Video Game / Wonder Boy in Monster World

aka: Monster World

Japanese cover art, depicting Shion with his little companions Priscilla, Dragon, Hotta, & Shabo joined on his journey.

Wonder Boy in Monster World (released in Japan as Wonder Boy V: Monster World III) is the fifth Wonder Boy game. A new protagonist called Shion embarks on a heroic adventure to save his land from a monster invasion. It was originally released for the Sega Genesis in 1991, followed by an 8-bit version for the Sega Master System in 1993 released exclusively in Europe.

A TurboGrafx-CD remake was released by Hudson Soft titled The Dynastic Hero in 1993 (released in Japan as Chou Eiyuu Densetsu Dynastic Hero in 1994), with the cast replaced by a new set of characters courtesy of the RED Company.

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Tropes in Monster World:

• Adaptation Expansion: Sonic the Comic of all places, which picks up where the adventures of Shion (now given the title "Shion the Wonder Boy") left off.
• Artificial Stupidity: The Sky Castle dungeon has a dragon miniboss which respawns every time you fall down from a rather difficult platforming section in the area above. This would be pretty hard except that if you have Shion equip the spear and do the "spear twirling attack", the dragon will stupidly keep running into it (and taking damage each time) until it dies.
• Big Damn Heroes: The Darkworld Prince, while you are getting beat up by Biomeka's laser cannon, arrives and scolds you, then destroys the cannon and heals you before leaving the rest of the fight to you.

• Boss Rush: The final level, Biomeka's spaceship. Once Shion reaches it, he has to fight four of the previous bosses (Myconid, Gragg & Glagg, Ice Bomber and Tyrant Dragon).
• Continuity Nod: quite a few:
  • To Wonder Boy:
    • The penultimate boss loses his head and grows a new one several times, just like King.
  • To Wonder Boy in Monster Land:
    • The first area of the game closely resembles the beginning of that game. Even the hidden coins are there!
    • The Maugham Desert part is similar to the Mam Desert and the Pyramid levels from that game: aside from the similar names, the pit where platforms appear when you kill bats reappears (but is not mandatory this time), and the bosses of both areas are Sphinxes that like quizzes (except this time, he actually looks like a Sphinx) .
    • The penultimate dungeon is a better looking (and sounding) version of that game's last level.
  • To Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair:
    • The Purapril Castle shares its name with the second player character from that game.
    • This game's final level shares its music with that game's final level.
    • The first level boss (a big fish that turns its scales into smaller fish) appears several times as a simple mook. Tough for a mook and gives massive rewards, but still no longer a boss. Similarly, the third boss, a giant vampire bat, fights you in the second dungeon of Monster World as a weak miniboss.
  • To Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap:
    • When Shion has the Pygmy equipment, he can shrink, but only in one special room. It looks a lot like the transformation rooms from that game, complete with the small platform on which the transformation occurs.
    • The boss battle music from that game is heard twice in this one. Both times the boss in question is a dragon (all bosses in that game were dragons).
    • Several Piranha-Men appear in this game as mooks.
• Difficulty by Region: In the Japanese version, dying simply warps you to the last inn and charges you the normal inn fee, making death an effective means of backtracking. In the Western versions, your game is over if you die. (Dynastic Hero is based on the Japanese version.)
  • The final boss will use lasers and a conveyor belt with a moving buzzsaw on it, but the belt and buzzsaw are only in the Western versions.
• Dirty Coward: The cannibals, who capture a dwarven child and attempt to eat him. They also attack you when you are outnumbered about six to one, but when you beat up most of them the last two will run away.
• Door to Before: Every town (except for Alsedo) has an unlockable door leading back to the Purapril Castle.
• Earth-Shattering Kaboom: The alien planet explodes after Biomeka's defeat.
• Fairy Companion: Priscilla, who joins you for the Alsedo Cave mission. She has the ability to find hidden hearts.
• Fungus Humongous: The Myconid in Alsedo Cave. Also a Wake-Up Call Boss, since its attack pattern is unpredictable (sometimes you can avoid its jump attack by running under it then turning around and hitting it back, sometimes it lands behind you then bounces back on you), it takes many more hits to defeat than you can absorb, meaning you can't trade hits with it, and it constantly throws smaller mushroom enemies at you.
• "Get Back Here!" Boss: The Ice Bomber is running from you throughout the fight. You have to chase him on auto-scrolling platforms and slash his face a few times before he shoots a barrage of snowballs at you.
• The Goomba: The small green snakes, which are stationary and die in one hit, having no attacks whatsoever except collision. The only one that ever poses a threat is in the Sky Castle, because it gets in the way of a very tricky platforming section.
• Goomba Springboard: The jellyfish are used for you to jump on them and reach Alsedo.
• Heart Container: Shion's life is displayed as a series of heart containers that empty whenever he is hit.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: Biomeka, until the Darkworld Prince shows up. Biomeka's main cannon will never miss and will revert you to one heart. But the Prince will heal you and break the cannon before fleeing.
• Hyper-Competent Sidekick: The elder dragon's grandson who tags along with you through the volcano level is more than capable of defending himself (and you).
• Incredible Shrinking Man: In order to enter the 4th dungeon near Begonia (the city of dragons), Shion must gather the "Pygmy" equipment. Once he wears it, he enters a door and his sprite becomes a mini version of himself.
• Informed Equipment: In the Master System version, the only way equipment affects your appearance is whether you have a sword or spear. In the Genesis version, most weapons and shields look different.
• Load-Bearing Boss: After Biomeka is defeated, Shion teleports away from the spaceship and it explodes.
• Market-Based Title: Known as Wonder Boy V: Monster World III in Japan.
• Money Sink: Subverted. Charmstones as useless and as expensive as they are, do have a use outside of their price being a question of the Sphinx. They act as a currency at a Secret Shop which can give the player more Magic Charges (Maximum is 12 Charges) or a Heart Container (maximum is 14 hearts). This allows the player to cap out nearly all their magic in the game and increase their health if they don't want to go searching across the land for the containers. Sadly the Return spell doesn't increase, you still only get 1 use out of it, but since all you need to do to get another use of it is to sleep in the inn you warp to, it doesn't really matter.
• Nostalgia Level:
  • The very first area is just like the beginning of Wonder Boy in Monster Land.
  • The second to last dungeon uses similar graphics and layouts to the starting dungeon from Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap, as well as a remix of its BGM.

