Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair

n/a

System 16
Mega Drive

Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair

System(s): Sega System 16, Sega Mega Drive, Virtual Console, Steam

Publisher:

Sega Enterprises, Ltd.

Sega Corporation

Developer:

Westone

M2

Distributor:

Kanal 10 (SE rental) (older)

Hent Gruppen (SE rental) (newer)

Samsung (KR)

Sound driver:

SMPS Z80

Genre: Action^[1]^[2]

Number of players: 1-2

Release	Date	RRP	Code
JP	1988-11-"middle ten days of month"^[3]	¥?	?
US	1988	$?	?

JP	1990-12-22^[2]	¥6,0006,000	G-4025
EU	1991-04		1108
BX	199x
UK	1991-04	£34.9934.99^[4]^[5]	1108
SE (Rental)	199x
AU	199x
KR	199x		GM4044JG
JP ▼	2009-01-06^[6]	600pts600^[7]
US ▼	2009-04-20^[8]	900pts900^[8]
EU ▼	2009-03-06^[9]^[10]	800pts800^[9]
AU ▼	2009-03	800pts800^[11]
US ▼	2011-01-26^[12]	$2.992.99^[13]	71168
EU ▼	2011-01-26^[12]	€2.492.49^[13]	71168
UK ▼	2011-01-26^[12]	£1.991.99^[13]	71168
AU ▼	2011-01-26^[12]	$3.493.49^[13]	71168
US ▼	2019-02-01^[14]	$0.990.99^[15]	71168
EU ▼	2019-02-01^[14]	€0.990.99^[15]	71168
UK ▼	2019-02-01^[14]	£0.790.79^[15]	71168
AU ▼	2019-02-01^[14]	$1.351.35^[15]	71168
US ▼	2019-02-01^[14]	$0.990.99^[15]	71168
EU ▼	2019-02-01^[14]	€0.990.99^[15]	71168
UK ▼	2019-02-01^[14]	£0.790.79^[15]	71168
AU ▼	2019-02-01^[14]	$1.351.35^[15]	71168

Non-Sega versions
<img alt="CD-ROM²" src="https://retrocdn.net/images/thumb/7/72/CDROM2_logo.svg/16px-CDROM2_logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="10" srcset="https://retrocdn.net/images/thumb/7/72/CDROM2_logo.svg/24px-CDROM2_logo.svg.png 1.5x, https://retrocdn.net/images/thumb/7/72/CDROM2_logo.svg/32px-CDROM2_logo.svg.png 2x" />

Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (ワンダーボーイIII モンスターレア) is a Sega System 16 game in the Wonder Boy series. It is the third and final Wonder Boy arcade game.

It was later ported to the Mega Drive. It was also ported to the PC Engine CD-ROM², with the Japanese release retaining the Wonder Boy name in the title, although Sega was not involved with it.

It is not to be confused with Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap, which is the third Wonder Boy game released on the Sega Master System, but actually the fourth game in the overall series.

Story

Gameplay

Leo and Princess Purapril

The game combines elements of a platformer and a shooter. It is unlike other games in the Wonder Boy series, though it resembles the original Wonder Boy game more than it does the Monster World games, and the screen automatically scrolls to the right. The game can be played with a single player or with two players simultaneously. Player one plays as a green-haired boy named Leo, who shoots from his sword, and player two plays as a pink-haired girl named Princess Purapril (Priscilla in the Western localizations), who shoots from her staff.

Characters are moved with and , jump with or , and shoot with . While in the air, characters can slow their descent with or fall faster with . The character's life bar steadily diminishes as time passes. Health is replenished by collecting food items or weapon icons. Some fruits, when shot, expand and burst into multiple items. Weapon icons change the character's weapon temporarily.

The second part of each round has the characters ride dragons and plays more like a conventional shoot-'em-up. In these segments, the character's health does not decrease over time, so food items are not present. Characters cannot jump or turn around in these segments.

Players are given extra lives at 5,000, 10,000, and 18,000 points.

Weapons

	Spiral Shot
	Surrounds the character in spirals that damage enemies they touch.
	Missile
	Fires missiles that explode in short range.
	Wide Ring Blaster
	Shoots rings that spread out into a large area.
	Fireball
	Shoots fireballs laterally in front of and behind the character.
	Beam
	Fires beams that penetrate through multiple targets.
	Big Fire Shot
	Emanates large fireballs in a spiral out from the character.

Fairies

Fairies appear floating in bubbles and can be broken out by shooting the bubble.

	Pink Fairy
	Turns food into pieces of cake for a duration, which fully replenish the life bar.
	Green Fairy
	Makes the character invincible for a duration.
	Trix
	Turns food into flowers for a duration, which award bonus points.

