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Wonderboy Series

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nat:
Due to popular demand the below text has been made into it's own thread and stickied for easy reference.


The series started as the "Wonderboy" series, as developed by Westone for SEGA. Due to licensing issues what with SEGA retaining the rights to the "Wonderboy" name and Westone retaining rights to the actual game, the games are named something different on nearly every platform they were ported to. Sometimes they even differ in name on the same platform, between regions.

Without going into things too much, here's a quick legend for you:

Wonderboy (1st game)
Wonderboy (SMS)
Adventure Island (NES)

Wonderboy in Monsterland (2nd game)
Super Wonderboy in Monsterland (SMS)
Bikkuriman World (PCE/TG16 JP)

Wonderboy III: Monster Lair (3rd game)
Wonderboy III: Monster Lair (PCE/TG16 JP, Genesis)
Monster Lair (PCE/TG16 US)

The Dragon's Trap (4th game)
Wonderboy III: The Dragon's Trap (SMS US)
Monster World II (SMS JP)
Adventure Island (PCE/TG16 JP)
Dragon's Curse (PCE/TG16 US)

Wonderboy V: Monster World III (5th game)
Wonderboy V: Monster World III (Genesis JP)
Wonderboy in Monster World (Genesis US)
Dynastic Hero (PCE/TG16 both regions)

There are other platforms these games appeared on, but I listed the main/most common ones here. Only the first game saw a port on the NES. Speaking of the first game, it's also the only game that didn't make it to the PCE/TG16. The Turbo game New Adventure Island is very similar to the first Wonderboy, and it could be viewed as a "remake" of the original with greatly improved graphics (added parallax) and level changes. Some of the level cues are taken directly from the first game but it's not a straight port by any means.

As you can see from the list, "Adventure Island" on the NES and "Adventure Island" on the PCE were actually ports of different games in the series. You might also know that 3 sequels were made on the NES (Adventure Island 2, 3 & 4). These games have nothing to do with the "Wonderboy" series and were spin-offs done by Hudson (not Westone). This spin-off series continued on the SNES and eventually the Wii.

There was a 6th game on the Genesis called "Monster World IV." The "Wonderboy" name was dropped from the title on that final game (probably because the hero is a girl) so it's technically not a part of the series.

Screenshot Comparisons

Wonderboy

Left to right, top to bottom: Arcade, SEGA Master System, NES (Adventure Island), TurboGrafx-16 (New Adventure Island)

Tatsujin:
 :clap:

Also to mention the two 2 sequels were made on the SNES/SFC (Super Adventure Island 1 & 2 aka Takahashi Meijin no Daiboukenjima 1 & 2 (高橋名人の大冒険島1&2)). These games have nothing to do with the "Wonderboy" series and were spin-offs done by Hudson (not Westone).

Here also the Japanese equivalent for the respective titles (so far only one for FC)

Wonderboy (1st game)
Wonderboy (SMS)
Adventure Island (NES) Oversea
Takahashi Meijin no Boukenjima (高橋名人の冒険島) (FC) Japan

esteban:
The obligatory Wonderboy Series (Hardcore Gaming 101) with pictures!


And the self-serving: Wonderboy III: Monster Lair Wallpaper & Soundtrack

vestcoat:
Very nice!

Two clarifications:
1)  It never came to the U.S., but don't forget that the 5th game was also released on the SMS as "Wonderboy in Monster World."
2)  Some SMS carts of the 2nd game read simply "Wonderboy in Monsterland" while others read "Super Wonderboy in Monsterland."  There is no difference between them.

At the risk of muddying the water once more, fans may also be interested in the following:
*Whomp 'Em (NES) - Sequel to the unlicensed, Japanese clone of Wonderboy in Monsterland called Saiyuki World; an entirely new Mega Man style game.
*New Adventure Island (TG16) - another Hudson sequel/spinoff, notable because it's the closest thing to the 1st game on a NEC console.
*JJ and Jeff (TG16) - Unrelated game that plays like Adventure Island.

Tatsujin:
It always amazes me how the PCE port of WB in monsterland aka Bikkuriman world is such true arcade port regarded to the BGs. even the color palette is so damn accurate.

Almost same thing can be said for the monsterlair port (minus some minor color changes (drops) and parallax). The redrawn grafx from the MD looks so shoddy and frowsy compared.

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