• Pop Quiz: The Sphinx again. She gives five questions. You only need to answer four to proceed, but there are extra rewards for a perfect score.
• Rock Beats Laser: You have to take on aliens and their lasers, as well as buzzsaws, with a sword and shield. Shion doesn't have an easy time, but he still wins.
• Sequel Hook: Biomeka is shown to be alive and well at the very end of the game.
• Songs in the Key of Lock: The cavern near Alsedo has three locks that will only respond to the tune of an ocarina.
• Spin to Deflect Stuff: If you have a spear equipped, you do this to block, instead of using your shield. It also deals damage to charging foes.
• Super Not-Drowning Skills: Justified, as you need Poseidon's Trident just to swim underwater. For the first time not being able to swim does not make the main character sink like a rock, instead Shion floats.
• Technologically Advanced Foe: Biomeka brings lasers to a swordfight.
• Villain Forgot to Level Grind: All the main bosses in the final dungeon are the same as before, and that makes them much easier than the first fights with them. Tyrant Dragon especially, since you had to fight it in Pygmy form the first time, as well as the Myconid, who goes down in one hit from the Legendary Sword.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: The Myconid is a decent challenge but doable if you have the best gear. But Gragg and Glagg are the point where the bosses will show no mercy on you and need very good strategy to win.
• A Winner Is You: Subverted. Killing the final boss immediately skips to the credits without even a change in music, but after the credits you get a proper lengthy epilogue with its own music and unique graphics.
• You Don't Look Like You: As a result of the artist drawing the player character based on his interpretation of the game sprites, as opposed to the official character design, Shion looks nothing like himself in the American and European box arts◊...

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