* AntiClimaxBoss: If you have the Tasmanian Sword, just turn into Lion-Man (or, in the original Master System version, Hu-Man) before you enter for the final boss. He'll chop up the Vampire Dragon in only a few hits, especially if you have the Legendary Sword or Muramasa Blade (or, in the 2017 remake, the Gallic Sword). The Vampire Dragon will be lucky to land even a single hit on you.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: The 2017 remake's hand-drawn visuals are absolutely gorgeous, with fantastic animation.
* DifficultySpike: While the game is far from easy, most of the game is a fairly even challenge. Then the final level, the Sky Palace, causes the difficulty to shoot through the roof. Not only is the Sky Palace the longest dungeon by far, but it's also chock full of damaging and tough enemies. Making it to the end squares you off against the Vampire Dragon, who fights in an erratic pattern which can make it difficult to damage him. If you haven't come with the Hades Armor to shrug off death or the Tasmanian Sword to switch into Lion-Man and chop the boss apart more easily, then fighting this boss with Hawk-Man can be an exercise in frustration.
* GoodBadBugs:
** The 2017 remake's developers made a point of porting some of the bugs, notably "fish fly" which is used by speedrunners.
** In a glitch exclusive to the Master System version, the Hades Armor, which can be used as an AutoRevive if the player has no potions, can fail to disappear from the player's inventory. After this happens, the armor will keep acting as an AutoRevive and will ''never'' disappear until it is unequipped, essentially giving the player a randomly triggered GodMode.
* DemonicSpiders: Cyclops and Goblin enemies. Without the best equipment they hit like a speeding truck tearing easily over one to two hearts (if not more) and take forever to kill.
* OlderThanTheyThink: Yellow/gold-colored enemies and rare and collectable Charm Stones first appeared in the FanRemake by [=Vile1011=] released in 2007 before returning in the official 2017 remake (and for the record, Lizardcube are well aware of that remake).
* PopularWithFurries: The 2017 remake's charming graphics helped to make the animal forms even cuter than they had been in previous versions, not to mention the fact that the game itself was being reintroduced to a new generation of players, many of whom had found the fandom before its announcement.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
** Lizard-Man has the unique features of using a ranged attack instead of a sword, being impervious to lava, using his head to break Destructible Blocks instead of using a weapon and [[YouHaveResearchedBreathing being able to duck]] (although, to be fair, Hu-Man can also do the latter). Despite that, none of his abilities were used in any unique way during the game, and he is the only form that goes unused in the final dungeon. In fact, the only area where Lizard-Man can make use of being impervious to lava, the Volcano, is exactly the place where he ''doesn't'' need to go, and going in anyway is a waste of time because of the obstacles set immediately after that part being tailored for two other transformations (the mid-game Piranha-Man and the endgame Hawk-Man), and the ''loooong'' haul back to the HubCity. The Game Gear port goes even further and bars him from entering the Volcano in the first place.
*** The 2017 remake however gives Lizard-Man his own secret mini-dungeon to acquire a Charm Stone, using one of his unique properties in a puzzle... too bad it's to ''hinder'' solving it.
** The Hu-Girl in the 2017 remake. After all the media buzz about the remake featuring a selectable female protagonist, it might be disappointing to see that once she gets cursed halfway through the playable prologue, she doesn't look any different from her male counterpart, and even the end credits still refer to her animal forms as "[Animal]-Man", ultimately making this addition ''very'' inconsequential.
* UglyCute: Lizard-man, particularly in the 2017 remake, is adorable in his own gruff, grumpy way.
* WakeUpCallBoss: An interesting example, but the very first boss - the Meka Dragon can deliver a big slap to the face. You start off as the Hu-Man, the mightiest version of Wonder Boy and have all the Legendary equipment and max hearts. When enemies hit you, it takes a while before your first heart takes any visible damage (almost like you're in invincible mode). Taking on the Meka Dragon, his flame stream is hard to avoid and does significant damage. The flame's length makes it easy for the Meka Dragon to punish you, when you fail to hit its head. And even with the Legendary Sword and Hu-Man strength, the dragon can take a respectable amount of damage. With that fight, you'll come to appreciate how dangerous a dragon can be, before getting cursed into being the Lizard-Man...
----