Developed and published by Sega and Westone in 1992. Follow me on Twitter:
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Originally released on the Sega Master System a year previously in 1991, Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap is a console-only release and incorporates RPG features within what is, to all intents and purposes, a platform game at it's core. The game is a direct sequel to Wonder Boy in Monster Land and begins with the player repeating the fight against Meka Dragon, the final boss from the previous game. Upon defeating his foe, the dragon places a curse upon Wonder Boy, transforming him from his human form into Lizard Man. Wonder Boy must search the land in order to find a way to reverse the effects of the curse and to regain his human form. Now a scaly, fire-breathing monstrosity, the player is dumped in the middle of a small town that acts as a central hub for the majority of the game. There's no obvious indication as to where the player must go from the start, so you must begin exploring different locations to discover where you must go. This initial period of discovery is quite good fun as it conveys a sense of an open world, even though the game is actually very linear once you learn where to go. The game is divided into a series of sections that can only be completed using one of the different animal forms . As you progress through the game, you'll fight a series of dragons that, when defeated, will transform Wonder Boy into another new form with different skills and abilities. Each of these different forms possesses unique skills that allows the player to progress through the next stage of the game. You'll spot locations that can only be accessed whilst in a specific form, so remember where they are as they often hide secret loot and items to collect. As mentioned earlier, the game features some basic RPG elements, including weapons and armour that possesses varying levels of attack power and defence rating, which improve combat effectiveness. The majority of items can be bought in shops for gold, although you will sometimes get lucky and a enemy will drop a piece of equipment. Bolstering regular melee attacks are a range of spells and items that allow you to attack enemies at range. With the exception of the boomerang (which can be reused providing you catch it), the spell is consumed once cast, so you must collect tokens from enemies to replenish your stock. The game features some bold, colourful graphics that generally look excellent. I was pleased to note that all of Wonder Boy's different forms have separate sprites for facing left and right, which means that his sword and shield don't miraculously swap between left and right hands when changing directions. Playing this on a modern LCD TV really allowed me to appreciate some of the fine detail in the graphics that would have been very hard to see on the Game Gear's LCD screen. The game is actually quite large, so there's plenty of value for money here. Conscious of the fact that it would be difficult to beat the game in a single sitting, the developers included a password system so that you can resume play from any point; simply visit one of the temples in-game and write down the code that you're given. On top of the password system, you can also carry up to a maximum of three potions that allow you to continue playing even if you lose all of your health. The drop-rate of the potions is enough to make them rare without being impossible to find. They can be found in certain treasure chests, as well as from defeated enemies. My chief criticism with the game is more as a result of limitation of the original Game Gear hardware than with the actual game. Due to the limited screen resolution (160 x 144), there's very little distance between the player sprite and the edges of the screen, which means that it's very easy to run straight into enemies when they appear. Once you beat the game, there really isn't really a great deal of replay value as the game is very linear once you know the order of completion, particularly when compared to a more involved RPG/rogue-like such as Dragon Crystal. There are treasure rooms and secret doors to discover, but I'm not sure they're worth the effort of playing the game through a second time. Even so, the game has plenty of content to keep you buys for several hours, particularly if you're new to the game. Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap is certainly a great game and one of my favourite Game Gear games of all time. #retrogaming
