the enemies. Different items and abilities can make your life significantly easier—just try to complete the pyramid level without the aid of the ladder boots. All your favorite areas can be found here: grasslands, jungle, underwater, sea, ice world, volcano and … OUTERFUCKINGSPACE.

That’s right. When has Link ever gotten to go to outer space before? This game was easily overshadowed by the awesomeness that was LoZ: A Link to the Past which came out just 6 months after Wonder Boy hit American shores. But those of us lucky enough to play it when it was first released were treated to a well-balanced, cleverly mapped, fun adventure. It’s easily worth the 8 bucks it costs on the virtual console.