PixlBit

This colorful and imaginative game is perhaps the best in the series

The history of the Monster World series is a bit convoluted, being somehow related to both the Alex Kidd games and the Adventure Island games. Most of these games came to the West, but for some reason, MW4 was only released in Japan upon its initial release in 1994. Developed by Westone and published by Sega, this side-scrolling adventure game was later ported to the Wii Virtual Console in 2012. Set in an Arabian Nights-style fantasy world, this colorful game is very good. And while many hold Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap as the high point of the series, I think this exceeds it (I didn't like The Dragon's Curse [the port of WB3 for TG-16], check out my review of that game here). 

You play as Asha, a girl who wants to become a warrior. After proving herself and attaining the title of warrior, the queen asks her to defeat the four evil spirits that have invaded monster world. While the plot is quite typical, it has a few twists along the way that enhance the overall experience. Asha must find the four medallions in order to open the gates to the different worlds and must then vanquish the evil and restore that land. 

The gameplay is reminiscient of both Zelda and Metroid. Asha can attack with a sword, block with a shield, jump, and use items. As the game progresses, you can upgrade your sword and shield as well as buy new armor. As far as combat goes, Asha can do a downward thrust with her sword (much like in Zelda II) as well as attack upwards (this can be very useful for certain bosses). It's unfortunate that Asha cannot use magic or some kind of projectile; she can only attack with her sword, meaning that you have to get close to enemies and bosses to hurt them. The gameplay really opens up after Asha gets a pepelogoo (a fat bird creature). You can use this creature to float in the air, double jump, and other unique things depending on the situation. He also grows in size throughout the game, which is really neat. 

The city of Rapadagna is the hub that you return to between dungeons. Here you can talk to people, shop for items, weapons, and armor, and find the medallions that you need to open the gates. The townspeople will say different things to you as the game progresses, and what's really cool is that you can actually talk to the evil wizards that you fight in the dungeons (they like to hang out in the town apparently). Certain characters stick out, like the rich lady that buys your bars of gold, or the merchant who sells you really nice armor, or the father and son who want to start their own shop (and they eventually do). 

What about the dungeons? Well, I found this interesting: the game actually becomes harder as you progress. The first dungeon (the volcano) is pretty straight-forward with just one objective (to find bombs and blow up boulders), which makes it quite linear. However, the second dungeon (the stream sanctuary) is more maze-like and puzzle-based as you move through pipes and streams. You also have to fill up a bucket with water in order to put out some fires. The third dungeon is where the game gets tough. The pyramid is broken up into three large areas. Here the game becomes a Metroidvania as you obtain a map and have to explore in order to find statues. You have to use specific button combinations to open certain doors (something other MW games have done). This will try your patience, as remembering the combinations can be a challenge and finding everything will take some time. Overall, the game isn't difficult, but these kinds of puzzles can be tricky, and certain players may find them too demanding. 

Every dungeon has a mini boss and main boss. These bosses are always some kind of large creature, and some of them are pretty cool. Some of these bosses can be easy while others can be pretty tough and unfair. All the bosses will move and have usually only two attacks. Once again, if you had projectiles, the bosses would be much more managable, but since you have to get close to the boss, it can be easy to get hurt. However, I forgot to mention that you can find little crystals that will increase your max HP, and you will want to get these. 

The graphics here are excellent! Everything is cute and colorful (even the enemies are cute, although this is true of all the MW games). The different areas are all very unique in appearance, and they even have unique enemies that only appear in that area. The music is also very good, although the themes never have a long loop, meaning you will hear these songs loop A LOT as you play. Most themes are a variation of the main theme, which is really cool, and I was impressed at how they managed to use one theme in such a variety of ways. 

Final Verdict--4 Stars: Recommended 

Overall, this is an excellent game. The world and characters are charming and the gameplay is good. The dungeons are large and interesting, although the game can be a bit demanding. If you like Zelda or Metroid, I think you'll enjoy this game. Honestly, I like it much better than MB3 (which I know a lot of gamers claim to be the best) as I think the level design is much better. The game also looks and sounds great, and it holds up well after all these years. The game is now available to play on the Genesis Mini.