Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap

Mechanics

Like its 8-bit predecessor, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is a classic 2D platformer, in which you mostly explore maps, gather items, avoid traps and fight enemies. You start out as a human warrior, equipped with a wide range of magical items. It doesn't last long, however, as after killing the dragon its curse transforms you into a humanoid lizard and you lose all your gear. As a consolation, you can now breathe fire and crouch. There are five powerful boss dragons in the game to defeat. During the story campaign you transform into other animals as well, and every transformation gives you a new set abilities. As a mouse you can climb some wall, as a piranha you can breathe underwater, as a lion you can use a powerful sword, and as a falcon you can fly. Every transformation is directly linked to the last defeated boss, so you have no control over which animal you'll change into whatsoever.

After the linear first level, the game's structure branches out, allowing you to explore the linked maps and decide what tasks to take care of next. Some locations, however, are inaccessible before unlocking a particular form of the Wonder Boy. You also have to gather gold to buy your equipment with.

Technical aspects

Compared to the original, the biggest change is the game's visuals, created from scratch and working in high resolution, featuring cartoon graphics and flowing animation. The game's controls have also been improved, while the plot, level layout and mechanics remained virtually the same.