(sega mega drive & genesis classics 56/58)

Wonder Boy in Monster World ditches the arcade-style gameplay of Monster Lair and goes for more of an adventure game approach, featuring light RPG elements, and I don't really know how I feel about it. I certainly didn't like having to go back and forth killing enemies to collect more gold. Not helping much is that you move pretty slowly. This whole game moves pretty slowly, honestly. I don't think the execution was that poor, but I kind of wish it was a more straightforward platformer or something.

The final boss is probably one of the most cluelessly designed video game moments I've ever seen. There's just so much nonsense on screen at the same time (including a frequently switching conveyor belt with a saw) that it all just juggles you around and makes short work of you before you can even regain control of yourself. Then, you start back up again at the last place you saved, which even at the nearest inn is a long, tedious walk back to the final boss, all just to eat shit again and loop the process around. I genuinely think this part might have not been playtested. I don't see how it ended up this way with nobody on the team thinking, "hmm, maybe this is a bit overkill." Perhaps they were just too busy designing those racist caricatures of natives you find in the forest levels.

I don't know if I think this is a better game than Monster Lair. They both have problems that settle them down at the same rating for me, and I wouldn't ever really be in a rush to replay either.

Last two games to do in the compilation are Landstalker and Ecco the Dolphin. God help me.