Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is a captivating title, presenting simple mechanics alongside a beautiful art style and pleasant soundtrack. On the other hand, the lack of new mechanics and some loose plot elements affect the final experience for the player.

Wonder Boy Asha in Monster World revisits a classic that most players didn't have the chance to discover and it does a great job at bringing it into our day and age. While it's true that the game's pacing feels rather slow, which is to be expected from a title that's over a quarter of a century old, everything in this work was done in a way that respects the original and brings it up to today's standards.

The price is a bit on the stiff side given the game is as brief as it was in the 16-bit era, but taken as a whole this is as it ever was: fun, feel-good, and something you’ll want to come back to now and then in the future.

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World improves upon Monster World IV in every way. The gameplay flow is more organic and modern, and the remake feels like a full-on modern game instead of a modern-looking game over the top of an older game’s shell. It’s impressive to see how much more fun this version of the game is to play than the original — and the original release is no slouch — but the developers have taken great care to keep everything that made it work and improve upon it. It plays better, looks better, sounds better and is a more cohesive experience now than it ever was before. Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is one of the finest 2D side-scrolling platformers on the market and the best remake of a classic game in quite some time.

Overall, there are parts of Asha in Monster World that are a little rusty, and the end product could've used more than just the tweaking we ended up getting. While fans of the Mega Drive game may enjoy revisiting it, they may also be disappointed that there's not a whole lot that's new. Still, the elements that made it such a classic in the first place — the endearing protagonist, the delightful game world — are still present, and all of that still holds up brilliantly even after nearly thirty years.

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is a solid remaster and a fun action-platformer. Its protagonists are incredibly endearing and its simplicity is very charming. I recommend it to anyone with a craving for tough retro gameplay wrapped in a cute package. Just don’t go in expecting anything particularly long or deep.

Make no mistake: Asha in Monster World is a fun game, and there's plenty here to enjoy. The game's delightful old-school framework is nice, even without being caked in a layer of nostalgia. There's a reason, after all, that Monster World IV warranted a remake in the first place. As far as HD remakes go, though, this isn't exactly Link's Awakening. [Issue #54 – September 2021, p. 23]

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is a good remake that renews graphics and sound with small details on Nintendo Switch. It is a very entertaining and fun title even though it is short and not very replayable.