I liked it well enough. Sweet art style and good music. But it had a couple of rough spots for sure and ultimately I found it to be quite forgettable.
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Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is top 5 metroidvania ever - Have you played it?
- Thread starter Fredrik
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It's pretty good, but it doesn't crack my top 5. Especially if we count 3D metroidvanias like Metroid Prime. I'd put it behind Hollow Knight, Ori, and Salt and Sanctuary for "indie" metroidvanias.
Agreed.
Wonder Boy 3 on the Mega Drive aside.... that game fooled me as a kid. Rented it for the weekend and for it home and that was not Wonder Boy...
Oh, silly me, not knowing to use three abilities I've practically just been introduced to counter the onslaught of attacks in such a well-designed boss encounter. Had there been more of a build-up to that and maybe even some previous example of some of those same things that happen during the boss battle happening to me prior to teach me those things, sure, I might think differently about it. As it stands, yes, I played less than a tenth of the game, and I have zero regrets for dropping it, because the way it introduces the player to everything is terrible.
Tried it - wanted to love it but, goddamn, if it didn't hand my ass to me. Art direction, music and overall polish is top tier though. I don't regret buying the game one bit as I think games and devs like this should be rewarded.
I mean, since you only played an hour is it a big ask to think you might use the only abilities on your disposal?
Bought it, played it, beat it 100%. Not really one of the best Metroidvanias IMO, but still a great game and would recommend it to all who love the genre. It looks nice, plays decently enough (I think the controls are its biggest issue actually, something just feels a bit off), sounds nice, it's long, challenging both combat and puzzles. It has its flaws, like I said the controls are a bit weird, it has some cheap deaths, the music get a bit repeatative, the story is what it is, respawning enemies even when on the same screen, but they are still pretty small flaws. I bought it during a sale on Switch.
Again, the problem is how much the game throws at you within that single boss battle. Lets take the boots for example. Up until that point, the game merely indicated to me that it allowed me to walk on the bottom of bodies of water. At no point did it indicate that it'd hold me in place when something was trying to pull me into its mouth. Had they simply included a point at which I was being pulled into something BEFORE that boss battle, it would've been more intuitive. The same goes for the rocks. It was nice of them to show me that I could block fireballs, but I don't recall them indicating that I could block upward to stop the rocks from hitting me. Either way, there's still too much stuff going on during that battle. It's a poorly-designed boss battle for the point in the game at which it appears.
I mentioned it before, but Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (incomplete, mind you) does an excellent job of easing you into your abilities. It makes sure you understand one use for something before introducing you to other ways to use that same item. It's really intuitive. Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom isn't.
I played a good part of the game and enjoyed it but it could use more agressive checkpoints, especially when you're just done with a particulary hard platforming segment and you get killed afterwards by a random dude (I'm not also really in love with the combat and being unable to swing upwards).
The game is gorgeous though and still manages to feel modern while having a "retro" vibe to it.
The game is gorgeous though and still manages to feel modern while having a "retro" vibe to it.
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Maybe it's just not your type of game? While it never becomes as difficult as something like Hollow Knight you've only just started and it will most definitely test your will-power to stay focused and try again and again and again with different strategies. There is barely no hand-holding at all. This is a game where you try and you die until you try and you clear an area. I struggled a lot with some parts, I was super frustrated, thought the designers were crazy, nearly dropped it many times... and still ended up absolutely loving it! :)
Meanwhile I bowed out of Era's favorite Bloodborne after just 3 hours with a "Nope. Not doing this.". So I fully understand where you're coming from. It's perfectly alright as far as I'm concerned. Just don't expect many people to listen to your complaints.
You are most welcome. I can only image your team are huge fans of the original, so thanks for taking the risk and putting your heart and soul into it.
I couldn't imagine things working out better.
You are most welcome. Thanks to your teams for taking a great looking spiritual successor, connecting all the dots, and giving the team the time it needed to make the best Monster World game in decades.
I honestly never thought the Dragons Trap would ever get a proper sequel.
I noticed that some people say they gave up around the volcano. I actually would say that's really the game became great with the level design. Glad this thread was made, reminded me that I did needed to play through this. I'm heading to the graveyard rn
I played and beat Wonder Boy The Dragon's Trap a few months ago. Had a blast and I am afraid I much prefer the art style on it. That said I also wanna play Monster Boy (only played the demo so far).
Absolutely love it. Not quite up there with the old wonder boy games but i'm impressed how good it is. I hope all these games are selling well enough to encourage more like it.
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Super Metroid
Ori and the Blind Forest
Castlevania Symphony of the Night
Castlevania Order of Ecclesia
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
There, now go play it! :)
It's worth $60 at least. $40 is a steal. Games of this quality are exceedingly rare. I genuinely believe this one of the best games in the history of the medium.
Also, it's an extremely lengthy game too - but in a good way. It's packed with variety and interesting ideas until the end.
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Awesome! 👍:)
Please share your thoughts as you go through it.
All games have some dips and there are two areas here that I found problematic, haunted manor (long and not very fun) and the volcano (difficult), when you get there just try to push through, it'll be worth it in the end!
no it wasn't. it had a wealth of content. you people are so entitled lmfao
I played more of it and while solid in a few places, I mostly find it... clunky.
