Monster World IV leads next Sega retro wave
By
Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor
Japan-exclusive Genesis game debuts on Wii and PS3 later this year or early next; Sony's system also set to receive Wonder Boy, Alex Kidd, Shinobi games.
Few companies have derived as much from their back catalogs as Sega. The publisher has been regularly mining its Master System, Genesis, and arcade roots since the days of the Dreamcast, and it's showing no signs of changing that any time soon. Today, Sega announced the next wave of its "Vintage Collection" for the PlayStation Network and Wii Virtual Console, a selection of five older titles set for rerelease later this year and early next.
Spearheading the assortment is Monster World IV, a 2D platformer originally released for the Mega Drive in Japan in 1994. Never before released in the West, Monster World IV is the last installment in the joint Wonder Boy-Monster World series. Two more installments in the series will also be added to the PlayStation Network catalog, specifically the arcade game Wonder Boy in Monster Land and Genesis title Wonder Boy in Monster World. Both of those games are already available on the Virtual Console.
Two more non-Monster World titles will be making their PSN downloadable debuts. First off is the Sega Master System staple Alex Kidd in Miracle World (built in to many versions of the hardware itself), which landed on the Virtual Console in 2008. Finally, Revenge of Shinobi will be making its debut on the PlayStation Network as part of this wave. The first installment in the side-scrolling ninja action series to appear on the Genesis, Revenge of Shinobi has been available on the Virtual Console since 2009.
By
Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor
Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.
I already downloaded the Wonderboy pack on XBLA.I missed such jump 'n run games with charme since ages.And the location of Monsterworld IV is the cherry on top of the cake. Very unlucky is the choice of games in the Alex Kid pack! Super Hang On should be together with Out Run and lets say Power Drift. Super Shinobi with Shadow Dancer etc. All i need now is a Shinig Force pack aswell as the Phantasy Star pack(incl. Master System PS1).
AWESOME! Wonderboy is coming out for PS3!
Will we see Spiderman, Batman & Godzilla in Shinobi, or will it be the phony bosses???
Sweet. I'm guessing that Sega and Westone have finally gotten rid of any licensing problems now with the games. Hopefully these will come out eventually on Steam as Sega Genesis Classics DLC (like all the other Genesis games), but if not, I'll get it on PSN - assuming that PSN ever comes back on-line.
@organbank can YOU do it better???
i loved the shinobi games, when i was young ;)
Good can't wait to try Monster World IV on VC.
I want all of them i will buy them on my PSN :)
Wonder Boy!!!!!!! I LOVED those games so much....
This are good news, not everybody had the opportunity to play this games, especially when the game wasn't released here in the West ;)
Great, so not only is the inudstry sinking under the strain of generic shooters, we now have this re-boot fad. No wonder there is zero innovation in the gaming idustry, all we get is crappy shooters and remakes of games that were dead and buried ten yeasr ago. FAIL...
It's true, the Arcade version is coming to VC.
Last I looked the Master System version of Monster Boy in Wonderland is available on Wii but not the arcade version. Unfortunately, the arcade version is vastly superior to the Master System version. Hopefully Gamespot didn't make another error and the arcade version is really on it's way.
I'm guessing Sega will just about finish re-releasing all these 8-bit games in time for the next generation of consoles, and then they will just start over from the beginning for those platforms. Boring and uninspired business model, sadly typical of Japanese gaming companies of late.
I can't wait either. I played Wonder Boy 3 on my Sega Master System for a good 3 months straight back in the day. Never finished it though, but I did beat Wonder Boy (5) In Monster World.
Wonderboy and Monsterland/world/lair games rock! I glad that old school series is returning.
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Wonder Boy in Monster World Review
Wonder Boy in Monster World is a 2D adventure with some nice role-playing nuances and a whole bunch of charm.
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Monster World IV
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- Publisher(s): Sega
- Developer(s): West One
- Genre: Action
- Release: May 10, 2012 (US) »
- ESRB: E
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