Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap

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Description

Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap is a direct sequel to Wonder Boy in Monster Land. When Tom-Tom defeats the MEKA dragon, the wounded beast casts a spell on him, turning him into a Lizard-Man. To regain his original human form, he has to find the Salamander Cross, hidden by the Vampire Dragon in Monster Land.

Unlike its predecessor, this side-scrolling platform game is not divided in sequences of levels. The protagonist is allowed to go anywhere, as long as he has the right shape or equipment. During his quest, Tom-Tom has to defeat various dragon bosses. Each win will give him a new shape with new abilities such as flying, swimming, walking on ceilings or clinging to walls. These abilities also allow the player access new parts of the world. The possible shapes are Lizard-Man, Mouse-Man, Piranha-Man, Lion-Man and Hawk-Man and the main abilities are defined by attacking power, defense points and charm points (needed for equipment by collecting charm stones). Also, certain blocks can only be destroyed by specific weapons or are only accessible to certain shapes.

The basic actions consist of attacking and jumping, and in the status screen it is possible to equip swords, shields and armour. Special attacks include fire balls, tornadoes, arrows, boomerangs and thunder strikes. Along the way, the player collects keys (only one at all times) and gold left behind by defeated creatures, and places need to be re-visited sometimes to access new areas. Equipment and items can be bought in towns. A password is given at the beginning of each town to continue from there.

The Game Gear version has minor tweaks to level layouts to accommodate the smaller resolution better. Prices of shop items have also changed.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap" -- Game Gear cartridge title
• "Wonder Boy III" -- SEGA Master System in-game title
• "Monster World II: Dragon No Wana" -- Japanese title
• "モンスターワールドII ドラゴンの罠" -- Japanese spelling
• "Dragon's Curse" -- TG-16/Wii title
• "Adventure Island" -- Japanese PC Engine/TG-16 title

Part of the Following Groups

• Genre: Explorable platformer / Metroidvania
• Inspiration: Comics
• Wonder Boy series

User Reviews

The Wonder Boy series just keeps getting better and better	SEGA Master System	Katakis | カタキス (40066)
Only platform rpg I know, one of the best games I played	SEGA Master System	JemyM (4)

Critic Reviews

Mean Machines	SEGA Master System	Oct, 1990	95 out of 100	95
Sega Does	SEGA Master System	Feb 10, 2016	A-	91
Retrogaming History	SEGA Master System	Apr 28, 2008	9 out of 10	90
Jeuxvideo.com	SEGA Master System	Feb 01, 2010	17 out of 20	85
Tilt	SEGA Master System	Nov, 1989	17 out of 20	85
Power Play	TurboGrafx-16	Jan, 1991	81 out of 100	81
ASM (Aktueller Software Markt)	SEGA Master System	Jul, 1989	9.6 out of 12	80
Portable Review	Game Gear	Jul 29, 2007	32 out of 40	80
Power Play	SEGA Master System	Jun, 1989	76 out of 100	76
The Games Machine (UK)	SEGA Master System	Jan, 1990	71 out of 100	71

Forums

Topic	# Posts	Last Post
Remake	1	vedder (43872) Sep 14, 2016
Similar games?	3	Parf (7789) May 08, 2012

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The SEGA Master System version of Wonderboy III: The Dragon's Trap appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Turma da Mônica em: O Resgate

The 1993 Brazilian version Turma da Mônica em: O Resgate by Tec Toy features a different protagonist. Tom-Tom has been replaced with Mônica, a girl with a powerful strength and her blue rabbit sidekick toy Sansão (Samson in the English version), which her arch-enemy Cebolinha (Jimmy Five) is always plotting to steal and make knots on its ears. This was based on the comic Turma da Mônica (Portuguese for "Monica's Gang"), created by Maurício de Sousa. This licensed version has no animals forms, but the opponents are still the same.

Awards

• Electronic Gaming Monthly
  • December 1989 (Issue 5) - Best Sega Master System Game of the Year
• Power Play
  • Issue 01/1990 - #3 Best Master System Game in 1989
  • Issue 02/1993 – #3 Best Handheld Game in 1992

Related Web Sites

• Game Map (Sega Master System) on SMS Power! (Maps of all the levels of the Master System version.)