Monster World IV

From Sega Retro

For the 2021 remake, see Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World.

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MonsterWorldIV Title.png

Monster World IV
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Virtual Console, PlayStation 3
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Sound driver: Westone sound driver
Genre: Action[3][4]

















Number of players: 1
Official in-game languages:
  • 日本語
  • English
  • Release Date RRP Code
    Sega Mega Drive
    JP
    ¥8,8008,800 G-5519
    Wii Virtual Console
    JP
    600pts600[6]
    CERO: A
    Wii Virtual Console
    US
    900pts900[7]
    ESRB: Everyone
    Wii Virtual Console
    EU
    900pts900[8]
    PEGI: 7+
    Wii Virtual Console
    DE
    900pts900[8]
    USK: 0
    Sony PlayStation 3
    JP
    ¥571 (600)571 (600)[11] NPJB-00092
    CERO: A
    Sony PlayStation 3
    US
    $4.994.99[12] NPUB-30324
    ESRB: Everyone
    Sony PlayStation 3
    EU
    €4.494.49[14] NPEB-00416
    PEGI: 7+
    Sony PlayStation 3
    DE
    €4.494.49[15] NPEB-00416
    USK: 0
    Sony PlayStation 3
    UK
    £3.693.69[16] NPEB-00416
    PEGI: 7+
    Sony PlayStation 3
    AU
    $6.756.75[17] NPEB-00416
    OFLC: General (G)
    Sony PlayStation 3
    KR
    ₩6,3006,300[13] NPHB-00254
    GRB: All
    Sony PlayStation 3
    TW
    NT$159159[18] NPHB-00254
    GSRR: 0+

    Monster World IV (モンスターワールドIV) is an action game in the Wonder Boy franchise, and was released for the Sega Mega Drive exclusively in Japan in 1994. Despite its name, it is the sixth Wonder Boy title.

    For many years, this was the last game in the franchise until a remake of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap and a brand-new title, Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, were eventually announced and released in 2017 and 2018 respectively. However, Monster World IV is the last game in the series to have been developed by Westone, and the last game released under Sega's helm.

    Story

    MonsterWorldIV MD Intro Asha.png

    Asha in the opening sequence.

    Monster World had been in peace for many centuries, and while much of its history has been lost to the sands of time, the bits of tales that endured became legends. Alas, history repeats itself once again, as the peace was broken when four wizards, all serving an evil entity deep underground, had sealed away the four spirits, allowing monsters to run amok throughout the land. With the world soon to be plunged into darkness, the spirits' pleas for help travel across the winds, reaching the ears of Asha, a young girl living in Estafan Village. Destined to become the hero the world needs her to be, Asha prepares to leave her village.

    In terms of plot and setting, the game is only tangentially related to previous games in the series, specifically Wonder Boy in Monster World - the game takes place in Monster World several centuries after, the helper characters from the last game appear as spirits, and a book in a library references Shion's adventure. It features no references to the events of the other Monster World games.

    Gameplay

    Monster World IV is somewhat of a departure from previous games, and lacks "Wonder Boy" from the title as the main character is a young girl named Asha, instead of "Wonder Boy" or Shion from Wonder Boy in Monster World. Asha is more acrobatic than previous protagonists in that she has extra sword moves such as upward and downward mid-air stabs with Up+B and Down+B respecitvely, and has the ability to run by double-tapping Left or Right. Instead of crouching, holding Down raises Asha's shield to block attacks from the front. Throughout the game, Asha will gain assistance from an amorphous blue creature known as a Pepelogoo, who she can call with the A button and use like a parachute when jumping, gain a second jump or to throw at distant switches or obstacles to solve puzzles.

    Like in previous games, Asha can upgrade her equipment, but she can only hold one type of equipment at a time. Armor increases how many pink hearts Asha has. Shields increase the strength of Asha's shield, and can grant "Magical Defense" that can activate when hit by certain types of attacks such as fire or ice. Swords increase Asha's attack power, with some swords being capable of dealing "Magical Hits", a critical strike that has a 20% chance of occurring when attacking enemies. Life Drops can be collected throughout the game, increasing the player's life by one heart for every 10 collected.

