Platform: Master System
Publisher: SEGA
Developer: SEGA
Release Date: 1988
WELCOME TO MONSTER LAND…
Following the events of it’s predecessor, Wonder Boy In Monsterland features the young boy named Bock Lee Temjin (Tom-Tom). In the first game he defeated the evil king who kidknapped his girlfriend ‘Tanya’, following the evil king’s demise, Wonder Land had 11 years of peace.
One day, a fire breathing dragon called the “MEKA dragon” terrorized the land, the dragon and his minions defeated the people of Wonder Land, and so the land was renamed “Monster Land”.
Now, the lands fate rests in the hands of one hero…yep, Wonder Boy, who is the last hope to defeat the monsters and demons of Monster Land, and finally defeat MEKA dragon.
PLAYING WONDER BOY IN MONSTER LAND
Wonder Boy in Monster Land begins with the former Mayor giving Wonder Boy a sword and a life potion to set him on his heroic journey. The game features 12 stages, each has it’s own boss, starting with Death on Stage 1.
Within the stages, there are 6 types of shop:
ARMOR SHOP
Here you can buy armor that helps reduce the damage Wonder Boy takes when hit. There are 4 types of armor, Light (60 Gold), Heavy (100 Gold), Knight (150 Gold), Hard (360 Gold) and Legend (540 Gold).
SHOE SHOP
Buy Cloth (50 Gold), Leather (80 Gold), Ceramic (180 Gold) and Legend shoes (380 Gold) that increase the agility of Wonder Boy, meaning he can leap higher and further.
SHIELD SHOP
Here you can buy shields which help block various weapon attacks, Light Shield (40 Gold), Knight (120 Gold), Hard (250 Gold) and Legend Shield (360 Gold).
BARS
Here you can buy Beers which replenish health with half of a heart and Cocktails that replenish a whole heart of health, cocktails are more expensive. Though after you visit a bar twice, the door is boarded up, you’ve had enough Wonder Boy!
HOSPITALS
Paying for a hospital cure will completely replenish Wonder Boy’s health, the price starts at 20 gold, but each time you visit a hospital, the price will go up, clearly for a high risk job this guy doesn’t have health insurance.
SPECIAL ITEMS SHOPS
These shops often appear when close to a boss area, special weapons can be bought including, Whirlwinds, Bombs, Fireballs and Thunder. If you have already used your life potion, they will appear in these shops in place of one special weapon.
WONDER BOY’S SWORDS
The stronger the sword, the easier it is to defeat your enemies.
- GRADIUS – Received from the Mayor in Round 1
- BROAD SWORD – Defeat the Vampire in Round 2
- GREAT SWORD – Defeat a Kong in Round 5
- EXCALIBUR – Defeat the God of Poverty in Round 7
- SWORD OF LEGEND – Beat a Demon behind a hidden door in Round 9
POINTS ITEMS
As you slay your enemies you will pick up various points items that increase in value as you progress through Monster Land.
| ITEM | ||||||
| POINTS | 500 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 3,000 | 5,000 | 10,000 |
LEVEL ITEMS
Wonder Boy in Monster Land has various Level Items to increase your gold, time (to avoid losing energy) and hearts that replenish energy.
| COIN: Gold values from 1 to 10, coins spin around until they roll to the floor, if not picked up in time they will disappear. | |
| MONEY BAG: Gold values from 11 upwards to much larger amounts, they also disappear fast. | |
| SMALL HEART: When collected they will replenish one full heart of health. | |
| LARGE HEART: This will replenish your whole health. | |
| HOURGLASS: Resets the time, which avoids health loss. |
INVENTORY ITEMS
Along your journey through Monster Land, you will collect various inventory items that provide various temporary power ups to help Wonder Boy on his quest. (Apart from the keys).
| HELMET Cuts damage sustained in half | WINGBOOTS Wonder Boy can float when jumping | GAUNTLET Doubles strength of sword | LIFE POTION When you lose your health, this potion replenishes it | CAPE Gives you 10 seconds of invincibility | KEY Collected when you defeat a boss to open the gate to the next Round |
SUB-QUEST ITEMS
There are six sub-quest items in Wonder Boy in Monster Land, in order they are a Scroll Letter, Flute, Charms, Crest, Bell and Ruby.
Each sub-quest item is used to reveal the next one. The ultimate goal is to use the final item, the Ruby to skip the first of two final bosses, the dragon. Instead you will go straight to the final boss, the robot dragon.
PIXEL GAMES REVIEW: Wonder Boy in Monster Land is a fantastic and in-depth action-adventure platformer. A huge favourite of mine on the SEGA Master System, easily the best conversion of the Arcade game. There are few games available on the SEGA Master System that offer the depth of playability to this one. If you have never played this game, I highly recommend it.
Pixel score: 92%
Other formats: Arcade, Commodore 64, PC Engine (Bikkuriman World), Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Switch, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Classic Reviews of Wonder Boy in Monster Land – SEGA Master System:
CVG – ISSUE 80
SCORE: 90%
“Wonder Boy must rate as one of the best arcade adventures ever and this follow up takes the original theme and extends it with role playing elements with interaction with other characters and the ability to develop your character.
Essentially it is a total mix of arcade, strategy and adventure with you trying to kill a dragon and restore peace to your country.
You move across a scrolling backdrop and have to kill the nasties alona the way, they leave a gold coin in their place and you can pick it up by walking over it. There are doors which you can enter and these can given you messages or allow you to buy items for your man. There is a choice between sword, armour, shield, boots, helmet, gauntlet, wing boots, and throwable weapons in the guise of bombs, tornado and thunderflash.
You have to reach the end of the wave before your timer hits zero (indicated by little hearts) and any contact with nasties takes time off the clock. To get through to the next level you have to kill a biggie monster (standard form for Sega games, but I never get bored with it because they do it so well!), and collect the key he leaves behind.
The doors you open normally give you two choices of weapon or info and if you lack the gold to buy either it bleeps at you. There are the customary little touches like going back and killing the same nasty twice to get extra score and items and hidden bags of gold in mid-air (so get leaping).
The layouts of each land vary with some finesse needed to get around the ledges, there are (to name very few) lifts, snakes, birds, fireballs walking mushrooms and water pools to negotiate. You can kill the opposition by a well timed hack and slash of the sword.
On getting at the end of a round you are given a time bonus depending on the time on the clock and you can get a 10,000 points bonus by picking up all the extra (double kills) items in that wave.
The graphics rate as some of the best seen to date on a Sega game, the music is OK and playability is supreme although detection is generous towards the player (so who is complaining?). Again the use of colour is getting so much better with every new Sega cart I play, there is very little flicker (unlike the original Wonder Boy) and they seem to be pushing their game designs to new horizons, all of which makes for longterm playability and interest.
There is a world of play still in this game that I just do not have the space to tell you about, so if you enjoyed the original this is for you…” – Tony Takoushi
Cheats and tips: Wonder Boy in Monster Land
The only known cheat for Wonder Boy in Monster Land on the Master System is a Level Select, the cheat code varies for different regions of the game.
| CHEAT CODE | REGION |
| Press Down + Start at the title screen, then press Up to select the starting level. | Europe |
| Hold 1 + 2 + D-pad button and turn on the Master System. | Japan |
| Press 1, 1, 2, 2, 1 + 2 when the level and stage numbers are displayed. | US Version |
WATCH WONDER BOY IN MONSTER LAND IN ACTION FOR THE SMS:
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