Not only the movement which is not as fluid as I wished but also because how it handles its inventory. There's the typical stuff like changing different equipment to progress which is already annoying enough but even the magic or extra weapons you use don't change immediately. For example, the game tells you can change magic with either R or L and that's fine but what you actualy do when you press them is enter a menu that is poorly implemented to actually choose the magic you want to use. I was initially relieved once that it seemed that you could instantly change forms after getting your second transformation but once you get the third one, you get yet another badly designed menu to choose it and it's just tiresome.
I don't know if there's an option to fix this but this just too obnoxious for me to keep playing. I was initially convinced this wouldn't be as old-school obtuse as Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap but it suffers from almost the same exact problems.
Not only the movement which is not as fluid as I wished but also because how it handles its inventory. There's the typical stuff like changing different equipment to progress which is already annoying enough but even the magic or extra weapons you use don't change immediately. For example, the game tells you can change magic with either R or L and that's fine but what you actualy do when you press them is enter a menu that is poorly implemented to actually choose the magic you want to use. I was initially relieved once that it seemed that you could instantly change forms after getting your second transformation but once you get the third one, you get yet another badly designed menu to choose it and it's just tiresome.
I don't know if there's an option to fix this but this just too obnoxious for me to keep playing. I was initially convinced this wouldn't be as old-school obtuse as Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap but it suffers from almost the same exact problems.
i was browsing through games and i thought i bought this game but it turns out i bought "wonder boy"
Great. I just don't see the point of putting that as the default.
I remember turning it off super early but I'm the type of person that checks what every option does.
Me too. Wanted to wait in case it might hit Game Pass, but with this thread hyping it, combined with the sale and me enjoying all the older Wonder Boy games, it seemed like the right time :)
I was waiting for GP originally too but when it hit 50% off I just went for it and I'm so glad I did. Slow beginning but the rest of the game is an absolute joy to play and the world is filled with interesting nooks and crannies.
Never been (and suppose still not) a huge Metroidvania fan, but absolutely love Guacamelee, Guacamelee 2 (not quite as much as the first) and Ori and the blind forest.
Would this be similar to those in anyway?
Would this be similar to those in anyway?
you'll be surprised to find out it is historically one of the earliest examples of one (it's original release was 1989). great game. personally, i think Monster Boy is the pinnacle of the series, but i think it references every installment of the series so it is worth it to have some familiarity with the original titles.
If you're not used to Sega Master System games it's gonna be a bit rough. It's basically exactly like the original game but with a new coat of paint.
This is being my "COVID-19" game right now. (I'm playing it on PC during this lockdown). I've just passed the haunted mansion and for now I would rate it as a good game, but not one of the greatest in general or in its genre.
I entered it with some really high expectations after reading impressions here, but now I can share most of the criticisms that are being thrown at it: feels a bit bloated with too many form-switching and abilities and sections that drag for too long. And is not that well designed in some places, where the objectives are a bit confusing.
Having said that, it is really faithful to the Wonder Boy series (which I mildly enjoyed back then but didn't think was among the top tier of Mega Dive games either). And of course it is beautiful and charming and fun most of the time.
I remember the Mega Drive Monster Worlds being better at balancing energizing with relaxing tunes, but Monster Boy is almost all the time in the latter side.
I entered it with some really high expectations after reading impressions here, but now I can share most of the criticisms that are being thrown at it: feels a bit bloated with too many form-switching and abilities and sections that drag for too long. And is not that well designed in some places, where the objectives are a bit confusing.
Having said that, it is really faithful to the Wonder Boy series (which I mildly enjoyed back then but didn't think was among the top tier of Mega Dive games either). And of course it is beautiful and charming and fun most of the time.
I'm glad I'm not alone in finding something off with the music. The game includes lots of great tunes, but 90% of them are loud, fast paced and also a bit bloated too. Maybe it is worsened by the length of the levels, but I often feel the need for the music to stop (and not even the pause gives me that relief), and end up with a bit of a headache afterwards.
I remember the Mega Drive Monster Worlds being better at balancing energizing with relaxing tunes, but Monster Boy is almost all the time in the latter side.
Yeah, it's still an 8-bit game at heart but it's more "modern gamer friendly" in terms of difficulty than stuff like Metroid 1 or Zelda 2.
From the thread it sounds like the gameplay could be nice, but the art style and aesthetics are really off putting to me so I don't think I'll ever play it unfortunately.
I love Guacamelee, too, and this game is similar in the way it has lots of puzzles along or just off of the main path.
I have recently played Dragon's Trap and it seems very good for a game as old as it is, but it also plays like a very old game and I kind of hate it. Great artwork, though. If you overlook all the QoL issues it has, you may get a sense of Monster Boy's positive qualities as well.
This is really REALLY good. Not enough played it because it was a December release and everyone acts like they have to play year end catch up like they are making Game of the Year content or something.
As a lover of Metroidvanias, I didn't enjoy it. It felt like a chore wrapped in Flash animations.
I finished it, but never connected with it.
The combat was wonky, as was just moving around in general.
I finished it, but never connected with it.
The combat was wonky, as was just moving around in general.