Wonder Boy is an iconic franchise from the past that started its journey back in 1986. However, after staying in the shadows for a long time, Wonder Boy finally started getting remasters and remakes and the latest remake to arrive is Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World which is a remake of Wonder Boy IV. Set in the same universe as the original world, the game brings back the nostalgic story of the original story tailored for modern gamers and old fans alike. This is our review of Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World in which we visit this classic and glide around with our cute little Pepelogoo.
You start your journey in Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World by selecting the difficulty. The game offers you to a Story mode where you do not really have to worry about the combat aspect of the game and you can just enjoy the story of the game at your own pace. For a default experience, there is Normal which is the default setting of the game and the way the developers want you to experience Asha on Monster World. After choosing your difficulty, you are let loose in the world of the game. The game is mostly played as a sidescroller and you move left or right however in some locations, you can also move back and forth making the game a 2.5D in terms of dimensions.
The back and forth sections are extremely linear and you cannot move a step away from the intended linear path. This is mostly used for interacting with different places such as temples or entering or leaving different structures. The world of Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is very diverse and you will get to visit various places such as forests, volcanoes, huge combat towers, and even the sky. In the main capital, you will find plenty of NPCs to interact with. The dialogue is not too much in the game with random NPCs however everyone has a one-liner that they keep repeating over and over again if you interact with them.
You play as Asha, a young girl who sets out from her village in order to prove herself to her village and her parents however she finds a magic lamp that transports her to the main capital of the kingdom. There she meets the princess who asks her for a favor to save the four spirits and defeat the darkness that is slowly taking over the world. At this point, your story officially kicks off as you take on a dangerous quest and set out to explore the world of the game. Each of the four spirits is located in different areas so you have to visit each of them however before accessing their areas, you must find their keys and use them on the travel stones inside the temple of the capital.
Asha is not alone in this journey as her village’s sage is found literally all over the game in order to guide Asha on her journey. Along with the sage, Asha is always accompanied by her cute creature pet called a Pepelogoo which a strange blue flying creature that helps Asha in various ways such as reaching higher places, managing harder-to-reach areas, and also gliding from heights. Asha gets her own Pepelogoo pretty early in the game. The very first level of Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World simply serves as a tutorial level and you are gradually introduced to various mechanics of the game. However, these are not guided tutorials. The game just tells you what you have to do and you have to figure out everything else yourself.
After a certain story progression, the game even stops with the basic guidelines, and you are left with progressing at your pace as you solve various puzzles using in-game mechanics and more. I spent over 15 minutes trying to figure out that the Pepelogoo can be thrown on a volcanic platform in order to use it safely for going up or down. The puzzles in the game are not that hard however I was not expecting it so it took me plenty of time. Each level in the game has its own unique enemies and monsters to fight as well. Staying true to the classic platformer formula, all levels end with a boss fight as well where you must defeat the boss and earn loot.
There is a small RPG hidden inside Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World as well. I wouldn’t call it hardcore RPG mechanics but you can customize and make Asha better by purchasing better weapons and armor in the game. By default, Asha comes with her own weapon, shield, and armor but you can purchase better swords, shields, and bracelets from various merchants in order to make Asha much better to tackle the enemies in the game. The armor consists of a bracelet that increases the number of hits Asha can take before she dies. All hits in the game whether they are from a tiny enemy or a huge boss, just deal 1 damage so Asha has to increase the number of hearts with better gear in order to soak up more damage.
If you manage to collect 10 Life Stones while exploring the levels, you can also earn a bonus heart in the game that allows you to take even more punishment before you die. You can also find and use various items in the game that go straight to Asha’s inventory upon collection. Asha has a limited inventory space however it is mostly enough to have everything you need including the most important Elixirs that refill your hearts and bring you back from the dead if you lose all hearts. Each enemy you kill in the game gives you coins that are used to purchase new weapons and gear. You also find pouches of gold in various chests hidden around each level in the game.
Unlike modern platformers, you will notice that the camera in Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is somewhat zoomed in which means that you cannot see very far up ahead, and sometimes enemies simply pop into view and you bump into them quickly flying back to safety. There is a handy mechanic where Asha simply bounces back without taking damage from enemies if she bumps into them unless you touch them while hitting them. Some of the enemies do not allow you to bounce back for example the lava enemies that are already on fire and you take damage from your first contact with them without bouncing back.
The character design and the enemies look great and fit perfectly in the world of the game. It is no doubt that the game looks decent because the original creator Ryuichi Nishizawa is behind the remaster along with Maki Ōzora for character design. The sound of the game has been worked on by Shinichi Sakamoto. Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World’s audio is in Japanese and you can only understand the game with the subtitles that are in English. The combination of Japanese and English feels great in the game and makes you feel like you are watching an anime with normal cartoon visuals.
While I enjoyed playing Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World, I did find the combat of the game to be a little bit dated. It does not really give you the freedom to move around and attack enemies as you have to stop and perform the moves exactly the way they are intended to. The combat moves are fairly limited in the game with normal slashes, an upward thrust for enemies above and a downward thrust for enemies below you. For upward and downward thrust, you have to jump first, and then quickly press both keys to perform the attack all while trying to move ahead in the direction of the enemy. Also, if you keep pressing the attack key, you do not turn around and attack the enemy if the enemy jumps to your back. There was one instance where I used an upward attack while jumping on an enemy and landed ahead of the enemy but I was unable to quickly turn around and attack the enemy and ended up taking damage by the time I had stopped swinging my sword and turned around.
This can be managed after some practice with the combat but I would have liked to see if the combat was worked a little bit to add a bit of flow to it. There are not many combos in the game as well so you are just left with swishing your sword for damage. However, what you can do to counter different enemies is use the elements to your advantage as each sword or shield that you purchase in the game come with specific elemental powers, and depending on your enemies, you can switch to the correct counter and deal significantly higher amount of damage to your enemies. The difference they make is great and you can see the difference easily when you use the correct counter against the enemies that you are facing.
The physical buyers of Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World are in for a surprise because the physical edition of the game also comes with the original 1994 Monster World IV as well. This is exclusive to the physical editions where the Nintendo Switch version has it on the cartridge however the PS4 disc version comes with a digital download code for the classic game. Monster Hunter IV is not available for players who purchase the game digitally on either platform. This makes it brilliant as you can experience the original game as well as the remaster at the same time on modern consoles.
The digital version of Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World can be purchased from the Nintendo and Sony stores and is published by STUDIOARTDINK. The boxed retail version of Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World comes exclusively with the original Monster World IV published by ININ Games Overall, Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is a great experience. The visuals look great, the gameplay is crisp (apart from the combat) and the world feels alive. It is a great, colorful platformer that fans of the Wonder Boy franchise will absolutely love. It is also great for modern players who love playing great platformers. The game does not offer much after you are done with the main story of the game however for what it’s worth, it is a great remaster and is filled with plenty of nostalgia for everyone.
Final Verdict:
Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is a cute platformer with a colorful world and decent platforming mechanics. For me, the platforming bits of the game are really good however the combat does feel a little dated and does not provide the freedom of movement and fighting as most modern platformers do. It still plays out great after a little bit of practice and your ability to get comfortable with the movement. The world feels alive around you and the zoomed-in camera certainly keeps you on your toes as anything can pop in front of you suddenly. The 2.5D world provides a fun approach of exploring the levels and finding secrets in the game. Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is an excellent title for fans of the franchise as well as players who are looking for a colorful platformer with a bit of nostalgia.
Final Score: 8.5/10
