Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom

1. Unclouded

   Sep 21, 2021

   10

   The best Wonder Boy game ever made! Everything about this game just oozes charm and effort. I can't think of a single Metroidvania that hasThe best Wonder Boy game ever made! Everything about this game just oozes charm and effort. I can't think of a single Metroidvania that has impressed me this much!… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
2. flowbeus

   Jan 8, 2019

   10

   This game is a dream come true for me, I've been waiting a long time for a game with Wonder Boy III style gameplay.
   
   This game blew away allThis game is a dream come true for me, I've been waiting a long time for a game with Wonder Boy III style gameplay.
   
   This game blew away all my expectations and delivered awesome platforming gold. The graphics are amazingly detailed, the music is phenomenal and the world is nicely fleshed out more than previous Wonder Boy games.
   
   The obvious criticism is that it is a bit too hard, it's easy to get lost or confused about what to do next. I embarrassingly got stuck for 30 minutes in the church trying to figure out what to do in there to progress the game. I spent another 40 minutes trying to find an optional hidden room in one of the dungeons. I also encountered a puzzle where I had a solution that should have worked, but the game seemed to not accept my solution and wanted me to find its intended solution. I think some of these puzzles should have more clues to help the player if they get stuck or there should be more than one solution to some of them.
   
   Also starting over with just 3 hearts from the last checkpoint is kind of a joke, it's very difficult to progress with just 3 hearts from a checkpoint, especially later in the game like in the fire area where there is fire everywhere. Yes there is a time-comsuming way to heal yourself that I won't get into due to spoilers, but I think if you started with more hearts - maybe half your max hearts (if that's greater than 3) at checkpoints it would make a lot more sense. Or just space out the checkpoints more and make more of them fully heal you. Or have Zeke deliver a potion to you after respawning too many times. Or make an easy mode where all the checkpoints heal you perhaps.
   
   Anyway, despite the difficult sections, the large majority of the game is platforming bliss and I'm really sad that it's over. I really hope that we see a sequel in the future! I'm giving this a 10 since it is such an over-the-top joy to play this game.… Expand

   • 3 of 3 users found this helpful
4. TheDahaka

   Dec 7, 2018

   10

   A superb Metroidvania style platformer and an absolute blast for fans of Wonderboy. This was a long time coming. The devs knocked this one outA superb Metroidvania style platformer and an absolute blast for fans of Wonderboy. This was a long time coming. The devs knocked this one out of the park!… Expand

   • 9 of 9 users found this helpful
5. ophone

   Jul 30, 2021

   9

   A top of the notch homage to the Wonder Boy games on Master System and Mega Drive.
   Right at the beginning you can hear the initial tune ofA top of the notch homage to the Wonder Boy games on Master System and Mega Drive.
   Right at the beginning you can hear the initial tune of Wonder Boy in Monster Land, the first game of the franchise with RPG elements. You definitely know you're playing a Wonder Boy game, even if it doesn't carry the name.
   An improvement to Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap is to be able to change back and forth between the animal appearances at almost any moment as soon the orbs enabling the different morphs are obtained. Furthermore many puzzles are added to the known formula of the franchise it refers to.
   The graphics and animations are colourful and anime-like, the sounds and musics are of excellent quality and the game is fun to play. The only downsides I see are the rather lifeless animations of the frog swimming and that some parts are pretty cryptic as in: How should I know I need the golden sword to destroy certain blocks at the end of the game?
   
   In the end it's an excellent platformer with some backtracking and many references to the Wonder Boy games, even the first which is quite different to its sequels.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. ILGerva

   Mar 26, 2020

   6

   It pretends to be a sequel of the Wonderboy's Saga but it fails the legacy.
   A basic metroidvania full of trial-and-error platform sessions,It pretends to be a sequel of the Wonderboy's Saga but it fails the legacy.
   A basic metroidvania full of trial-and-error platform sessions, never very
   inspired, just copied from other titles.
   The Art Direction is childish and the animations are very bad.
   The only thing that saves the game is the nostalgia effect, in fact the game is full of easter eggs and old theme songs.… Expand

   • 1 of 2 users found this helpful
7. TsukasaHiiragi

   Jan 14, 2019

   5

   Pros
   
   Detailed 2D graphics, bright and vivid Good soundtrack Cons Frustratingly difficult at times Pro controller recommended IPros
   
   Detailed 2D graphics, bright and vivid
   Good soundtrack
   
   Cons
   
   Frustratingly difficult at times
   Pro controller recommended
   
   I have never seen a game more unfairly given praise than this game, Monster Boy is honestly a complete mixed bag. I honestly think bl1rt review is fairly accurate, Monster Boy is a brutally punishing game that rewards the patient player rather than charging head on into all the outlandish and often, frustrating puzzles.
   
   There are literally respawn points all over the place, and seemly few during difficult and downright frustrating puzzle or pixel perfect platforming scenes where dying is all too easy and some areas are so difficult that they require exceptionally fast reflexes to change form/jump/special/change form/special etc etc to get through some puzzles and again honestly.... The stock controller makes it even more frustrating, this is totally best played with a pro controller, just to save on some of the more frustrating areas.
   
   Boss battles are really easy, yes you might die once or twice but once you figure out the pattern they become a literally a cakewalk, which is a shame because you could die 500 times trying to reach the boss battle.
   
   I would be wary of this title, even for Metroidvania and fans of Wonderboy series in general, this requires patience rather than skill, and more importantly requires a cool head because it will frustrate you quite often as several areas are down right evil in terms of difficulty.
   
   Some monster forms like pig are annoying, and it takes a fair while before you start to unlock other forms. Enemies often are placed in areas where they can spring out of thin air to instantly damage you with giving you absolutely no chance to react, unless you already died to them and know they are there! This aspect is unfortunate because the early sequences of the game are exceptionally difficult due to limited form options, once the game opens up more it does get better until later in the game where a few more areas become frustrating again.… Expand

   • 0 of 2 users found this helpful
8. matt1184

   Oct 28, 2021

   0

   This game is literal garbage. I'm not sure which is worst, the story, the gameplay, or the progression. It is all simply pure garbage.

   • 0 of 2 users found this helpful

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