The original Wonder Boy: an enjoyable old-school platform-runner. Run, jump, dodge. Simple as can be but extremely addictive. The foundation of a saga that kept getting better.
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Category
Platformer4 players3+
Description
Founding platformer featuring Wonder Boy running on tropical islands and collecting fruit while avoiding enemies. Published by Sega, released in Japan and Europe in 1987. Wonder Boy in side-scrolling view collecting fruits, skateboard, varied power-ups and island bosses. Founding Wonder Boy series on Master System.
Wonder Boy review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
The artwork rests on immediate legibility: a child in a loincloth, a white axe, coloured fruit to collect, against backgrounds where vegetation comes down to a few repeated but clear-cut shapes. The settings change dominant hue every few zones, forest, cave, ice field, night, which is enough to give rhythm to an entirely horizontal progression.
A single theme accompanies almost the whole journey, a skipping melody of a few bars whose repetition becomes a companion rather than a nuisance, an effect obtained through a very simple contour and a tempo that never rushes. The only changes come from the water zones and the end of each round, which gives those variations the value of an event.
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
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Collector interest
First entry in the Wonder Boy saga on Master System, still close to Sega's 1986 arcade as the home adaptation. Japanese release on My Card with the original label, PAL version more widely circulated but the cardboard box regularly turns up damaged. Foundational piece for completists mapping the Wonder Boy tree before the Monster Land branch and the franchise's transition into the Westone hub.
Better with friends
A pioneering adventure platformer where a hero bounds across colorful islands, grabbing fruit and items to survive. Without simultaneous play on the console, it's savored as a relay among loved ones: you pass the pad at tough spots, share tips and compare your progress. Charming and accessible, it makes shared sessions a convivial challenge where everyone wants to push the adventure one notch further than the last.
Is Wonder Boy still worth playing in 2026?
The original Wonder Boy remains a pure, ruthlessly effective platform-runner. You sprint right, jump, dodge and collect fruit to keep vitality ticking, and every screen imposes micro timing decisions. The curve is demanding and some traps echo another era, yet the addictive pull stays intact. For fans of pure arcade platforming and Sega history buffs, it remains a foundational title to know, and a genuinely pleasant pick-up for short sessions today, especially for anyone who enjoys score attack and learning runs by trial and patient repetition.
