List of Wonder Boy games

Description: This list, is a list of games from the Wonder Boy series, the Monster World series, and both. The two unified series were developed by West One. The games were released on a variety of platforms, with all being released on at least one Sega console. The first game has a stone-age fantasy setting, while the other games all have a swords-and-sorcery type setting. All of the games in the series are 2D platformers. The games (except for the first and third) could be described as being like the Zelda games (if the Zelda games were instead 2D platformers), in that it has gameplay mechanics that make them almost fall into the category of action-RPG (especially the heart containers that act as max-HP expanders). In the Brazilian versions of some of the Wonder Boy games, Wonder Boy and some other characters were replaced with characters from the Brazilian comic Turma da Monica (Monica's Gang).

Row #	Title	Image	Description
1	Wonder Boy		Wonder Boy was initially released on arcade in 1986, and was eventually released on the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, SG-1000, Sinclair ZX81/Spectrum, and Sega Master System. It was part of the Wonder Boy series, but not part of the Monster World series. The first Wonder Boy game has a stone-age setting, with the playable character being a cave-boy. Wonder Boy (or Tom-Tom as he is called in the first game) has both lives and vitality. When time passes or he trips over rocks, his vitality is reduced. When he loses all of his vitality, he loses a life. Picking up fruit increases his vitality. Walking into a monster however, results in an immediate lose of life. Special items can be obtained from breaking eggs. These items include: hatchets (which can be thrown at monsters), skateboard (which forces him to continuously move right, but gives him a one-off protection from monsters), and angels (which allows him to destroy monsters by walking into them). There are 10 areas, each split into 4 rounds (with a head-changing boss at the end of each area).
2	Wonder Boy in Monster Land		Wonder Boy in Monster Land was originally released on arcade in 1987, and was later released on the Commodore 64, Amiga, and Sega Master System. It was part of both the Wonder Boy series and the Monster World series. In Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy has a sword and a set of hearts (which act as health / hit-points). There is an hourglass at the top of the screen, and upon finishing each cycle, Wonder Boy loses some of his health. Gold can be collected from defeated monsters and from hidden spots. Gold can be used to buy new swords, armour, shoes (for running faster and jumping higher), healing services, tavern drinks (which can come with advice and side-quests), and special items e.g. bombs, mini-tornadoes, fireballs, arrows etc.
3	Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair		Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair was originally released on arcade in 1988, and was later released on Turbo CD and Sega Mega Drive (Sega Genesis). It was part of the Wonder Boy series, but not part of the Monster World series. Unlike the other games in the series, Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair is more of a shooter. Some parts of the game are a 2D platformer, and some parts are a horizontal side-scrolling shooter (with Wonder boy riding on a dragon). Both the 2D platformer and side-scrolling shooter parts, are similar in that Wonder Boy shoots projectiles out of his sword. Various items can be picked up to change the projectile type. There is a vitality bar that depletes over time and upon being hit by monsters. Picking up fruit can recover Wonder Boy's vitality.
4	Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap		Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap was originally released on the Sega Master System in 1989, and later released on the Sega GameGear. It was part of both the Wonder Boy series and the Monster World series. The story begins slightly before the end of Wonder Boy in Monster Land. The first part of the game is a playable introduction, which is very difficult for Wonder Boy to die (due to having the best equipment and a full set of hearts). After defeating Mecha-Dragon (the final boss from Monster Land), Wonder Boy is cursed and is turned into a lizard-man (that can shoot fireball projectiles). Throughout the game, Wonder Boy gets transformed into various forms, including mouse-man (can fit through small spaces and climb special chequered blocks), merman (can swim), lion-man (has a broad arc when swinging a sword, therefore can break blocks diagonally below and above him), and bird-man (can fly). This Wonder Boy game is nonlinear, with a purpose for revisiting previous areas if there were places that couldn't previously be reached due to Wonder Boy's form. Like with Wonder Boy in Monster Land, this Wonder Boy game has gold to buy equipment and a collection of hearts that act as hit-points.
5	Wonder Boy V: Monster World III		Wonder Boy V: Monster World III (also known as Wonder Boy in Monster World) was released on the Sega Mega Drive (Sega Genesis) in 1991, and was later released on the Sega Master System. It was part of both the Wonder Boy series and the Monster World series. It could be argued that the Sega Master System version counts as a separate game, due to its levels being shorter and there being fewer of them. The gameplay mechanics are similar to The Dragon's Trap, but without the transformations, and with a fairy companion. Like with Monster Land and The Dragon's Trap, there is gold to buy equipment, items etc., and heart containers.
6	Monster World IV		Monster World IV was released on the Sega Mega Drive (Sega Genesis) in 1994. It was part of the Monster World series, but not part of the Wonder Boy series. Unlike the other games in the series, the protagonist is female. It has an Arabian swords-and-sorcery setting (as opposed to the more common medieval European inspired swords-and-sorcery setting). The graphics and animation are the most sophisticated of the series. One of the more notable gameplay mechanics are the two sets of hearts (red hearts and blue hearts) which act as hit-points. A blue heart is gained for every 10 tears collected. The number of red hearts depend on the armour being worn. Like with Monster Land, there is gold to buy new equipment and items.

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