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Old 12-06-2019, 04:08 PM
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cheebacheeba cheebacheeba is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2003
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Monster Boy & the Cursed Kingdom

Apparently this one went under the radar.

What is this game?
It's basically another "Wonder Boy" title, so I guess it's a spiritual sequel to those.
I'm assuming there were some legal issues involved.

So far we've had:
*The original protagonist from the first two games, known in english as Tom-Tom.
*Leo & the Princess from a lesser known weird wonderboy scrolling shooter sequel.
*Shion from the MegaDrive title "Monster World"
*Asha from Monster World IV

This time, we have a kid from a magical village named Jin, who was clearly drawn out of inspiration from Shion.

The game LOOKS similar to the remake of "Dragons Trap" by LizardCube which came out not too long before...though to be honest, they have actually done a lot better in my mind.

It's a beautiful looking game...like really, it's one of, if not the best modern 2D platformers I've ever seen.

I've gotta say I'm loving that platformers are still a thing, being remade and reimagined, with some great original games coming out too...shovel knight and the Trine series come to mind as some of the modern heroes of the "pretty platformer".

Annnyways...

Like I said, beautiful looking game. I can't say much more than that...it's visually very, very pleasing...the colours are largely soft, so it's easy on the eyes too.
The animated cut-scenes are done very nicely too.

The sound is crisp and clear, and the music is a mixture of original tracks and throwbacks to the earlier games (like, there's a kind of rock version of the shop music)...and just enough to give you those nostalgia feels while staying contemporary enough to be it's own thing.

Your character control and movement is intuitive and the animations are super smooth. Very responsive controls, with just the right amount of "weight" and momentum to feel at home to both the oldskoolers and new players alike...it's funny, you'd never think this would be an important balance to strike, but you really appreciate it when you're hands-on.

The storyline?
Basic. Which really, is right at home in such a series.

The combat is nice and varied, thus far I've only played as two of the character models, but each of them has a unique feel and fighting style, along with different skillsets (the pig character can sniff out hidden doors, items etc).
You have your primary attacks, and secondary/magic based attacks similar to some of the earlier titles, you can throw fireballs thus far.

The new inventory will be an impressive part of the game, items and armour that actually DO things, which is something that's been touched on but never really explored too much in the earlier games...
So far, I've found "heavy boots" that let you sink and walk along the ocean floor, and a reflective multi-directional shield that can deflect projectile attacks.
There are...a LOT more slots for skills and items...that will take this in a more complex direction than you'd expect from a platformer.
Should be fun.

Had one boss fight so far. Giant squid. I like it. Formulaic like you'd expect. Fun.

I haven't even played more than an hour right now, and it's honestly just a pleasure to play...it's a really respectful throwback, and pays it's dues.

What they've done here is essentially "mashed up" and updated and improved upon elements from
*Monster Land
*Dragons Trap
*Monster World
...and they've honestly struck GOLD in my opinion.
It's a real love letter to fans of the Wonder Boy series, and a very solid platformer in it's own right too.

If you want a FUN, and bloody amazing looking game...I'd recommend it.
So many little things thrown in for the fans.
Great game for new and old alike...and would be an excellent game to train a child on.

Right now, it's on sale on both PSN and STEAM, down to half price.
I believe it's also on switch and xbox1?

Anyways, here's a look at a trailer:
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Last edited by cheebacheeba; 12-06-2019 at 04:09 PM.
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