Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap Review: A Beautiful Tribute

If there was ever a series that didn’t need a remake but desperately needed awareness to its awesomeness, it’s the Wonder Boy series. Reskinned, rereleased and ported to death, you’ve probably played the series as Adventure Island or if you’re not from the States, a plethora of other games. However, that doesn’t mean LizardCube’s homage to the third installment isn’t special. As a matter of fact, it’s beautiful and the best way to play.

At the same time, the old-school action-RPG gameplay may not be for everyone. There’s plenty of backtracking and dying in this adventure and for younger gamers, it may feel a bit too foreign. At the same time, the new visual coat of paint does wonders to the game’s appeal and after all these years it’s still a classic.

For those unfamiliar with the game, Dragon’s Trap follows our hero Tom-Tom, who’s cursed after defeating the Meka Dragon. Now trapped in a dragon’s body, he must traverse the land in hope of finding a cure. Along the way, he’ll get wrapped up in a big adventure. With plenty of enemies to fight and equipment to upgrade, the seeds for a fun side-scrolling action platformer with RPG elements are in place.

Dragon’s Trap is so much more than story though. It’s about the environment. The story takes you through castles, caves, underwater and more. While it was a decent looking game when it was originally released, LizardCube has ensured the game looks the part of a modern-day adventure. At the same time, they’ve made sure not to alienate any hardcore fans. The ability to switch between the classic visuals and the absolutely gorgeous hand drawn character models is an awesome touch. It’s a nice way for parents and kids to connect with the title all again- or for the first time.

Again, while the approach to gameplay is simple and accessible, it’s far from a modern RPG. For this reason, gamers not familiar with it may pass up on it. Make no mistake, Dragon’s Trap can be a ferociously difficult game. Jumps need to be timed well and enemies have specific patterns to look out for. Just like the Mega Man series, if you don’t pay attention you’re going to die, a lot.

In the end, while the latest version of Dragon’s Trap may not entice as many new players as it should, it’s a wonderful addition to the series and a game hardcore gamers will smile about. A ton of tender love and care went into this title and it’s obvious from the first second you fire it up.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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