Charmstones, elixirs and the power of nostalgia: revisiting Monster World twenty years on
Seeing Wonder Boy in Monster World surface on the PSN recently evoked that most powerful of sensations: the nostalgia of childhood. And not just in an ‘I had that!’ kind of way either. In truth, though many have vivid memories of their first gaming experience, I can’t pinpoint mine. Such specifics become hazy over time, but on the other hand, remembering the impact Wonder Boy had on my youth was easy: it was the first game I developed a genuine affinity for, the first title I could say with surety that it was my ‘favourite’.
Maybe it becomes harder to impress players as they grow up and grow old. Games are prettier, more expansive and have more potential for cinematic impact right now than at any stage in the medium’s history, but whilst they’re often just as enjoyable and engrossing, there’s a scarcity of titles that form an emotional connection with the player. Could it be that this is trickier now as so little is left to the imagination? Either way, having that strong, enduring connection is perhaps a defining difference between games you like, and ones you love.
Maybe it becomes harder to impress players as they grow up and grow old. Games are prettier, more expansive and have more potential for cinematic impact right now than at any stage in the medium’s history, but whilst they’re often just as enjoyable and engrossing, there’s a scarcity of titles that form an emotional connection with the player. Could it be that this is trickier now as so little is left to the imagination? Either way, having that strong, enduring connection is perhaps a defining difference between games you like, and ones you love.
"I had to wonder if 21st Century gamers would derive the same satisfaction from facing the bosses or exploring the charming villages as I had. After all, Wonder Boy was hardly the only RPG around in the early nineties. Could it be that my strong affinity for the game was buoyed chiefly by nostalgia?"
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Time flies, and the game I
first sampled just a couple of years after its European release has now quietly
reached twenty years of age. Playing WIMW
again recently, I was surprised by just how much I still enjoyed it. Surprised
because, when casting a more objective, wizened eye over childhood favourites, there’s
a danger in retrospect that you’ll start noticing niggles that weren’t
previously on your radar, or come to that dull realisation that your special
game wasn’t necessarily as unique as you thought it was at the time. I had to
wonder if 21st Century gamers would derive the same satisfaction
from facing the funky bosses or exploring the charming villages as I did all
those years ago. After all, Wonder Boy was
hardly the only RPG doing the rounds in the early nineties. Could it be that my strong affinity for the
game was buoyed chiefly by nostalgia?
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It’s tempting to write off such titles many years down the line, because of how quickly technology develops, and how genres and tropes come into and go out of vogue, with the best ideas being recycled ad-nauseam for years afterwards. But there are many reasons why a child, a new player or indeed a retro fan would still legitimately adore Wonder Boy today. Like many of the best role-playing games, it begins in relatively innocuous circumstances, before snow-balling into a more involved, more elaborate tale. This was key to the magnetism of fellow RPG classic Grandia; a story that started with two friends enacting a mock-swordfight with pots and pans gradually blossomed into a save-the-world quest of remarkable proportions. Wonder Boy frequently teases the player as to the treats that lay in wait; an ocean kingdom is glimpsed early on, but hero Shion can only explore beneath the waves after acquiring a Trident. Then there’s a foreboding desert that saps his strength prior to the acquisition of Oasis Boots, as well as a catalogue of small tunnels that can only be explored when he has been miniaturised after locating all of the Pygmy gear scattered around Monster World.
For gamers who started out in the 16-bit era of course, the imagination was often the most powerful tool in fleshing out a narrative. Final Fantasy has lost its way somewhat in recent years, due in large part to an overbearing focus on cut-scene storytelling and the introduction of voicing. Enduringly dubious voice-acting aside, the modern FF’s and particularly Star Ocean: The Last Hope aggravate matters with a catalogue of bland, clichéd and protracted cut-scenes that rather than helping to articulate a story, served to impede it. WIMW may not be Shakespeare, but it’s always clear where it’s headed, and what it wants from the player. You’re told what you need to know, and not clattered with cinematic pretensions.
