Wonder Boy : The Dragon's Trap (Xbox One)
If you're thinking to yourself right now, that the name of this game seems really familiar, you're absolutely right. The Wonder Boy games were a feature in arcades way back in the late 80's, and eventually made their way into homes on the Sega Master System and Genesis (or Mega Drive) in the 90's.
However, earlier this year, the developers at Lizardcube remade Wonder Boy III : The Dragon's Trap. In the original game, you play as Wonder Boy who steps into the Mecha Dragon's lair, intent on slaying him. He succeeds, but as he does so, Wonder Boy is cursed and turned into a Lizard-Man. Now, he must wander the depths of the world, slaying all the other dragons in hopes of finding a cure to the curse.
Fast forward 18 years, this game has been remade for all current-gen gamers to experience this Wonderous game title. What's more, it comes with a bunch of extra stuff in the remake that just really blows this game out of the water. One of these changes completely changes the game itself : you can decide to take on your adventure playing as Wonder Girl instead, with the inclusion of a female character selection at the beginning of the game.
There's also a handful of changes to the menu/inventory systems, making them operate a lot more smoothly. You can use the left and right bumpers on the controller to switch between weapons and items, effectively keeping the game running fast and allowing you more time to focus on killing whats in front of you.
Now, a lot of games when they are remade from much older versions, they are given a huge overhaul on the sound and graphics of the game. Since the game chips had a cap on what kind of data and information could be stored for the game, we always ended up with the soundtracks being played through minimal notes. Remakes end up bringing us deeper sounds, and more astounding visuals, and that certainly is the case with Dragon's Trap.
However, Lizardcube did something that, as far as I've ever noticed, hasn't been done all that often. Not only have they included the game in it's original retro-graphic appearance, but at the press of a single button, you can seamlessly transition from the new graphics to the original. The same goes for the audio as well, both the original and new soundtracks are packaged in the game and can be switched between the two at ease.. Just take a look here to see the same exact screen, presented in both Original and Remake forms.
Its not hard to see just how beautiful this game is. All the new scenery is absolutely stunning. I've played a good amount of older games that have been remade and brought to a newer generation of console, but Wonder Boy easily slides into the lead as my favorite. So whether you are a fan of the original, never got a chance to check it out, or never even heard of it, definitely consider giving this game a look.
Everything about this game is fantastic. It plays smooth, the combat is really well done and the enemies do a great job of giving you just enough of a challenge on this fun adventure. Wonder Boy (or Wonder Girl depending on who you choose) comes equipped with a sword in the beginning, but once you are cursed to being an animal-humanoid hybrid, each form comes with it's own special attack. Additionally, you can pick up a number of extra attacks that have a finite number of uses, but are a lot of fun.
Wonder Boy : The Dragon's Trap is available on all current-gen platforms (Switch, PS4, XB1), as well as Windows, Mac, and Linux, and the $19.99 price tag is more than worth it for this Wonderful game. Lizardcube and Dotemu did an amazing job at bringing this game back, as well as updating it for a whole new generation, while leaving a good amount of the original so that, decades later, this game can still speak for itself.
However, earlier this year, the developers at Lizardcube remade Wonder Boy III : The Dragon's Trap. In the original game, you play as Wonder Boy who steps into the Mecha Dragon's lair, intent on slaying him. He succeeds, but as he does so, Wonder Boy is cursed and turned into a Lizard-Man. Now, he must wander the depths of the world, slaying all the other dragons in hopes of finding a cure to the curse.
Fast forward 18 years, this game has been remade for all current-gen gamers to experience this Wonderous game title. What's more, it comes with a bunch of extra stuff in the remake that just really blows this game out of the water. One of these changes completely changes the game itself : you can decide to take on your adventure playing as Wonder Girl instead, with the inclusion of a female character selection at the beginning of the game.
There's also a handful of changes to the menu/inventory systems, making them operate a lot more smoothly. You can use the left and right bumpers on the controller to switch between weapons and items, effectively keeping the game running fast and allowing you more time to focus on killing whats in front of you.
Now, a lot of games when they are remade from much older versions, they are given a huge overhaul on the sound and graphics of the game. Since the game chips had a cap on what kind of data and information could be stored for the game, we always ended up with the soundtracks being played through minimal notes. Remakes end up bringing us deeper sounds, and more astounding visuals, and that certainly is the case with Dragon's Trap.
However, Lizardcube did something that, as far as I've ever noticed, hasn't been done all that often. Not only have they included the game in it's original retro-graphic appearance, but at the press of a single button, you can seamlessly transition from the new graphics to the original. The same goes for the audio as well, both the original and new soundtracks are packaged in the game and can be switched between the two at ease.. Just take a look here to see the same exact screen, presented in both Original and Remake forms.
Remake above, Original below
Everything about this game is fantastic. It plays smooth, the combat is really well done and the enemies do a great job of giving you just enough of a challenge on this fun adventure. Wonder Boy (or Wonder Girl depending on who you choose) comes equipped with a sword in the beginning, but once you are cursed to being an animal-humanoid hybrid, each form comes with it's own special attack. Additionally, you can pick up a number of extra attacks that have a finite number of uses, but are a lot of fun.
Wonder Boy : The Dragon's Trap is available on all current-gen platforms (Switch, PS4, XB1), as well as Windows, Mac, and Linux, and the $19.99 price tag is more than worth it for this Wonderful game. Lizardcube and Dotemu did an amazing job at bringing this game back, as well as updating it for a whole new generation, while leaving a good amount of the original so that, decades later, this game can still speak for itself.
