Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap Reviews
Much more than a fresh coat of paint, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is a new classic nearly thirty years in the making and truly a project of passion for Lizardcube.
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is a fun, nostalgic romp that brings some of its legacy issues along for the ride. For those that can adapt to that, it is a great game. I am all for bringing back lesser-known titles, especially from consoles such as the Master System, as long as the same love and care is poured into them.
Wonder Boy: Dragon’s Trap is a really short experience, but an amazing one. This is, hands down, the most genuine and touching tribute to one of the greatest classics. Play it, love it.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is a great opportunity to look at one of the early games of the genre with a new hand-drawn graphics and a great soundtrack. If not for the lack of convenient maps and shortcuts next to the bosses and primitive by modern standards combat system, the game could claim the title of best remake of 2017.
Review in Russian | Read full review
As an introduction to the Wonder Boy franchise, you can't go wrong here. As a blast from the past, it will hit all of the right buttons.
It's clear that the team at Lizardcube are massive fans of the original Wonder Boy III, and that affection translates into what is without a shadow of a doubt the definitive version of a game which has previously been ported to the Game Gear and PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16. The new visuals are sumptuous and the soundtrack - which uses traditional instrumentation rather than computer-generated audio - proves just how catchy the original tunes were. Despite the passing of the years The Dragon's Trap remains a perfectly-pitched non-linear action adventure which must surely rank as one of the best of the 8-bit era. Its biggest failing is the fact that like the Master System original, it can be completed in the space of an evening. Still, that evening will be one of the most enjoyable you can possibly spend with your Switch, making this a recommended purchase regardless.
As a remake of 1989's game of the year, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is a brilliant and beautiful recreation. The SEGA classic has been honored by developers who were clearly a fan of the original game and there's a lot of heart that shows through the hand-drawn visuals and classical instrument soundtrack. There are some inherent flaws that have been present for 28 years which don't explain some of the more vague complexities, and without the nostalgia factor to highlight the classic, it could seem like just another indie metroidvania — albeit an exceptionally exquisite one — but Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is a great example of a game made with the kind of passion that sometimes gets lost in the massive productions of modern gaming.
Lizardcube did an amazing job, showing so much love and care for this - still enjoyable - classic. The way the french team allows us to play it with lovely and modern visuals and music just makes us hungry for more of this kind of remasters.
Review in French | Read full review
1989's Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap could have felt way out of its league here in 2017, but the impressive job that LizardCube has done updating it for our modern era has really given it a second life. It's a great retro-meets-future gaming experience marred occasionally by elements that just don't work as well all these years later.
Lizardcube has both made The Dragon's Trap more vibrant and set a fascinating standard for game remakes.
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap sets a new standard for what remakes should include, and I hope future ones can follow in these footsteps with projects that are just as passionate. While it can't escape a few of the original title's annoyances, it is still an engaging and enjoyable experience for 2D-platformer and series fans, and will most likely garner the franchise some new fans, who will come into contact with the series for the first time with this game like I did. I never owned the Sega Master System, but I am elated that I got to experience this all-but-forgotten gem.
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is a dream come true for all the fans of the original Master System classic, Lizard Cube gave us a new standard on how to make classic games remakes.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is everything a remake should be: a thoroughly modern yet completely reverent update that preserves the soul of its inspiration for a new generation of gamers to enjoy.
Technically great remake, that didn't age well in terms of playability. For fans of the genre and historically interested people nevertheless recommendable.
Review in German | Read full review
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is a delightful trip down memory lane. The art for the characters and environments are absolutely astounding, but with a dated gameplay style, it's difficult to say this remake is fully realized. Yes, purists will love that The Dragon's Trap is a nearly 100% replica of the original with updated art, but I feel as though the love given to the art of the game should have been given to the gameplay as well.
Almost perfectly remastered classic from the past. Must-have for fans of the platformers and metroidvania-like games. The time has come to take on some dragons.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Still, in a world of HD rehashing and the seemingly obligatory impulse to re-render old games with the latest in photorealistic graphics tech, it warms my heart to witness the stylistic human touch of Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap. It's a splendid homage, a playable history exercise, and an unexpected touchpoint for the expressive potential of hand-drawn animation in 2017.
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is a remarkable remake of a classic from '89, with an oustanding artistic direction and a clever re-arrangement of the original OST.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Despite carrying over a couple of issues from it's early Sega days, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is still a stellar platformer and metroidvania game.
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap not only introduces us to Wonder Girl, but adds beautifully reimagined hand drawn graphics, and the ability to seamlessly swap to the original game.