Many of its RPG contemporaries didn’t make it over to the west at the time, but even after the event, Wonder Boy is thematically a very distinctive playing experience. All of the exploring, hopping over spike pits, dodging traps, treasure hunting and duelling with enemies made me realise something that was probably blindingly obvious to everyone else who played it – the game was as much a platformer as it was an RPG. What locating Poseidon at the bottom of the ocean, meeting the Sphinx in the desert, and discovering the enchanting tundra village of Childam all share in common is, that there’s a sense of achievement in just reaching them in the first place, as you have to overcome both foes and the environment. There’s nothing like reaching the warm sanctuary of an inn with just half-a-heart’s worth of energy to spare.
It was never a dour case of level-grinding either; buying new equipment yielded tangible gains. Ladder Boots see Shion traversing ladders at a faster rate, whilst Marine Boots allow for greater manoeuvrability on the seabed. Swords are typically less powerful than spears, but allow for a shield to be equipped concurrently, and they could deflect projectiles. Buying them all from the displays of the dainty stores is still a wonderful experience, far more satisfying than dragging a cursor through a list of statistics, with the tip of the iceberg being that all weapons and shields had their own distinctive appearance.
Many of its RPG contemporaries didn’t make it over to the west at the time, but even after the event, Wonder Boy is thematically a very distinctive playing experience. All of the exploring, hopping over spike pits, dodging traps, treasure hunting and duelling with enemies made me realise something that was probably blindingly obvious to everyone else who played it – the game was as much a platformer as it was an RPG. What locating Poseidon at the bottom of the ocean, meeting the Sphinx in the desert, and discovering the enchanting tundra village of Childam all share in common is, that there’s a sense of achievement in just reaching them in the first place, as you have to overcome both foes and the environment. There’s nothing like reaching the warm sanctuary of an inn with just half-a-heart’s worth of energy to spare.
It was never a dour case of level-grinding either; buying new equipment yielded tangible gains. Ladder Boots see Shion traversing ladders at a faster rate, whilst Marine Boots allow for greater manoeuvrability on the seabed. Swords are typically less powerful than spears, but allow for a shield to be equipped concurrently, and they could deflect projectiles. Buying them all from the displays of the dainty stores is still a wonderful experience, far more satisfying than dragging a cursor through a list of statistics, with the tip of the iceberg being that all weapons and shields had their own distinctive appearance.
Growing up with a SEGA Mega Drive, I was a gamer who was, to a certain degree, conditioned with an arcade game mentality, used to quick-fire games that had to be finished in a sitting, albeit usually after significant practice and many failed practice runs first. Wonder Boy’s battery save, a rarity in itself among Mega Drive titles of the early nineties, meant the player was afforded the luxury of exploring and taking things in at their own pace. It allowed you to become engrossed in an environment that didn’t simply feel like a sequence of levels, but a carefully constructed world that you could affect bit by bit.
It’s prettier than I remember too. Maybe the backgrounds were a little simple, but then I didn’t expect the sprites to look so good, or the range of colours and themes permeating each area to remain so inviting and bold. The musical accompaniment remains a real pleasure, and years before a certain Nintendo hero brought Ocarinas to prominence, Wonder Boy featured a great section where one is played as a means of unlocking doors.
Monster World IV succeeded it in 1994 and, despite reprising the distinctive platform/RPG formula and sporting some gorgeous visuals, it only saw the light of day in Japan (until its eventual localisation in 2012), bringing about another unjustly low-key finale for one of SEGA’s iconic series. If Wonder Boy never receives a remake or reboot, then maybe it’s for the best, because by enjoying Monster World for what it was allows it to remain special to this day – a marvellous beacon of old-fashioned gaming ideals that refuses to wilt with time.
It’s prettier than I remember too. Maybe the backgrounds were a little simple, but then I didn’t expect the sprites to look so good, or the range of colours and themes permeating each area to remain so inviting and bold. The musical accompaniment remains a real pleasure, and years before a certain Nintendo hero brought Ocarinas to prominence, Wonder Boy featured a great section where one is played as a means of unlocking doors.
Monster World IV succeeded it in 1994 and, despite reprising the distinctive platform/RPG formula and sporting some gorgeous visuals, it only saw the light of day in Japan (until its eventual localisation in 2012), bringing about another unjustly low-key finale for one of SEGA’s iconic series. If Wonder Boy never receives a remake or reboot, then maybe it’s for the best, because by enjoying Monster World for what it was allows it to remain special to this day – a marvellous beacon of old-fashioned gaming ideals that refuses to wilt with time.