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''Wonder Boy'' (known as '''''Super Wonder Boy''''' in '', '' Wonder Boy In Monster World '' and '' Monster World IV ''. Originally designed for the Arcade , it was later ported to the Sega Master System , Sega Game Gear and TurboGrafx 16 by Sega, and to the ZX Spectrum , Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC by Activision . The Japanese prefix of "super" is owed to the existence of a previous, simpler version of the game also named ''Wonder Boy'' which Sega produced for the SG-1000 console in Japan only. GAMEPLAY The "Wonder Boy" in question is a character known as "Tom-Tom" - a caveman-like character whose girlfriend, by the name of ''Tanya'', has been captured by a monster. The player must guide Tom-Tom through nine "areas", each consisting of four "rounds", which are made up of forests, hills, oceans, caves and ice palaces. The levels always run from left-to-right, with some vertical movement. Tom-Tom can arm himself with a stone hammer, which he can throw at oncoming foes, a skateboard with which he can rush through the levels and survive one attack by an enemy, and temporary protection by a fairy which allows him to destroy foes by simply running into them. All of the aforementioned Power-up s are obtained by breaking open eggs. These eggs can also contain unpleasant surprises - curses, which cause Tom-Tom to lose vitality more quickly than usual, and poisonous mushrooms which reduce Tom-Tom's vitality in one go. The player must remain aware of the vitality meter, which constantly runs down at a steady pace and can only be refilled by collecting fruit throughout the level. There is also one doll to collect in each level, which doubles the bonus points awarded at the end of the level. At the end of every "area" (thus every four levels), Tom-Tom will encounter an incarnation of chief antagonist Drancon as a Boss Character . Once defeated, Drancon's mask flies off and transforms into an item such as a tea cup or a piece of fruit for Tom-Tom to collect. Drancon then subsequently makes his escape. A two-player mode was available, but as per many arcade titles of the era, it was a version of the one-player mode whereby each player would take alternate turns between lives. WONDER BOY (WORLDWIDE) VS WONDER BOY (JAPAN) Widely mistaken as the first Wonder Boy game ever, ''Wonder Boy'' for the Sega Master System is the second Wonder Boy game to be released in Japan and the first in North America and Europe. ''Wonder Boy'' for the Sega Master is actually the translation of the SG-1000 Mark III game ''Super Wonder Boy'' (not to be confused with ''Super Wonder Boy in Monsterland'' which is the Japanese version of '' Wonder Boy In Monster Land ''). ''Super Wonder Boy'' is one of the few 8 Bit game that has yet to be Emulated . ''Super Wonder Boy'' is identical to ''Wonder Boy'' of the Sega Master System with the sole difference being the "Super" on the title screen. The game that bears the name ''Wonder Boy'' in Japan was the very first game created from the series and was made for the SG-1000 Mark I . Like ''Super Wonder Boy'', it is a straight forward 2D side scrolling platform where the character ventures through forests, tropical islands and caverns but unlike its successor, the bosses are at the end of every rounds whereas in ''Super Wonder Boy (Wonder Boy'' in U.S.A and Europe'')'' they are found only at the end of an area. ''Wonder Boy'' for the SG-1000 Mark I remained largely unknown outside Japan and tends to be excluded in most reviews concerning the Wonder Boy series. CONVERSIONS Master System and Game Gear ports The '', which was released around the same time - the European Game Gear port kept the ''Wonder Boy'' title. The graphics were lifted straight from the arcade version, but the HUD was restricted to a simple vitality bar -- the score and number of lives were displayed prior to starting the level. The sound was modified slightly to adapt it to the more limited audio hardware. The controls were modified slightly to make it possible to only perform a high jump when the run button was pressed, whereas it was possible in the arcade version to perform one simply by being in motion when jump was pressed. It also featured an Easter Egg in the form of a tenth area, which could be accessed by collecting every one of the 36 dolls in the game. Non-console ports The license to produce the home computer versions of ''Wonder Boy'' was awarded to Activision , who produced versions of the game for the ZX Spectrum , Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC in 1987 . The game was true in spirit to the original, although the levels beyond level 4 differed to allow for the necessary multiload system. The first round of each area was always a