Wonder Boy in Monster Land- An RPG for Arcade?

Originally released in the arcade in Japan in 1987, Ryuichi Nishizawa’s Wonder Boy in Monster Land is one of the most influential early Sega games not named Sonic the Hedgehog, Kid Chameleon or Alex Kidd. An ambitious arcade action/RPG, its Sega Master System port introduced better sound to the already smooth gameplay, making it an iconic title on Sega’s eight-bit console.

However, it’s a unique licensing deal between Nishizawa’s Keystone Entertainment, Sega and Hudson Soft that ultimately paved the way for the game to be memorable. Simply put, Nishizawa’s work has been covered almost as much as Frank Sinatra’s. Even if you’ve never played any of his game’s before, if you grew up on the Sega, Super Nintendo or Turbo Graphx-16, chances are you’ve been affected by his work in one way or another. Allowing Sega and Hudson to use the gameplay engines  and code in the Wonder Boy series in their own unique ways, Nishizawa’s creation has lived on in several different incarnations on a variety of consoles.

The original Wonder Boy, released the year before Monster Land, was released on the Sega Master System as Wonder Boy, but with a re-skinned main character, Hudson Soft released Adventure Island on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Ironically, many gamers are more familiar with Adventure Island, which also outsold Nishizawa’s original creation. 

For Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Hudson released the game on the PC Engine [Japan and France’s version of the Turbo Graphx-16] as Bikkuriman World [based on the anime series]. Tec Toy, a company that distributed and licensed Sega products in Brazil, released the game on the Master System as Mônica no Castelo do Dragão, once again re-skinning the main character, this time to resemble characters from a Brazilian comic book series. Jaleco, the Japanese developer known for the Based Loaded series on the Nintendo Entertainment System, released a “modified port” of the game in Japan as Saiyūki World. The game later had a sequel, Saiyūki World II, which was released in North America as Whomp ‘Em. Activision even released their own version of the game on their home computer systems, titled Super Wonder Boy in Monster Land.

Some developers would have misgivings about seeing their work ported in so many different ways, but Nishizawa sees it much differently. “I think that it helped legacy of the game,” Nishizawa said. “It was able to focus on the power of the overall product. It ended up that all of the products became popular. It ended up making a lot of people happy and ultimately contributed to the history of the game.”

Even today, the series continues to be developed as ports on the Wii, PlayStation 3 and remakes on Steam, Xbox One, Playstation 4 and the Nintendo Switch have been released or are in development. A remake of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap, is currently in development from Lizardcube at the time of this writing, titled, Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap. Wonder Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, a brand new game in the series, is also currently in development as well. Both games have Nishizawa’s cooperation and The Dragon’s Trap will even have a unique feature that will allow gamers to switch between the remastered and original versions of the game at any time. It will also support the password saves from the original game. With the revival of his creation going through a regenesis of sorts, Nishizawa has plenty to be excited about.“FDG is a company making a work of high quality that they are taking carefully,” Nishizawa said. “They are making the new Wonder Boy with their interpretation. I respect it and I am interested in the view of the world they have rebuilt very much.”

One of the reasons for all of the ports and recreations of the Wonder Boy series is its accessibility. That has everything to do with the fact that it was originally developed as an arcade game. It had to hook people fast or else they’d stop throwing quarters in. Unlike many RPGs of the time that forced the player to experience the game for hours in order to get immersed, the story here is easy to grasp and one that’ll be instantly engaging to anyone who plays RPGs. The game takes place in Wonder Land, which was once a beautiful place. That was until MEKA dragon and his minions destroyed it and turned it into Monster Land. Desperate for a hero, the people summoned Tom Tom, who once defeated the evil king as a child and saved Tanya [in the original game] and brought peace to the land. The only one who can beat MEKA dragon, Tom Tom is given a sword and a potion from the mayor and must now do the impossible, again. Virtually naked at the start of the game [some Nishizawa thinks is pretty cool] Tom Tom has to become a hero all over again, picking up items, weapons and armor to aid himself in his quest. Like any great RPG, customization is an important factor, but with plenty of combat, quick reflexes and ability to fight are paramount. Unlike the original Wonder Boy, which was more of a platformer designed for the arcade, Wonder Boy in Monster Land was something completely different. An RPG for the arcade, it was incredibly unique for its time.

“Wonder Boy in Monster Land is an arcade game,” Nishizawa said. “The arcade games of those days had to satisfy a user in short time. However, we developed a game assuming someone would be playing for a long time. We did not know whether this would be received well in the market or not. It was our biggest challenge. Ultimately I think we developed an arcade game that lacked in flash but had a very creative idea behind it.”

