Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair
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| Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Westone Co. Ltd. |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, TurboGrafx-CD, Sega Mega Drive, Virtual Console |
| Release date | Arcade 1988 TurboGrafx-CD  August 31, 1989 1990Sega Mega Drive  1991Virtual Console December 17, 2007 December 21, 2007 December 21, 2007 |
| Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Input methods | Two buttons, 8-way joystick, two buttons |
| Cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system | Sega System 16 |
| Display | Resolution: 320 x 224 |
Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair is an arcade game developed by Westone Co. Ltd in 1988 and published by Sega, not to be confused with the Master System title, Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap. A console adaption was made by Hudson Soft, released in 1989 in Japan for the PC Engine CD and the subsequent North American release on the TurboGrafx-CD dropped the 'Wonder Boy III' title. It was also converted and released by Sega for the Mega Drive in both Japan and Europe in 1991. In 2007, the TurboGrafx-CD version was re-released for Nintendo's Virtual Console service.
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[edit] Gameplay
The game balances basic concepts found in both platformers and arcade shooters. The player is able to jump and shoot projectiles from a sword. S/he must ride a flying dragon and confront a large boss throughout the second half of each round. Somewhat unusually, the player's life bar steadily diminishes as time passes. Health is gained through collection of fruit and projectile weapons. Some fruits, when shot, will expand and burst into multiple items.
[edit] Combat
In the action scenes, your vitality decreases as you make your way towards the skull, but this can be restored by collecting fruit. A wide variety of weapons can be picked up, and not only do these allow you to use the weapons for a limited amount of time, but they also increase your vitality. In the shooter scenes, you ride your pink friend as you make your way through the scene. Here, your vitality remains static unless you are hit by an enemy passing by. As usual, there is a boss waiting for you at the end which you must defeat. Every boss changes color to show how much damage has been done to it. You have to defeat some bosses in two stages. If your vitality gets low in each scene, you'll lose a life. You can also choose to have Wonder Girl join you, as two players can play the game.
[edit] Plot and setting
You play a green-haired boy hero (player 1) or a pink-haired girl hero (player 2) who must attack the invaders that attempt to collect weapons and use them to destroy the land. The game starts out like a simple platform game, but it's just when Wonder Boy enters the skull further on that the game is transformed into a shoot 'em up, so basically the gameplay consists of action and shooter scenes.
[edit] Development
The game's music was composed by Shinichi Sakamoto, who is also responsible for the music of the game Wonder Boy in Monster Land.
[edit] External links
- Virtual Console - Monster Lair
- Arcade cabinet information
- Moby Games entry
- Hardcore Gaming 101: A fairly comprehensive piece on the Wonder Boy series, with appraisal
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