WonderBoy VI: Monster World IV

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(Administrator) 2007-11-29, 23:02 #1

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Subject: WonderBoy VI: Monster World IV

In the depths of my late-night throes of blissful madness I decided to play WonderBoy. Not just one of them, but (apparently) ALL of them. They're good games, I've just never finished any of them. I never will at this rate - I keep getting to like the 80% mark and I just... Start playing the next one.

WonderBoy VI: Monster World IV is a really beautiful game. It's not very hard, and it's likely you'll never ever get lost (there are no choices in the route you take) but it sure looks great. For the first time the protagonist is female.

Anyway, screenshots:

[Image: http://nfggames.com/games/WonderBoy6/MW4.png]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/games/WonderBoy6/MW41.png]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/games/WonderBoy6/MW42.png]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/games/WonderBoy6/MW4Asha.png]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/system/arcade/special.php/b-d/bp-5/y-kof97/z-10/x-What?/.png]

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(Administrator) 2007-12-12, 21:59 #2

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I've decided that WonderBoy IV is just not my kind of game. The only reason I'm playing it is to see what comes next, the game is so beautiful.

When I played Final Fantasy VI (released as III on the Super NES) I got as far as the opera house before I died for the first time. When I died I thought about all the stuff I'd done since the last save, and I thought "Well fuck it, this isn't fun enough to do twice."

I have the same problem with this game. It's way, way more fun than any RPG, but still... When I die - and it isn't often, the game's not hard - I just think "fuck, I have to do that AGAIN?" The levels are just so long, and it takes forever to get to the next one. Whenever you're presented with a branching path you pick one, and if it's the one with the key, you pick it up and go back to the one with the lock. If you get the lock first, you go back and get the key. It's just so ... Dull.

But it looks so nice!

[Image: http://nfggames.com/games/WonderBoy6/MW43.png]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/games/WonderBoy6/MW44.png]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/games/WonderBoy6/MW45.png]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/games/WonderBoy6/MW46.png]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/games/WonderBoy6/MW47.png]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/games/WonderBoy6/MW48.png]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/games/WonderBoy6/MW49.png]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/games/WonderBoy6/MW4a.png]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/games/WonderBoy6/sprites1.png]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/games/WonderBoy6/sprites2.png]

The character design is awesome. It's what every pixel artist should aspire to, with gobs of personality in every sprite. Westone hasn't done many (any?) games since this one, so it's somehow fitting that they raised the bar for their last release.

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(Administrator) 2007-12-14, 09:18 #3

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One interesting component of this game is the peperog 'pet'. Peperog is the name given to a strange floaty creature seen in the central city hubs in the game. Asha, the main character, has the only blue peperog and it apparently fulfills some sort of prophecy.

For the first part of the game you have no peperog. After reaching the city you are given a peperog egg, and your new blue peperog accompanies you on through the first gate into the lava levels. The peperog gives you new abilities, such as the ability to pick up the peperog and throw it to plug holes, press switches etc. You can also carry the peperog and, when you do, he will flap his comical little wings (ears?) and you'll glide instead of fall. You also gain a double-jump ability, using the peperog as a launch platform for the jump.

When you return to the city, you feed your peperog a special fruit from a tree and he gets bigger. After the water levels he gets bigger again, but this is where things change:

The new bigger peperog is too heavy to carry, so you can no longer pick him up and run with him. This makes it much more difficult to, for example, clear large chasms as you can't get a running start.

Still, my big complaint about this game is it's too damned LONG. I'm in a frickin' ICE PYRAMID right now and you've gotta find five statues and place 'em on five special stands to open a door to fight a boss. It takes hours! Even if you're cheating with a gamefaqs guide you're still there for at least half an hour. So you find the statues, open the door, beat the boss, and then enter ICE PYRAMID II and do it again. And yes, there's an Ice Pyramid III where no doubt I'll do this again. =(