Released the same year as The Adventure of Link, Wonder Boy in Monster Land has consistently drawn comparisons to that game for the simple fact that they are side-scrolling action/RPGs that played well. Kind of the Yin and Yang of the ‘80s action/RPG genre thanks to their releases on Sega and Nintendo consoles, they’re almost destined to be discussed in the same breath. However, while both did a ton to stretch the RPG genre to new and different directions, they couldn’t be more different. Nishizawa’s approach to game development was an obvious factor in the game’s feel. “If the game’s balance is bad, the player cannot be absorbed in the world of the adventure,” Nishizawa said. “In Wonder Boy in Monster Land, I think that a player was easily absorbed.”

Simply put, what Adventure of Link was able to do on consoles, Wonder Boy in Monster Land did it in the arcade- and then consoles. And far more than Link did in his second adventure. Another thing that makes Wonder Boy in Monster Land different is its uniqueness and accessibility. That was Nishizawa’s intention all along. “Wonder Boy in Monster Land is designed in a way so that even the person who is weak in an action game can enjoy it,” Nishizawa said. “Because the chief character grows up [throughout the course of the game], the action of the player becomes easy to succeed. I think that element of the game was liked by many people.”

Truth be told, the game has little in common with any other action/RPG of the era. Wonder Boy in Monster Land is so much more of a mystery than your typical arcade game. Although transparent in approach, it’s tougher than your average arcade game. While shops are clearly marked at the beginning of the game, as you progress, you have no idea what’s behind a door, making proficiency in combat that much more important. It’s hard to hide if you’re low on health and towards the end of the game, many shops are hidden completely. As a result, the game is a difficult, but satisfying adventure that defies the standard gameplay conventions of the time period. The fact that the game was originally released in the arcade and has so many different versions out there make it just as an important game as The Adventure of Link.

If you’ve ever played the original Wonder Boy, playing Monster Land feels like an entirely different series. In a way, it is. While their are platforming elements in Monster Land, the skateboarding and speed elements were gone, replaced with a deeper story and RPG gameplay. The biggest reason why it plays unlike any arcade game of its era is because its main inspiration wasn’t an arcade game at all. “After having finished development of Wonder Boy, we got absorbed in Wizardry on the PC,” Nishizawa said. “We played Wizardry every day, every day, every day without working. And we hit on one idea. That’s when I decided I wanted to express the fun of Wizardly in the form of an arcade game.”

Designing an RPG for the arcade is no easy task, but the humble Nishizawa had his mind set on delivering something memorable and took development in stride. With a clear idea of what he wanted to do, he had no problem taking what he learned from the original game and turning it on its head for something completely brand new. In a day and time when game sequels were rare, Nishizawa’s goal to take the series in a brand new direction was a bold one.“Technical problems always happen during game development,” Nishizawa said. “I learn something new whenever I make a game. Even today that changes. What did I learn about myself during the course of this game? That’s a difficult question. I learned that I was better at level design than other people. I also learned that game development was something I could really get absorbed in.”

Understanding that the arcade format could hurt the RPG elements of the story, Wonder Boy in Monster Land is a game that lives and dies on its gameplay balance. Although the game’s plot is far from revolutionary and could make the game more of a timepiece than a timeless classic, the amount of enemies, unique visuals and customization elements make Nishizawa’s game work on a variety of levels. It’s not your typical RPG experience. Although you’ll get to defeat enemies and buy new weapons and armor like your average RPG game, the side-scrolling nature of the game made it more of a platformer or an action RPG than any arcade game- or the first-person RPGs on the Master System and the PC at the time. The arcade origin of the game influenced more than the gameplay however. After the original version of the game was finished, that’s where Nishizawa and his team’s hands were tied. All the other versions of the game, although named Wonder Boy or utilizing his gameplay innovations, weren’t worked on by Keystone and his team.

“I like making new games,” Nishizawa said. “Therefore I was not interested in porting the arcade game that I made to a console. The Sega Corporation carried out the development for the console. So, I do not know the difference between the various versions.”

Although not a huge hit on the arcade circuit, it was more than successful enough to lead to a bevy of sequels, ports, revisions, modified ports, re-releases and more. From that, Nishizawa understands the importance of the game in not only the history of the industry but in his own life as well. “Monster Land is the first work of this series. If it was not created, the sequels would not have followed,” Nishizawa said. “When I think about it, I think that it may be said that this work clearly helped define parts of my life.”