Let's Compare - Wonderboy in Monsterland

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Wonder Boy in Monster Land, known by its original arcade release as Wonder Boy: Monster Land, is an action role-playing platform video game developed by Westone Bit Entertainment and released by Sega for arcade cabinets in 1987 and for the Master System in 1988, with a number of other home computer and console ports following. The game is the sequel to the 1986 game Wonder Boy and takes place eleven years after the events in the previous game. After enjoying over a decade of peace on Wonder Land following the defeat of the evil King by Tom-Tom, later bestowed the title "Wonder Boy", a fire-breathing dragon called the MEKA dragon appeared; he and his minions conquered Wonder Land, turning it into "Monster Land". The people, helpless due to their lack of fighting skill, call for Wonder Boy, now a teenager, to destroy the monsters and defeat the MEKA dragon. Players control Wonder Boy through twelve linear levels as he makes his way through Monster Land to find and defeat the MEKA dragon. Players earn gold by defeating enemies and buy weapons, armor, footwear, magic, and other items to help along the way.

The arcade version of Wonder Boy in Monster Land amassed moderate sales, and the Master System version received overall positive reviews in all aspects and has been highly regarded as one of the better titles in the Master System library. Reviews praised the game for its colorful graphics, smooth controls, gameplay, and replay value. Other ports received mixed reception: criticisms included very slow multi-load times on the home computer versions, sub-quality sound, and reduced gameplay area size. A later port to the Nintendo Virtual Console drew additional praise.

PLOT

The plot of Wonder Boy in Monster Land follows the events in its predecessor, Wonder Boy. The game's main protagonist is a young boy named Bock Lee Temjin, in which his friends call him "Tom-Tom". In Wonder Boy Tom-Tom's girlfriend Tanya was kidnapped by the "evil King" and was taken to his woodland kingdom; Tom-Tom set out to the kingdom, defeated the evil King, and saved Tanya. Word spread throughout Wonder Land about Tom-Tom's quest, and people bestowed upon him the title of "Wonder Boy".

Following the evil King's defeat, peace reigned over Wonder Land for eleven years. Then, one day, a fire-breathing dragon called the "MEKA dragon" appeared and terrorized the land. The people, helpless and not skilled in fighting, were defeated by him and his minions; they quickly took over the land, and Wonder Land became known as "Monster Land". The people send out for Wonder Boy, now a teenager, as Wonder Land's only chance to defeat the monsters and demons who inhabited the land and to defeat the MEKA dragon. The deposed Mayor gives Wonder Boy a sword and a life potion and sets him on his way.

Source:  Wikipedia

https://youtu.be/LBuS5fNCn7w

[TrekMD]

Here is another video comparing the various versions of this game...

https://youtu.be/1MBx9L0k8nI