Six games, 21 versions.
This new collection of Wonder Boy games comes out just half a year after the last one.
I don’t think there’s an upgrade path if you bought the previous collection, either.
But it is grim, and I do also love them.
Hopefully the release issues are relatively clear now.
Here is the point where I have to leave objectivity behind and wallow in nostalgia.
Anyway, in our school Wonder Boy was the king.
It was an RPG - I see that now; had no idea at the time.
But it behaved like a platformer.
Honestly, you could go anywhere.
Jump into the water in Psychofox and you died.
Ditto getting into the sky, or disappearing down a crack between blocks.
There was always a screen beyond the screen, a screen where other games just had fail states.
But those are today’s standards!
It’s a series of bite-sized action RPG chunks!
And then, before it gets overwhelming, a boss and you’re off to the next stage.
It’s quite a neat, tidy way of doing things.
What a moment that was back then!
What a moment it is now, actually, when I replay it.
The world feels filled with secrets.
This is where I’m at now, anyway.
I totally get that.
But I can’t wait to spend the next few weeks exploring every inch of these games.