Wonder Boy’s one of those games I grew up playing in arcades because I had 20c pieces that needed a new home. That original game was adapted to home systems as Adventure Island, while the Wonder Boy series split off into more action-RPG fare, but I still adore the original game, which featured an island kid, sometimes on a skateboard, collecting apples and throwing his stone hatchet at wayward and untoward snails.
It’s been remade and remixed by original creator Ryuichi Nishizawa as the Wonder Boy Returns Remix!, and is available on the Nintendo Switch. Says the press release.
“Wonder Boy” is a side-scrolling platformer originally developed by Escape (now known as Westone Bit Entertainment) in 1986. Players took on the role of a young boy who’s trying to save his kidnapped girlfriend, Tina. The game featured intuitive controls and highly polished game balance. It was ported to a variety of consoles and quickly became adored by fans as a true gaming masterpiece.”
This new version features a more modern charged shot, along with difficulty modes to make it feel more at home in 2019. I should be excited by this, but man, I’m really not. What in the hell have they done with Wonder Boy, which now has a very anime-inspired aesthetic? Take a look:
Obviously this is very subjective, but man I do not like the look of that. The line work is too clean, the characters are a little too cutesy and the whole thing looks like it belongs on a mobile phone.
It’s scheduled for release on 23 May, but those in Japan, North America and Europe can just download it from the eShoppe right now. Yuck though.
Last Updated: May 6, 2019
Geoffrey Tim
May 6, 2019 at 16:34
YUCK
Kromas
May 6, 2019 at 17:15
I remember playing the crap out of this game on my NES.
Admiral Chief Flammenwerfer
May 7, 2019 at 08:43
Ditto
PoisonedBelial
May 6, 2019 at 18:25
Every single day we stray further from the light…
Admiral Chief Flammenwerfer
May 7, 2019 at 08:43
It has been SJW’d
Geoffrey Tim
May 10, 2019 at 12:45
No, it got anime’d
Noir
May 26, 2019 at 06:40
I saw that Wonder Boy Returns has boss fights like an octopus, while Wonder Boy Return Remix just has the silme lawling boss mob over and over again. Does Remix mean “Make the game even shittier by stripping it of its best feature”?
everygrainofsand
April 12, 2020 at 13:36
Lol – talk about shoe-horning!
G8crasha
May 7, 2019 at 08:36
I so forgot about this game. Hopefully the art style won’t hamper the gameplay, because the gameplay was enjoyable!
FrozenTundra88
July 17, 2019 at 20:36
More yum than yuck for me. I love the updated visuals and the game overall. Same nice Wonder Boy/Adventure Island platforming I always liked (even though the originals are definitely brutal to beat).
I don’t mind anime-inspired (or even full-fledged anime) visuals, though, since I’m a fan of anime and video games (especially Japanese games).