14th September 2003, 3:51 PM
Look! More!
Wonder Boy in Monster Land:
Wonder Boy goes down in history alongside Alex Kidd as one of the biggest game mascots on the SegaMaster System, the unappreciated middle child of late ‘80s consoles. With three decent action titles to his name, Wonder Boy could have been a modest success had he ever appeared on Nintendo’s competition-crushing NES. And if that had happened, his second game, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, might have borne a better cover than this.
![[Image: wbmonsterland.gif]](http://kidfenris.com/wbmonsterland.gif)
![[Image: wbface.gif]](http://kidfenris.com/wbface.gif)
Most Sega Master System releases had limited box art that placed a few images against a boring gray-on-white grid, but Wonder Boy in Monster Land bears a particularly disquieting choice of illustration. Of course, there’s nothing extraordinary about showing some armor-clad hero striking a sword from his enemy’s hand while bats flit about in the background. It’s standard issue for a cartoonish fantasy action game, you might say.
No, the true horror of this cover lies in the eerie, glazed expression of triumphant malice on Wonder Boy’s face. Stare at it for a few seconds and tell me that there isn’t something unsettling about that gleeful, Caligula-esque visage. Wonder Boy appears to be taking excessive joy in the simple act of knocking a foe’s sword aside, which may suggest that he’s doing more. Perhaps the back of the falling knight obscures a gash in the front of his armor, from which his blood and organs are spilling out to the mad delight of that perverse and murderous fiend, Wonder Boy.
It’s not hard to imagine a child looking at this box for a moment too long, catching a glimpse of the hero’s freakish grin, and then fleeing back to the sanctity of a store's Nintendo section, where the most disturbing game cover was that of Mega Man. And so the Sega Master System loses one more potential customer. We hope you're happy, Wonder Boy.
Wonder Boy 3:
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap is often extolled as the best of the Sega Master System’s catalog. It’s a bold claim, but also one with merit, for Wonder Boy III is an engrossing, massive, pleasantly challenging action/platformer that’s similar to Nintendo’s Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and even more enjoyable in some ways. After all, Link never allowed its hero to shapeshift into dragons and birdmen and other creatures, nor did it string together its complex stages or make use of RPG elements as effectively as Wonder Boy III did. But we’re not here to debate the merits of Miyamoto’s game versus Westone’s. We’re here to gaze upon the spectacle of Wonder Boy III’s cover.
![[Image: wbthree.gif]](http://kidfenris.com/wbthree.gif)
While the art isn’t as grotesque as the previous Wonder Boy title, it’s just plain silly in its depiction of the apple-cheeked Wonder Boy prancing down some gray-brick road while scattering monsters in his wake. One might initially think that the beasts are afraid of Wonder Boy’s prowess in combat, but it’s more likely that their fear is motivated by something else, namely that Wonder Boy isn’t wearing any pants.
When you think about it, there can be no other explanation. A band of fearsome creatures like this wouldn’t be frightened of some sword-waving goof, but the sheer horror and public faux pas of a guy hanging it all out would surprise just about anything. Observe the doglike octopus on the upper-right, who seems to have a particularly shocking view of Wonder Boy’s little wonder. And somehow, our hero’s grin takes on new meaning when you realize that he’s marching off to battle with nothing beneath his armored skirt. Is he insane? Or maybe Scottish? Either way, it makes for box art that’s memorable in the worst possible fashion.
Ahahahahaha!! :D :D
Wonder Boy in Monster Land:
Wonder Boy goes down in history alongside Alex Kidd as one of the biggest game mascots on the SegaMaster System, the unappreciated middle child of late ‘80s consoles. With three decent action titles to his name, Wonder Boy could have been a modest success had he ever appeared on Nintendo’s competition-crushing NES. And if that had happened, his second game, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, might have borne a better cover than this.
Most Sega Master System releases had limited box art that placed a few images against a boring gray-on-white grid, but Wonder Boy in Monster Land bears a particularly disquieting choice of illustration. Of course, there’s nothing extraordinary about showing some armor-clad hero striking a sword from his enemy’s hand while bats flit about in the background. It’s standard issue for a cartoonish fantasy action game, you might say.
No, the true horror of this cover lies in the eerie, glazed expression of triumphant malice on Wonder Boy’s face. Stare at it for a few seconds and tell me that there isn’t something unsettling about that gleeful, Caligula-esque visage. Wonder Boy appears to be taking excessive joy in the simple act of knocking a foe’s sword aside, which may suggest that he’s doing more. Perhaps the back of the falling knight obscures a gash in the front of his armor, from which his blood and organs are spilling out to the mad delight of that perverse and murderous fiend, Wonder Boy.
It’s not hard to imagine a child looking at this box for a moment too long, catching a glimpse of the hero’s freakish grin, and then fleeing back to the sanctity of a store's Nintendo section, where the most disturbing game cover was that of Mega Man. And so the Sega Master System loses one more potential customer. We hope you're happy, Wonder Boy.
Wonder Boy 3:
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap is often extolled as the best of the Sega Master System’s catalog. It’s a bold claim, but also one with merit, for Wonder Boy III is an engrossing, massive, pleasantly challenging action/platformer that’s similar to Nintendo’s Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and even more enjoyable in some ways. After all, Link never allowed its hero to shapeshift into dragons and birdmen and other creatures, nor did it string together its complex stages or make use of RPG elements as effectively as Wonder Boy III did. But we’re not here to debate the merits of Miyamoto’s game versus Westone’s. We’re here to gaze upon the spectacle of Wonder Boy III’s cover.
While the art isn’t as grotesque as the previous Wonder Boy title, it’s just plain silly in its depiction of the apple-cheeked Wonder Boy prancing down some gray-brick road while scattering monsters in his wake. One might initially think that the beasts are afraid of Wonder Boy’s prowess in combat, but it’s more likely that their fear is motivated by something else, namely that Wonder Boy isn’t wearing any pants.
When you think about it, there can be no other explanation. A band of fearsome creatures like this wouldn’t be frightened of some sword-waving goof, but the sheer horror and public faux pas of a guy hanging it all out would surprise just about anything. Observe the doglike octopus on the upper-right, who seems to have a particularly shocking view of Wonder Boy’s little wonder. And somehow, our hero’s grin takes on new meaning when you realize that he’s marching off to battle with nothing beneath his armored skirt. Is he insane? Or maybe Scottish? Either way, it makes for box art that’s memorable in the worst possible fashion.
Ahahahahaha!! :D :D
Sometimes you get the scorpion.