How do you update a 16-bit oddity to slot into the gap between the eighth and ninth console generations? Not necessarily a classic in its own right, Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is a remake of Monster World IV, a Japan-only Sega Mega Drive (that’s Genesis for us in North America) platformer in the Wonder Boy series. Whereas all previous Wonder Boy remakes and modern sequels have stuck with 2D visuals, even where they’d replaced pixel art with hand-drawn animation, this remake opts for a full 3D coat of paint.
That choice had me concerned, at first. Side-scrolling platformers with 3D visuals are an odd mix, as the polygonal models and environments tend to lack the clarity of visual design of their 2D contemporaries. If you’re going to demand platforming precision, that visual clarity goes a long way. Luckily, Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is a forgiving title at even the toughest of times, and its visuals end up working for it with stunning consistency.
There’s a lot of color — much of it from a pastel palette — informing the Middle Eastern (and occasionally North African) aesthetic of Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World. Asha’s green hair and purple eyes stand out, but they never look out of place when framed by glowing lava, ice-encased halls, or fluffy yellow clouds. The hub city, the royal capital, mixes white and brown stone with golden domes in a manner that evokes 1001 Arabian Nights.
It’s in that city that Asha’s journey truly begins, as she meets the queen (notably, the two most powerful human figures in this game — and those with the greatest agency on its plot — are both women) and officially becomes a warrior, setting off to free the four elemental spirits.
It’s a basic setup, and the story never rises far above its premise in complexity, but there are enough surprises and turns along the way that it remains engaging and, at times, even becomes a bit emotional. The all-new voice acting helps with this (whether in Japanese or the gibberish used to represent monster and “foreign” speech), though there are a few cutscenes where it’s obvious that the same voice sample was simply looped, rather than using a longer, more nuanced clip.
There’s also humor to be had, particularly of the meta variety, with some characters referencing how their roles have changed from the original version of the game (such as the Sage, who no longer serves as a save point due to the added ability to save anywhere), but this is never taken to the point of distraction. The typos and translation errors are a bit more distracting, but not so bad as to damage the title’s personality and charm.
That said, one doesn’t really play Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World for its story or personality. One plays it for platforming action.
And, while the game does bring platforming, this isn’t its solitary focus. Wonder Boy titles have always been a bit experimental, and Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is no exception. Here, it twists the formula by adding in RPG elements, puzzle solving, and even a bit of exploration. Levels must be approached in order, and they have some linearity to them, but most are largely open to explore. And you’ll need to explore if you want to find life drops to permanently raise Asha’s maximum health and money to buy new swords, shields, and bracelets in town (which boost Asha’s attack, give her a chance to automatically cancel out certain types of attacks, and increase her base health, respectively).
Between this focus on exploration and the frequent and readily available upgrades, Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World errs on the easier side for a title from the 16-bit era. There are few sections that require arduous platforming precision, nor are there many bottomless pits or damaging falls in general, and dropping into them just sets you back a bit with one heart’s worth of damage (everything in the game does one heart of damage).
Most of the bosses are fairly simple, with patterns that are easy to recognize and exploit. Even when those patterns are more challenging, you’ll generally have such a buffer of health and healing items that you’ll make it through.
My only frustrations in combat came from the inconsistent manner in which Asha sometimes bounces off enemies on contact. It’s hard to tell what will cause this (versus her taking damage), but it’s easy in some spots to get backed into a corner and stuck in a loop of bouncing off your advancing foes and, inevitably, taking some damage before the game once again deigns to register your inputs.
Thankfully, that’s a relatively minor, isolated blemish on what are otherwise tight and responsive controls. Asha can walk, run, jump, guard with her shield, and attack with her sword. While jumping, she can also attack straight up or straight down, which gives her enough versatility to make combat feel approachable and fair. There are other nuances, such as a means of gaining a slowed descent or double jump, as well as the Magic Attack, but nothing that upsets the core mechanics. Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is by and large a pleasure to control, even in an entire extended level of ice-coated, slippery floors. It was there that I was most grateful for the forgiving platforming.
And then, a couple of levels after that, the game was over. Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is a short title, likely clocking in at under 10 hours even if you go out of your way to find everything. There isn’t much to do besides blaze straight through, either. Even though this version of the game allows you to revisit cleared stages (a feature missing from the original 16-bit title), certain story developments make full exploration of these older worlds impossible. Plus, once the game’s over, it’s really over. I didn’t actually think to save during my playthrough, and it doesn’t save clear data. After I’d finished the game, my only option was to start again from the beginning.
What Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster Land lacks in depth and bombast, it carries in charm and the simple pleasures of learning to read and navigate new locales with increasingly involved gimmicks. The combat is fun, if simplistic, and the visual design is clean and compelling. If you’re hankering for that classic, 90s platformer texture updated with some minor modern amenities, and you don’t mind the short length and dearth of additional content, this is an easy one to recommend.
The publishers of Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World supplied us with a review code for this title.
The digital version of Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World can be purchased from the Nintendo and Sony stores, and is published by STUDIOARTDINK.
The boxed retail version of Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World comes with the original Monster World IV as an exclusive pack-in, and is published by ININ Games.