    Progression is similar to previous games, though the player doesn't have as much freedom as Monster World II or III. The player advances through levels in a stage-by-stage type of progression with Rapadagna City serving as a hub. A big change is the player cannot revisit any previous area once it has been cleared, so any items missed will become permanently inaccessible for the rest of the game. This almost puts Monster World IV in arcade game territory like Wonder Boy in Monster Land.

    Items

    Life Drop
    Collect 10 to permanently increase Asha's life by one heart. There are a total of 150 in the game.
    Heart
    Restores Asha's life by one heart when collected.
    Big Heart
    Fully restores Asha's life when collected.
    Healing Medicine
    Can be used to fully restore Asha's life at any time, however she can only carry one of these at a time. If Pepelogoo is present, he will automatically use this to revive Asha if she dies.
    Herb
    Can be used to restore Asha's life by three hearts at any time.
    Gold Bar
    Can be sold to a rich lady for high prices in Rapadagna City.
    Courage Crystal
    Required to access the Tower of Silence.
    Magic Lamp
    Summons the Genie, who will take Asha back to Rapadagna City if needed.
    Pepelogoo Egg
    Medallions
    Bomb
    Required to blow up blocked doorways in Handera Volcano.
    Water Bucket
    Map
    Statues
    Magic Carpet

    Equipment

    Swords

    Asha's Sword
    Price:
    N/A
    Strength:
    1
    Magical Hit strength:
    N/A
    Asha's starting sword, given to her by her father.
    Khan' Sword
    Price:
    700G
    Strength:
    1
    Magical Hit strength:
    2
    Shah's Sword
    Price:
    1,800G
    Strength:
    2
    Magical Hit strength:
    N/A
    Cyrus's Sword
    Price:
    3,000G
    Strength:
    2
    Magical Hit strength:
    4
    Caliph's Sword
    Price:
    5,500G
    Strength:
    4
    Magical Hit strength:
    N/A
    Ishtar's Sword
    Price:
    xxxxG
    Strength:
    4
    Magical Hit strength:
    8
    Sword of Babel
    Price:
    1,600G
    Strength:
    1
    Magical Hit strength:
    8
    Legendary Sword
    Price:
    19,800G
    Strength:
    8
    Magical Hit strength:
    N/A
    Part of the Legendary Equipment and the best sword in the game. Sold by the travelling merchant in the far east of Rapadagna City after entering the Underground Fort for the first time.

    Shields

    Plain Shield
    Price:
    N/A
    Strength:
    0
    Magical Defense:
    N/A
    Asha's starting shield.
    Flame Shield
    Price:
    450G
    Strength:
    1
    Magical Defense:
    Fire
    Thunder Shield
    Price:
    450G
    Strength:
    1
    Magical Defense:
    Electricity
    Ice Shield
    Price:
    xxxxG
    Strength:
    1
    Magical Defense:
    Ice
    Steel Shield
    Price:
    6,600G
    Strength:
    2
    Magical Defense:
    Non-elemental attacks
    Rainbow Shield
    Price:
    2,700G
    Strength:
    1
    Magical Defense:
    Any elemental attack
    Magic Shield
    Price:
    4,000G
    Strength:
    2
    Magical Defense:
    Any elemental attack
    Legendary Shield
    Price:
    12,800G
    Strength:
    3
    Magical Defense:
    All attacks
    Part of the Legendary Equipment and the best shield in the game. Sold by the travelling merchant in the far east of Rapadagna City after entering the Underground Fort for the first time.

