The creator of Wonder Boy returns with an official sequel and a masterful reimagining of the beloved platform puzzler.
Game review: Ashen is a (slightly) friendlier Dark Souls
There must be a lot of very happy, and surprised, retro gamers this year, with everything from Spyro The Dragon to Toki getting a remaster or remake. But Wonder Boy fans in particular must be over the moon. For decades the franchise has languished away, forgotten, and then last year Master System game Wonder Boy III: The Dragons Trap got an unexpected, and unexpectedly good, remake. And now theres a second title inspired by the same game, and its even better.
Although The Cursed Kingdom is heavily inspired by Wonder Boy III its not a remake, its an official sequel in the Wonder Boy franchise. That may seem surprising given the name but thanks to one of the more bizarre video game licensing feuds Sega owns the rights to the Wonder Boy name but not anything else. So despite not having the proper name this is as authentic as it can get, even to the point of having series creator Ryuichi Nishizawa involved in the design.
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Together with French developer Game Atelier, who were originally going to make the game merely as a Kickstarter-funded homage, its something of a perfect storm for Wonder Boy admirers. But this isnt merely a retro novelty for the hopelessly nostalgic, this is essentially a soft reboot for a franchise that deserves to be taken a lot more seriously than it is.
Cursed Kingdom may not be a remake but its basic set-up is very similar to Wonder Boy III. The story has you as a blue-haired anime boy who has to stop his drunk uncle (hilariously, the game was originally going to be called Wizard Of Booze, until someone not-Japanese pointed out that probably wasnt a good idea) from transforming the populace into animals. Theres not much more to the story than that but it does provide the game with some very fun gimmicks.
Despite a fairly open structure and surprisingly large game world its arguable whether The Cursed Kingdom, or Wonder Boy III, counts as a Metroidvania in the modern sense. Its certainly not just an ordinary 2D platformer though, since you can backtrack whenever you want either on foot or via fast travel teleports. There are also weapon and item shops to visit in town, with upgradeable weapons and armour to save up for, and unique equipment like double jump boots and magical enchantments.
The most important gameplay element though is your ability to transform into five different animals. From frog to lion, pig, snake, and dragon each has their own unique abilities that are the only way to overcome specific obstacles. As a snake, for example, you can slither up slippery walls and fit through small gaps, while the wonderfully animated frog can use its tongue like a hookshot and all but the pig and snake can use the weapons and armour originally intended for use in human form.
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Its a sizeable collection of abilities that are taken full advantage of by the game and its impressively inspired puzzles. But more than just having clever puzzles theres a sense of real showmanship to the games more complex set pieces, as you move between more cerebral Zelda-esque physical puzzles and elongated action sequences where you need to quickly switch between each animal in turn.
In terms of presentation The Cursed Kingdom is essentially perfect, with beautiful hand-animated sprites that neatly avoid comparison with both last years remake and standard pixel art. The game might be bare bones in terms of traditional storytelling but the animation gives real personality to even the most minor character and its a joy just to watch your various animal forms running around or messing about when idle.
On top of that there are some impressive-looking anime scenes bookending the game and a great soundtrack, that includes remixes of a lot of very familiar tunes from the early days of the series. The amount of tender loving care thats gone into the game is charming all on its own, especially given that most people have probably forgotten the franchise even existed – if theyd ever heard of it at all.
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One of the only real flaws is that its a touch too difficult at the start, which is a shame as although it is a difficult game things do even out afterwards. Theres also some slightly suspect hit detection on both enemies and some platforms, that can frustrate during some of the trickier sequences.
Overall though this is a dream come true for Wonder Boy fans and one of the best platform games of the year. Wonder Boy is rarely mentioned alongside greats like Castlevania and Metroid but this makes a convincing argument that the whole series deserves a revaluation. It certainly doesnt deserve to go back into hibernation and we hope this will secure the franchise a wonderful future for a long time to come.
Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom
In Short: It might be missing the name but this is the best Wonder Boy game ever made, updating and expanding the original concepts into a perfect mix of new and old.
Pros: Great reuse of Wonder Boy IIIs best features while extrapolating them out into something more fluid and complex. Great puzzle design and animal forms. Excellent graphics and sound.
Cons: Uneven difficultly curve, especially at the beginning. Some minor problems with enemy and platform hit detection. Very thin storyline.
Score: 9/10
Formats: PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC
Price: £32.99
Publisher: FDG Entertainment
Developer: Game Atelier
Release Date: 4th December 2018
Age Rating: 7
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