Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap Reviews
Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap sets the standard for remakes in the future. Lizard Cube has done a fantastic job in creating an imaginative world that still caters to fans of the original, as neither party has to make compromises here. The audio and visual switching mechanic works flawlessly and is easily the most exciting part about this title. While some of the game’s mechanics may seem dated due to the original title's age, it’s the gorgeous world and satisfying gameplay that make this game an easy recommendation.
It not only proves that the original was solid enough to endure modern expectations, but even refreshes it with style and affection. If you are a retro and platforming junkie, go get it.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap doesn't always put enough distance between itself and its Master System roots to fully appeal as a modern platformer, but it's so brimming with charming, challenging discoveries that dated design choices don't infuriate anywhere near as often as they reward.
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.
Short but sweet, this superb remake reintroduces an overlooked classic in style.
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is a faithful remaster of a classic that a lot of folks missed. Developer LizardCube has kept the original gameplay completely intact and laid some amazing 2D art and great remastered soundtrack over top of it. It's a faithful preservation of a classic, retaining any of the gameplay pitfalls the original had, but it's surprising how great Wonder Boy III is with some visual and aural polish.
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is a perfect example of a remake that's been done for reasons beyond simple material gain. Lizardcube have clearly put everything they have into making it unerringly respectful of the original – for good and bad – but this has all the look of a gorgeous modern indie platformer, while retaining the old-school gameplay that made it so memorable the first time around.
It's still relevant now just as it was all those years ago, and getting a beautiful art style helps to keep Wonder Boy fresh and enjoyable.
Creating a remake, what a difficult mission ! On the one hand, you have to keep the core of the game intact, and in the other hand, you have to put it in the modern era. Lizarcube's team did it brilliantly by keeping the strengths of the original game almost in its entirety and by giving it a more pleasant aesthetic. With its old-school gameplay and its beautiful graphics, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is a nostalgic journey which could be enjoyed by the older players and the younger ones. At least, if losing and starting over isn't a problem for you.
Review in French | Read full review
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is a really solid retro release, and if you are new to the series, it could provide a decent starting point for your new retro adventures. If you're more into the HD graphics, it's a solid platformer that gets by on teasing your intuition and challenging players to find the best path forward.
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.
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.