    Armor

    Traveler's Armor
    Price:
    N/A
    Endurance:
    3
    Asha's starting armor, made for her by her mother.
    Warrior's Armor
    Price:
    980G
    Endurance:
    5
    Knight's Armor
    Price:
    3,600G
    Endurance:
    7
    Hero's Armor
    Price:
    9,800G
    Endurance:
    10
    Legendary Armor
    Price:
    xxxxG
    Endurance:
    15
    Part of the Legendary Equipment and the best armor in the game. Sold by the travelling merchant in the far east of Rapadagna City after entering the Underground Fort for the first time.
    Debug Armor
    Price:
    1,980G
    Endurance:
    15
    Allows the player to change Pepelogoo's level for debugging purposes. See the hidden content page for more information.

    Areas

    Notavailable.svg

    Estafan Village
    Asha's home village and the starting point of her adventure. Be sure you talk to her family for supplies and the Courage Crystal before you leave.

    Notavailable.svg

    Tower of Silence
    A tall tower summoned by the Courage Crystal, and the first major challenge of Asha's journey. Enter rooms and defeat enemies in order to open the way forward.

    An oomukade guards the top of the tower, and she only has one attack. Stab her enough times to defeat her and claim the Magic Lamp to prove Asha's worth as a hero, then summon the Genie of the Lamp for a ride to the Kingdom of Rapadagna.

    Notavailable.svg

    Rapadagna City
    The Kingdom of Rapadagna serves as the hub for all of the areas in the game, and is filled with all kinds of buildings that offer services such as equipment shops and a rich woman who will buy Gold Bars off Asha for prices that increase the further the player is into the game. A Pepelogoo pet craze appears to be taking the city by storm when Asha arrives, which begin to cause some unsavoury changes later on.

    On her first visit to Rapadagna, Asha must make an appointment with Queen Purapril XIII in the palace and earn her title as a knight, then check the treasury for the Sun Medallion to take to the cathedral, and the Pepelogoo Egg to hatch her own Pepelogoo. On repeat visits, she will need to check a building occupied by suspicious-looking men to find more Medallions to open new areas, and feed her Pepelogoo with Pepe Fruit from the tree near the palace.

    Notavailable.svg

    Handera Volcano
    An active volcano in the southwestern region of the map that is occupied by flaming ghosts, rocky golems and a fire-breathing harpy. Asha can throw Pepelogoo at the lava spouts and geysers to serve as a platform to give her a boost, and she can also carry him above her head for protection against falling fireballs thanks to Pepelogoos having fireproof fur.

    At the bottom of the volcano's tunnels is the Flame Wizard, who is holding the Earth Spirit hostage. Defeat him and set the Earth Spirit free.

    Notavailable.svg

    Stream Sanctuary
    In the southeastern corner of the map is a temple submerged in water and crawling with electric jellyfish. As Asha ventures through the sanctuary and rides the flowing water currents, she will find a bucket that she can fill with water to extinguish bonfires with. Asha cannot swim in large pools of water, so she'll need to call Pepelogoo to fish her out if she falls in.

    After solving an Honest Axe-type of riddle with the bucket, Asha will confront the Water Wizard. Defeat him to liberate the Moon Spirit.

    Notavailable.svg

    Ice Pyramid
    This northeastern area used to be a hot desert, but after the Sun Spirit was captured by the Ice Wizard, the desert transformed into a freezing wasteland with slippery ground that's difficult to traverse. Asha will venture through a large pyramid that's split into three sections, each with their own set of riddles and a puzzle that involves collecting statues and placing them in specific orders to fight the boss of each section. In keeping with Wonder Boy series tradition, before she can enter the final section, the Sphinx will give her a pop quiz in which she must answer 10 true-or-false questions to proceed. Get a question wrong and she must wash her face in the nearby spring to try again.

    At the end of the final section awaits the Ice Wizard. By defeating him will the sun be able to rise on the desert again.

    Notavailable.svg

    Sky Castle
    In order to save her Pepelogoo after being attacked by the corrupted Queen, Asha must ride a magic carpet to this floating castle in the sky. Without Pepelogoo around to help, she'll be in for a dangerous time as the castle is filled with conveyor belts, strong fans and giant moving blocks that will crush her. The castle's civilians have been shrunk by a magical door that will also shrink Asha once she goes in, and by finding another door will they be able to return to normal.

