Hello everybody, hope you're all doing well, and welcome to my review of Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom! Back in the late eighties and early nineties there was series of games on the Sega Master System called Wonder Boy. A handful of these games were made in that time period, and since then the series has fizzled out. Unfortunately I never got to play any of the Wonder Boy games as a kid, but recently there have been some remakes for modern consoles that I've really enjoyed, turning me into a fan of this forgotten franchise. Monster Boy was announced as a spiritual successor to the Wonder Boy games, and it's a true sequel in every way, except for the name. Needless to say I was very excited to play this and to see how it stacked up against the originals. So settle in and join me if you will as I tell you all about it.
Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom is a platform game developed by Game Atelier, in collaboration with Sega. It was released in December of 2018 for the PS4, Xbox One, and the Switch. This is a sequel to the Wonder Boy series, but even if you have no prior knowledge of those games you can easily jump into this one and enjoy it as a stand alone title. But if you are a fan of the old games there are plenty of easter eggs and references that you will probably notice throughout your playthrough. You can tell the developers put a lot of effort into making this something special, and that they wanted to create a game that everyone could have fun with, whether you're brand new to the series, or a long time fan. I think they did a great job of staying true to the original, while building upon that foundation, and adding some modern conveniences to make it more accessible.
As the game begins you are introduced to our main character Jin, a blue haired boy who lives in the kingdom with his Uncle Nabu, and his brother Zeke. Usually Uncle Nabu lies around all day drinking, while the boys run a local shop, but today something strange happens. Jin discovers his Uncle flying around the kingdom with a magic scepter turning everyone into animals. While trying to stop Nabu, Jin gets himself transformed into a pig, and seeks help from the King's Magician to find a way to return everyone back to normal. You learn that there are five Animal Orbs scattered around the kingdom, and if you can manage to find all of them there might be a way to reverse this spell. Now your journey begins, as you set out to find the first of these Animal Orbs while playing as a pig.
You start off in the Main Village right at the center of the map. It branches off to different areas, but while in Pig Form you are only able to head one way. The game is done in a Metroidvania style, featuring one large interconnected map with lots of different areas, and many of them are blocked off until a certain ability has been gained to give you access. This means each time you acquire a new animal form you'll also open up a new area of the kingdom to explore. As you progress throughout the game you'll eventually have six different forms to change into, plus an arsenal of equipment, that you'll use to solve puzzles, travel to new places, and defeat bosses. The transformation mechanic is easy to use, fitting in perfectly with the game's excellent level design.
Each of the six characters have their own unique abilities, but only some of them can use weapons and armor. You start off with just the Pig form, and as you progress you unlock Snake, Frog, Lion, Dragon, and your original human form Jin. As a Pig you can use your heightened sense of smell to detect secret platforms and doors. Turning into a Snake allows you to climb up vertical surfaces, shoot venom, and fit into very small openings. Frog, Lion, Dragon, and Jin also have their own unique abilities, but more importantly they can all use weapons and armor. Certain weapons will work better against certain enemies, giving you an edge in combat, and some gear will let you walk on clouds, or in bubbling hot lava. In addition to making use of each character and their skills, you'll also need to use all your equipment correctly to progress.
Monster Boy features a beautiful hand drawn art style, with a bright, vivid color scheme. The game's visuals are very impressive, and definitely a major highlight. All of the different areas have a distinct look and feel to them, making each new location you discover stand out from the rest. There are loads of animal NPCs that you'll come across on your journey as well that are each wonderfully animated, and who have their own personalities. This gives the game a lot of character and charm, and I really appreciated how much attention to detail there was. You can tell a lot of work went into each location, and that a lot of thought was given to each character, ability, and puzzle. There was a real sense of progression whenever I would find a new piece of equipment, or when I solved a tough puzzle, that kept me engaged the whole time.
Not only does the game have fantastic visuals, great level design, and fun, satisfying gameplay, but it also has some incredible music. Every area is accompanied by it's own catchy, upbeat tune that adds to the lightheartedness of the whole experience. All of these elements come together to form into a very well done platformer that pays homage to the original series, while helping to bring it into the modern era.
There's a lot to like about this game, but there were a couple things that bothered me throughout my playthrough. For one thing, the story is pretty bare bones, with the only major plot points happening at the beginning and the end of the game. The puzzles and platforming are very well done, but in the final areas some of them become a little too complex. You'll find yourself having to switch between multiple animal forms, and needing to have a certain combination of equipment to figure out the solution. This isn't a big deal for most of the game, but near the end I was getting a bit frustrated.
If you're a fan of 2-d platformers, especially Metroidvania style ones, than you'll definitely have a great time with this game, and if you're a fan of the original series you wont want to miss out on this well crafted tribute to those classics. The game's beautiful hand drawn art style, catchy, upbeat soundtrack, unique animal transformation mechanic, and it's charming personality make it very easy to enjoy. There's a huge environment to explore, with many distinct areas that are each full of secrets to discover, and challenging puzzles to solve. It's great to see this series making a comeback, and hopefully this well done entry is just the beginning of many more to come. I had a wonderful experience playing through this, and would highly recommend it to any fan of the genre. I'm going to give Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom a grade of...............
B
Thank you for reading my review of Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom, I hope you enjoyed it!
