∇
troperville

∇
tools

∇
toys

SubpagesVideoGame

main index

Narrative

Genre

Media

Topical Tropes

Other Categories

random

Subpages:

Video Game: Wonderboy In Monster Land

Bocke Lee Temjin, as depicted in Wonder Boy in Monster Land.

Wonder Boy in Monster Land is the second game in the "Wonder Boy" series. A departure from the original Wonder Boy, rather than being a standard platformer like the original, Monster Land employed a more action RPG-like approach to its game design, allowing the player to equip his characters with swords, spells and various pieces of armor. The player controls a young lad named Bocke Lee Temjin as he sets out to rescue his homeland of Wonder Land, which has been taken over by an army of monsters led by an evil dragon.

Monster Land was originally released in Japan as an arcade game in 1987, before getting an international release for the Master System in 1989. The Mark III version was titled Super Wonder Boy: Monster World in Japan, making it the first game in the "Monster World" sub-series. Computer versions were also released for the Amiga, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC, along with licensed remakes for non-Sega platforms such as Bikkuriman World for the PC Engine and Saiyuki World for the Famicom.

Tropes in Monster Land:

"Blind Idiot" Translation: Some versions suffered from this. For example, the Amiga version used: "3 gold get." The English version of the arcade game (which was actually a pirated release) was barely intelligible.
- Thankfully, the Wii Virtual Console release of the Arcade edition does away with all that and gives us a proper translation which does not end as such:
War is over
DRAGON was robot
He may come from star.
We regained our peace.
People will be happy.
But, be careful. More tests wait for you.
Bye! MONSTER LAND . So long.
Boss Rush: The Final Dungeon, at least in the arcade version.
Chain of Deals: One of the subquests.
Country Switch: Playing the Japanese version, Super Wonder Boy: Monster World, on a western Master System will change the game's title and language. However, the translation displayed is completely different from the one in the official western version and the title is even slightly different (Super Wonder Boy: Monster Land). The Japanese version is also harder.
Degraded Boss: Many of the key and sword guardians, especially in the Final Dungeon.
Divorced Installment: Saiyuki World, the Famicom version.
- Dolled-Up Installment: The PC Engine version became a game based on the Bikkuriman series of trading stickers. And in Brazil, the SMS version had Wonder Boy replaced with the protagonist of local comic Monica's Gang.
Final Death: The arcade version disables continues in the final dungeon. Some ports, including the Amiga and SMS, have no continues at all.
Guide Dang It: The sub-quests and hidden items, including the final sword upgrade.
Life Meter: Yours is a series of hearts, while the enemy has a colored dot. Some ports removed the dot.
Loads and Loads of Loading: When completing a world on the Amiga port.
King Mook: The Myconid Master (giant version of the mushroom mooks), Giant Kong (giant ape), Kraken (giant squid) and King Demon (a promoted version of those one-horned ogre monsters).
The Maze: The final dungeon. Incorrect paths return you a few screens or possibly back to start.
Market-Based Title: A bit of a confusing example. The original arcade game was simply titled Wonder Boy: Monster Land in Japan and it became Super Wonder Boy: Monster World when ported to the Mark III. Overseas, the Master System version was released as Wonder Boy in Monster World, but the Japanese cartridges feature an early build of the English version titled Super Wonder Boy: Monster Land and some cartridge labels even misprinted the title as Super Wonder Boy: Super Monster Land. The home computer ports by Activision were released under the name of Super Wonder Boy in Monster Land on their packaging, but the actual in-game title varies between versions.
Mercy Invincibility: The arcade version prevents damage, but still applies Knockback when you hit a projectile or monster.
Nintendo Hard
Palette Swap: Three of the bosses, notably the Grim Reaper, Knight, and Giant Kong, as well as some of the mooks, have recolored variants, sometimes with different attacks.
Pop Quiz: The Sphinx Puzzle Boss.
Robotic Reveal: The Final Boss.
- One-Winged Angel: the Robotic Reveal takes place when the boss is defeated for the first time. Then you have to fight it again.
Spell My Name with an S: The hero's name. The arcade game spells his full name as "Bocke Lee Temjin" (with "Book the Hero", the name given in the instruction card, being his nickname) in the casting roll, while the manual for the Master System version spells it "Bock Lee Temjin" (removing the "e" from "Bocke"). Some of the enemies have their names spell differently as well.
The Grim Reaper: The first boss, who later has a palette swap that steals your gold.