forest, the second an ocean, the third a cave and the fourth a forest at nighttime -- this was not the case in the console and arcade versions, in which the areas provided more variation (although always with these same four themes). Interestingly, the Amstrad CPC version contained the graphics used in the C64 conversion, but the sound from the Spectrum conversion. Some Spectrum versions were afflicted with a bug that prevented the game from preloading all four levels in 128K mode -- the fourth level's graphics would not load correctly, and it would be impossible for the player to move before the game crashed and the computer Rebooted within around three seconds. As a result, 128K owners were forced to Boot into 48K mode to run the game, and did not enjoy the benefit of having all levels preloaded as was designed. Under 48K mode, however, the 128K music still worked. Mobile phone port In 2004 , Sega released a pixel-perfect Conversion of the game designed for mobile phones. {Link without Title} CLONES Escape teamed up with Hudson Soft to produce a conversion of the game for the NES , but ran into legal difficulties when it emerged that Sega owned the rights to the ''Wonder Boy'' name. With Sega and Nintendo in direct competition at the time, it was unlikely that Sega would be so willing to allow a major rival to use one of their most valuable Intellectual Property assets. To get around this hurdle, Hudson Soft simply had the graphics of the main character and the title changed. The result was '' Adventure Island '', which instead of featuring Tom-Tom, featured a character known as Master Higgins , who bore a striking resemblance to Tom-Tom, albeit with a hat. The game was, however, ''Wonder Boy'' in all but name. It was later ported to the MSX . It should be noted that the sequels to ''Adventure Island'' and the sequels to ''Wonder Boy'' were from then on completely unrelated. ARCADE HARDWARE The game ran on Sega's proprietary System 1 hardware, based on a Z80 processor running at 4 MHz. Audio was provided by two 2 MHz SN76496 chips with a 4 MHz Z80 Co-processor . The graphics were provided by a Raster Video unit at a Resolution of 256 x 224. The game required a cabinet that provided a two-axis joystick and three input buttons - one to act a start button, two as gameplay buttons. Emulation The game can be emulated perfectly using the MAME Emulator , with images of the ROM Chips to hand. It emulates the US, Japanese and World arcade boards, as well as a number of Bootleg versions and the so-called ''Wonder Boy Deluxe'' (which featured no noticeable extra features). Of course, the Spectrum, C64, Amstrad CPC, Master System and Game Gear versions of the game can be emulated with suitable emulators for those machines. CRITICAL REACTION Arcade version The game was lauded for the detailed, bright, colorful graphics and simple addictive gameplay. Criticisms include the lack of variety and what was considered then to be an overwhelming similarity to '' Super Mario Bros. '' Computer + Video Games Magazine July 1986 issue Amstrad CPC version awarded the game ''88%'' on its original release. ZX Spectrum version Crash remained unconvinced, citing technical shortcomings, including poor character-based Scrolling , considerable slowdown, and confusion induced by the Monochrome display.Crash Magazine, issue 43, p. 82. On its rerelease, while quoting the aforementioned problems, the reviewer was willing to overlook them, highlighting the quality of the sprites and the fun offered by the game, and offering it 69%Crash Magazine, issue 79, p. 49. Sinclair User was the most enthusiastic about the game, offering it ''8 out of 10'' on its original releaseSinclair User Magazine, issue 65, p. 67, and ''72%'' on its rereleaseSinclair User Magazine, issue 100, p.26. Your Sinclair offered ''7 out of 10'' on its original releaseYour Sinclair Magazine, issue 20, p. 32 and ''67%'' on its rereleaseYour Sinclair Magazine, issue 54, p. 51. Mobile version IGN awarded it ''7.1 out of 10'', praising its accuracy to the arcade original {Link without Title} . FAN BASE ''Wonder Boy'' and its sequels have enjoyed a considerable fan base over the years, and the success that this has generated led to a number of sequels (listed below) being produced. The final worldwide release title, ''Wonder Boy in Monster World'', was the last, due to the series being past its commercial prime, although a sequel, ''Monster World IV'' was released for Japanese consoles only. The fan base persists nonetheless, with a number of fan sites around the Internet, including the authors of the Meka emulator who have campaigned for the ''Wonder Boy'' series to be continued on the (now defunct) Dreamcast . SCREENSHOTS Arcade screenshots |
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