Wonder Boy in Monster Land

aka: Bikkuriman World, Mônica no Castelo do Dragão, SEGA AGES: Wonder Boy Monster Land, Super Wonder Boy, Super Wonder Boy Monster World, Super Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Super Wonder Boy: Super Monster Land
Moby ID: 12588
Arcade Specs

Description official descriptions

Eleven years have gone by since Tom-Tom rescued his girlfriend Tanya from the clutches of the evil King. Word of Tom-Tom's dangerous adventure soon spread throughout Wonder Land. The people were very proud of him and gave Tom-Tom the highest honor of all - the legendary name of Wonder Boy. With the evil King defeated, Wonder Land returned to its peaceful state, and for over one decade, the kingdom was a paradise, and everything and everyone lived happily together.

Eventually, the peace was broken when a ferocious fire-breathing dragon appeared out of nowhere and took over Wonder Land with an army of evil, monsterous henchmen, causing Wonder Land was immediately thrown into utter chaos. Defenseless that they were, the people were quickly taken over and the tranquil and serene kingdom was transformed into a land of demons and devils. Wonder Land was now a Monster Land. Tom-Tom was summoned to set out on a journey, destroy this dragon, and restore peace once again. Tom-Tom is Wonder Land's last hope.

There are twelve locations in which Tom-Tom must venture through, including (but not limited to): the city of Wonder Land, Valley of Peace, The Coastal Town of Baraboro, The Mam Desert, and Pororo Islands. During his journey, he must defeat monsters with the sword that he got at the beginning of his adventure. These monsters will leave either gold coins or bags of cash, which he can use to buy better weapons, shields, armors, and boots. At the end of each location, there is usually a boss that Tom-Tom must defeat in order to obtain a gold key that will unlock the exit gate, as well as plenty of gold coins or bags of cash. If he touches any enemies, or is shot at, he will lose health. During his travels, Tom-Tom must take note of the hourglass; if the hourglass display sands at the bottom, he must get another one that appears out of nowhere, or he'll also lose health. There are two ways in which he can restore it. He can either go into bars to have a drink that will restore it and get a hint about what lies ahead as well, or go into hospitals and heal himself to restore the lost health.

Spellings

  • SEGA AGES ワンダーボーイ モンスターランド - Japanese Nintendo Switch spelling
  • スーパーワンダーボーイ モンスターワールド - Japanese spelling
  • ビックリマンワールド - PC Engine Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Arcade version)

12 People (8 developers, 4 thanks)

Program
Character Produce
Music Compose
Character Design
Special Thanks
Produce
Presented By
  • Sega
  • Westone

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 79% (based on 38 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 74 ratings with 1 reviews)

Good mix of arcade-platforming and RPG-adventuring

The Good
The game was of course not an RPG in the eyes of many RPGers of mid '87, but I'm sure a lot of RPG hating, arcade gamers appreciated an arcade game with a little something extra i.e building wealth in order to build up your weapons/armor and pay for clues from taverners and an extending your lifebar(a form of leveling up), but in a way that didn't involve backtracking to interrupt the forward flow of the game. Cute graphics and sound and the fun of finding secret doors. I like that if you follow the correct path to the dragon's castle, you gain an important piece of equipment to help you beat him.

The Bad
While the game is certainly not easy(what arcade game is?), the cuteness marks it as being for kids and teens, not so much for adults, even though you do visit bars and drink presumably alcoholic drinks.

The Bottom Line
Something pretty new in its time, maybe not something to turn RPGers onto arcading gaming, but perhaps likely to make an arcade gamer want to have a go at Zelda or Zelda II and from there maybe go even more RPG and try Phantasy Star or Final Fantasy. It's hard though and for an arcade game, long.

Arcade · by Andrew Fisher (697) · 2018

Discussion

Subject By Date
Creation of a new group "Monster World" Kaminari (1081) Jul 16, 2009

Trivia

Mônica no Castelo do Dragão

A version of this game was released in Brazil called Mônica no Castelo do Dragão, which translates to "Monica in the Dragon's Castle". Instead of Tom-Tom, the player is Mônica, a character based on a famous Brazilian comic. When Wonderboy III: The Dragon's Trap was converted, the game also featured Mônica and her fellow characters.

Awards

  • Power Play
    • Issue 01/1989 - Best SEGA Videogame in 1988

Analytics

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Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 12588
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Katakis | カタキス.

Amstrad CPC added by Hello X). Nintendo Switch added by Rik Hideto. PlayStation 3 added by Sciere. Atari ST, ZX Spectrum added by Martin Smith. Wii added by gamewarrior. Arcade added by Pseudo_Intellectual.

Additional contributors: chirinea, formercontrib, Patrick Bregger, Rockin' Kat, Rik Hideto, FAM, Flávio Eugênio Diniz Pinto.

Game added March 27, 2004. Last modified February 4, 2024.