    After braving the dangers of the Sky Castle, Asha must defeat the Cloud Wizard to rescue the Wind Spirit and set the castle free from evil.

    Notavailable.svg

    Underground Fort
    After Pepelogoo comes back to cleanse Monster World of corruption with a song, a deep hole opens up within Rapadagna Palace, leading to the final stronghold of evil. Here, Asha must fight every enemy and mini-boss she has fought in previous areas as she makes her way down to slay the final boss and save Monster World.

    Achievements

    Main article: Monster World IV/Achievements.

    History

    The large amount of text may suggest why the game was not released outside of Japan, however a fan translation by translation groups Demiforce and DeJap surfaced in 2002. Monster World IV was also playable via the GameTap service (which was available in the west), though the game was not translated.

    Monster World IV has also been released as part of the Wii's Virtual Console service and as part of Sega Vintage Collection: Monster World for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with an official English translation by M2, which marks the game's first English release. Its copyright notations in the game's Operations Manual and ROM header indicate that it was to be released a year prior to its 2012 release.

    The game was also re-released as part of all versions of the Mega Drive Mini, with the same English translation from the 2012 release being used when the system language is set to any western language. A full-colour digital manual written in English was also specially created for this release and made available online for western units.

    On August 22, 2020, a remake of the game, titled Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World, was announced, developed by STUDIOARTDINK alongside members of the original Wonder Boy team including Ryuichi Nishizawa, and published by ININ Games. The first trailer was unveiled a week later during the Gamescom 2020 livestream. The remake was released for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in 2021, with the original Mega Drive game included as a bonus in physical editions of the game.

    Versions

    Localised names

    Also known as
    Language Localised Name English Translation
    Japanese モンスターワールドIV Monster World IV

    Production credits

    Main article: Monster World IV/Production credits.

    Digital manuals

    Magazine articles

    Main article: Monster World IV/Magazine articles.

    Promotional material

    Logo-pdf.svg
    Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1994-04: "April 1994" (1994-03-08)
    Logo-pdf.svg

    Artwork

    Physical scans

    Sega Retro Average 
    Publication Score Source
    {{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
    Based on
    0 review
    Sega Retro Average 
    Publication Version Score
    1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
    70
    [19]
    1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
    40
    [20]
    Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
    73
    [21]
    Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU)
    70
    [22]
    GameFan (US) NTSC-J
    89
    [23]
    Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J
    80
    [24]
    Igry Sega Luchshiye iz luchshikh. Vypusk 1 (RU)
    75
    [25]
    Joypad (FR) NTSC-J
    86
    [26]
    MAN!AC (DE) NTSC-J
    78
    [27]
    Mega Force (FR) NTSC-J
    88
    [28]
    Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
    88
    [29]
    Tricks 16 bit (RU)
    68
    [30]
    Video Games (DE) NTSC-J
    82
    [31]
    Sega Mega Drive
    76
    Based on
    13 reviews

    Monster World IV

    Mega Drive, JP
    MonsterWorldIV MD JP Box.jpg
    Cover
    MonsterWorldIV MD JP CartTop.jpg
    Monster World IV MD JP cart.jpg
    Cart
    MonsterWorldIV MD JP Manual.pdf
    Manual

    Technical information

    Main article: Monster World IV/Technical information.

