Wonder Boy: Asha In Monster World

Wonder why

Think you’ve seen old-school? Structurally and narratively, this platformer has been transported whole from 1994; Asha must save four elemental spirits, while discovering the origin of the kidnapping evil. But what makes it truly old-school is that it features no auto-save system. It becomes a bit of a bugbear when you’ve been playing for a while, only to get squashed by a bad boss hitbox or the awkward platforming and end up back at the start of the level again. Needless to say, you swiftly learn to save manually, and often. Even then, you may save just before the boss room, perhaps with only a couple of hearts left, die, and then load your save only to have to try to overcome that boss with those same limited hearts.

This isn’t difficult because of a fair and balanced challenge, it’s tough because it’s stuck in the past. Asha is clunky in her movement.1 Even when she adopts a small pet (a pepelogoo) that allows her to double jump or glide in the air, how you perform these movements is laboured.2 Many sections of the levels are bare, or contain only one enemy and a handful of coins (which you can spend at betweenlevel shops), and in some levels you’re forced to seek out the path forward by looking for items hidden frustratingly off-screen.

It’s a shame, because Wonder Boy is fantastic to look at, and the original soundtrack is sweepingly sumptuous. This title opens up a dialogue as to whether these games should mechanically look to the past, or partly adapt to modern gaming conventions in order to make for a more pleasing experience.