Trap remix: Wonder Boy shows off new-old switching
Proto-Metroidvania
One game I've overlooked in the eternal crusade to remake or remaster every game released prior to 2014 is Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap [official site], a remake of a Sega Master System platformer from 1989. It's a game fondly remembered, I'm told, though I wouldn't know as my Master System experiences were five minutes round a friend's house getting bored playing After Burner. Anyway! The Dragon's Trap comes to my attention now through a trailer showing off switching on the fly between its original art and the hand-drawn new style. Observe:
The Dragon's Trap, then, is an action-platformer starring a lad who can shapeshift into animals with different powers. This remake brings a hand-drawn art style and new soundtrack but, if you don't dig either of those facets, you can switch to the older version and mix 'n' match. That's what that trailer was about. The one I mentioned. Just ↑ up there.
Oh and yes, password codes from the original release will work in this. If you still have old notebooks with codes and maps and things from the '80s, I am horrified by your hoarding.
Wonder Boy III is a bit of a Metroidvania, as I understand it, with a non-linear world that opens up as you gain more abilities. Not a Metroidvania as we know 'em in their modern crystalised form but, y'know, it has some familiar elements.
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is due to hit consoles in spring then PC, er, "later". That could also be spring, I suppose. It's made by Lizardcube and published by DotEmu.