    External links

    • Sega of Japan Virtual Console pages: Mega Drive
    • Nintendo catalogue pages: US, UK
    • Monster World IV on PlayStation.com: JP, US, KR
    • Monster World IV on PlayStation Store: JP, US, UK, AU, KR, TW

    References

    1. https://www.mtwo.co.jp/development/retrogame-2/#tab-1
    2. https://www.mtwo.co.jp/development/retrogame-1/#tab-5
    3. File:MonsterWorldIV MD JP Box.jpg
    4. 4.0 4.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-20 09:51)
    5. https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/software/06.html (Wayback Machine: 2018-03-05 22:42)
    6. http://vc.sega.jp:80/vc_mw4/ (Wayback Machine: 2008-01-16 16:03)
    7. 7.0 7.1 http://www.nintendo.com:80/games/detail/gsmvneZxvTfVVnbyPsOMhGTMKoWxdkAF (Wayback Machine: 2012-05-13 10:49)
    8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 http://www.nintendolife.com/games/megadrive/monster_world_iv (Wayback Machine: 2017-07-05 02:07)
    9. https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Virtual-Console-Wii-/Monster-World-IV-278227.html (archive.today)
    10. https://www.nintendo.de/Spiele/Virtual-Console-Wii-/Monster-World-IV-278227.html (archive.today)
    11. 11.0 11.1 http://www.jp.playstation.com:80/software/title/jp0177npjb00092_00mnstrwrld4psnjp1.html (Wayback Machine: 2012-09-15 02:33)
    12. 12.0 12.1 http://blogs.sega.com/2012/05/18/vintage-collection-3-on-the-way-to-xbla-and-psn/ (Wayback Machine: 2017-06-29 13:39)
    13. 13.0 13.1 PlayStation Store (ko-kr; HP0177-NPHB00254_00-MNSTRWRLD4PSNAS1) (Wayback Machine: 2018-03-31 16:28)
    14. 14.0 14.1 PlayStation Store (fr-fr; EP0177-NPEB00416_00-MNSTRWRLD4PSNEU1) (Wayback Machine: 2018-03-31 16:33)
    15. 15.0 15.1 PlayStation Store (de-de; EP0177-NPEB00416_00-MNSTRWRLD4PSNEU1) (Wayback Machine: 2018-12-04 01:04)
    16. 16.0 16.1 PlayStation Store (en-gb; EP0177-NPEB00416_00-MNSTRWRLD4PSNEU1) (Wayback Machine: 2018-03-31 16:29)
    17. 17.0 17.1 PlayStation Store (en-au; EP0177-NPEB00416_00-MNSTRWRLD4PSNEU1) (Wayback Machine: 2018-03-31 16:30)
    18. 18.0 18.1 PlayStation Store (en-tw; HP0177-NPHB00254_00-MNSTRWRLD4PSNAS1) (Wayback Machine: 2018-03-31 16:29)
    19. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 186
    20. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 340
    21. Beep! MegaDrive, "April 1994" (JP; 1994-03-08), page 21
    22. Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 105
    23. GameFan, "Volume 2, Issue 7: June 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 26
    24. Hippon Super, "May 1994" (JP; 1994-04-03), page 51
    25. Igry Sega Luchshiye iz luchshikh. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 2000-12-07), page 140
    26. Joypad, "Septembre 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 36
    27. MAN!AC, "07/94" (DE; 1994-06-08), page 40
    28. Mega Force, "Septembre 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 90
    29. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 84
    30. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 225
    31. Video Games, "6/94" (DE; 1994-05-25), page 99


    Monster World IV

    MonsterWorldIV Title.png

    Main page | Comparisons | Maps | Achievements | Credits | Hidden content | Bugs | Magazine articles | Reception | Region coding | Technical information


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    Games in the Wonder Boy Series
    Wonder Boy (1986) | Wonder Boy in Monster Land (1987) | Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (1988) | Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap (1989) | Wonder Boy in Monster World (1991) | Monster World IV (1994) | Monster World Complete Collection (2007) | Sega Vintage Collection: Monster World (2012) | Arcade Archives Wonder Boy (2014) | Wonder Boy Returns (2016) | Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (2017) | Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom (2018) | Wonder Boy Returns Remix (2019) | Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World (2021) | Wonder Boy Collection (2022) | Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection (2022)
    Music
    Monster World Complete Collection Original Sound Track (2007)
    Book
    Wonder Boy V Monster World III Koushiki Guide Book (1991)