Wonder Boy Collection

If you flash back to a concern exacerbated from our Turrican Flashback review, Wonder Boy Collection's paltry four titles puts pressure on retro gamers to question its value for money, because it omits series defining titles and key console ports when compared to the more expensive Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection from Strictly Limited Games — which has sold out of its 2,000 PS4 retail copies. It's also worse value than retro compilations that released within weeks of the Wonder Boy Collection, when set side-by-side against the cheaper and more complete Pac-Man Museum+ and the superior extras in Sonic Origins.

Scoring the Wonder Boy Collection is only partly related to the quality of the games on offer. They're all excellent for what they are, and were they appraised independently, would do very well. But this is more about the package as a whole. Yes, there's plenty here to keep you occupied, but at the same time, what could have been is a sticking point. Wonder Boy is a great little series, with games spanning everything from the Master System to the PC Engine, in various guises. It's not difficult to offer a more extensive library for the broader gaming populace, rather than restrict certain titles to a group profiled for their magpie eyes.

Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection is a brilliant homage to a fantastic slate of games with some great options that really optimise it for modern platforms. The controversy of it following a stripped back version, plus containing content originally designed as an exclusive for a physical collection cast a bit of a dark shadow over this collection and mean it probably won’t make for an attractive purchase for people who already own it. However, what we have here is a great selection of products that have aged well and are treated with great regard and respect.

Despite not feeling good about the way this collection has released, and the collection itself feeling like a cash-in more than a celebration of Wonder Boy, there are some excellent games present in Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection. While the two best games in the package have excellent modern remakes, playing the rest of these games is worthwhile, as is seeing the original versions of these classics. This isn’t a release for every player, certainly, but if you’ve yet to check out the series, Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection offers a thorough introduction.

The Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection is the one-stop game for Wonder Boy fans

It is convenient to have a bunch of these titles in one application and does add to the experience of having a variety of distinct platformers. Asha and Shion’s games are easily the highlight of the package, with the original arcade game being an amusing distraction with spicy challenge.

Wonder Boy collection isn’t a bad collection of games. It’s just a simple no-frills homage to a bygone era. It could have done with a few more games, modes or even a few extra celebrations for this once-great franchise. Still, this is a pleasant run and jump down memory lane.

This compilation is a fantastic addition to any retro or modern game collection and is the definitive Wonder Boy experience. The four games on there have been carefully curated and are the best to be included. They have brought the old into the new age by making it more accessible for all generations. They are as fun to play now as they were back then, and kids will love them. If you missed out on these games when they were first released, now is your chance to get on and enjoy them. Even with the rose-tinted goggles removed, I award the Wonder Boy Collection the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.

If you are interested in picking this one up, I would say wait for a sale or price drop before diving in. Decent games in an overall disappointing package.

Wonder Boy Collection is a fun group of titles for people who love classic games. The ability to rewind when you die or get hit is helpful to make progress in titles like Wonder Boy, which are known for their difficulty!