Review:
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap: The Precedent For How A Remake Should Be Approached Going Forward

By Sean Robbins (SeanBird) Host / Executive Producer of The J-Pop Exchange

One of the main appeals about retro games is that while many of these games may look graphically dated, the quality of gameplay is so high, that they often hold up to the standards of today. With that said though, there are still some that will judge a book by its cover; wouldn't it be nice if the quality of gameplay ‘inside’ matched the quality of what is ‘outside’? Enter the remake Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap; an HD by DotEmu, a remaster of the original game. This remake, from the very first scene, redefines a remake and serves not only as a love letter to retro gaming, but as a precedent for how this type of remake should be approached.

Unlike many games within this subgenre, in Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, if you get lost, there is a logical, straightforward path to take you back to town.

This game also offers:

- Graphics that look more like a story book than a game.

- Seamless integration in switching between gameplay graphics from retro to modern styles at the press of a button!  (See images below.)

- Excellent orchestral remixes of the original music (in fact you can hear some of it on our April 29th radio broadcast).

- A wry sense of humor from the different characters that you will encounter (in particular the pig who lives in town / in the church that saves your progress).

- Plus, if you ever played the original version of the game on the Sega Master System, you can actually use your passwords for this version as well!

This game is a lot of fun, and it is definitely worth checking out. 

Review copy provided by DotEmu

 

 

  

 

Related resources

• Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap – Developer Diary: Music and Sound design