Last week, ININ Games and StudioArtDink surprised fans of the Wonder Boy series by revealing that they were working on a remake of Monster World IV in the form of Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World, and that members of the original development team were involved.
In recent years, the Wonder Boy series made somewhat of a comeback with the release of the Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap remaster, and the "unofficially official" Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, so fans of the series were really excited to see even more attention being paid to the long-running series.
Alongside the announcement, ININ Games and StudioArtDink also revealed a beautiful art that gave fans what they thought would be the game's new art style. Interestingly enough, it looked like they were going for the a similar art style to that seen in the Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap remaster and Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom.
The developers didn't show any gameplay, but they did promise that we would finally see a proper announcement trailer being released during gamescom, and they have kept their promise — as they have finally released the first gameplay trailer for Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World, and fans are not impressed.
Unlike Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap and Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, the art style is not hand-drawn, as it features 3D backgrounds and models. The problem here is that it looks very, and we mean very, unpolished for a current-gen title.
The announcement trailer for Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World was officially released via IGN, and fans of the Wonder Boy are already showing their disappointment in the comments section. Fans' disappointment isn't really uncalled for, since the game looks very rough around the edges, and they expected something more in line with the hand-drawn art style seen in the aforementioned titles.
Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is expected to launch in Q1 of 2021 for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, so there is still time for the developers to polish the game. Hopefully they will listen to fans and do something about the game's presentation, because it really looks like something that could've easily been released 10 years ago, and it still would've gotten the stink eye.
Asha, the warrior protagonist of the game, is involved in a serious incident that will affect the survival of her world. Our green-haired heroine doesn’t have to save the world all alone, and sets off on an adventure with her cute flying friend, the blue Pepelogoo. Asha and the Pepelogoo have to work together to become the heroes the world needs them to be. The road ahead is long - will they be able to save their world?
Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is expected to release for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in 2021.