Rounds

System 16 version

	Round 1

	Round 2

	Round 3

	Round 4

	Round 5

	Round 6

	Round 7

	Round 8

	Round 9

	Round 10

	Round 11

	Round 12

	Round 13

	Round 14

Mega Drive version

	The Southern Isles

	The Jungle

	Cavern

	Deserted Village

	Ice World

	The Desert

	A Town in the Valley

	The Northern Isles

	The Enemy Hideout

History

Legacy

Although the game was more closer to the original Wonder Boy than the Monster World series, Monster Lair would be loosely referenced in later games in the series. Wonder Boy in Monster World features some enemies and bosses from Monster Lair making reappearances as regular enemies, and the music for Round 14 would be used for the final area. Both that game and Monster World IV also feature princesses who bear the Purapril name.

The System 16 and Mega Drive versions of Monster Lair saw various re-releases via compilations such as Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 29: Monster World Complete Collection, Sega Mega Drive Classics and Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection, with the Mega Drive version receiving more ports. The Mega Drive and CD-ROM² versions of the game were also brought to the Wii's Virtual Console service.

Versions

Monster Lair was ported to home platforms relatively unscathed, although the Mega Drive version has entirely re-drawn graphics to better suit the hardware.

Production credits

Main article: Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair/Production credits.

Mega Drive version

Assistant: Takanori Kurihara
Composer & Sound Effects: Shinichi Sakamoto^[16]

Source:

Uncredited

Cover artist: Osamu Muto (Sun Creation Corporation)

Source:

Sega TV Game Genga Gallery^[17]

Digital manuals

Steam manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair/Promotional material.

Artwork

Physical scans

System 16 version

System 16, JP

Instuction card(s)

System 16, World

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average

Publication

Version

Score

(RU)

40

^[18]

(DE)

75

^[19]

(JP)

NTSC-J

58

^[20]

(UK)

64

^[21]

(UK)

PAL

79

^[22]

(UK)

67

^[23]

(JP)

NTSC-J

60

^[24]

(FR)

75

^[25]

(JP)

NTSC-J

20

^[26]

(FR)

NTSC-J

78

^[27]

(UK)

PAL

27

^[28]

(JP)

NTSC-J

64

^[29]

(UK)

PAL

37

^[30]

(UK)

47

^[31]

(ES)

90

^[32]

(UK)

47

^[33]

(FR)

85

^[34]

(DE)

69

^[35]

(UK)

NTSC-J

81

^[36]

(UK)

41

^[37]

(UK)

PAL

25

^[38]

(UK)

76

^[39]

(UK)

PAL

79

^[40]

(JP)

NTSC-J

53

^[41]

(RU)

40

^[42]

(RU)

68

^[43]

(GR)

PAL

71

^[44]

(UK)

86

^[45]

	61
Based on 28 reviews

Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, BX^†
Cover

Mega Drive, SE (rental; Kanal 10)
Cover

Mega Drive, SE (rental; Hent; black)
Cover

Mega Drive, SE rental (HENT black; Alt)
Cover

Mega Drive, AU (Horizontal manual)
Cover

Mega Drive, AU (Vertical manual)
Cover

Mega Drive, AU (?)
Cover

Mega Drive, KR
Cover
Cart

Technical information

Main article: Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair/Technical information.

External links

Sega of Japan Virtual Console pages: Mega Drive
Nintendo catalogue pages: US, UK, AU
Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair on Steam

References

NEC Retro has more information related to Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair

↑ File:WB3ML MD JP Box.jpg
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-20 09:51)
↑ Mega Drive Fan, "June 1992" (JP; 1992-05-08), page 75
↑ Raze, "September 1991" (UK; 1991-07-25), page 76
↑ Sega Power, "July 1991" (UK; 1991-06-06), page 25
↑ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/software/09.html (Wayback Machine: 2018-01-28 13:27)
↑ http://vc.sega.jp:80/vc_lair (Wayback Machine: 2009-02-03 13:09)
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 http://www.nintendo.com:80/games/detail/gm69Zp71U1JJHcy0E9aMizMZd7-zYuOJ (Wayback Machine: 2010-11-21 03:04)
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 http://www.nintendolife.com/games/megadrive/wonder_boy_iii_monster_lair (Wayback Machine: 2017-06-09 06:06)
↑ https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Virtual-Console-Wii-/Wonder-Boy-III-Monster-Lair--280163.html (archive.today)
↑ http://www.nintendo.com.au/index.php?action=catalogue&prodcat_id=41&prod_id=19789&pageID=4 (Wayback Machine: 2012-03-28 00:18)
↑ ^12.0 ^12.1 ^12.2 ^12.3 https://steamdb.info/app/71168/ (Wayback Machine: 2019-11-22 23:26)
↑ ^13.0 ^13.1 ^13.2 ^13.3 http://steamdb.info/app/71168/ (Wayback Machine: 2013-05-22 20:01)
↑ ^14.0 ^14.1 ^14.2 ^14.3 ^14.4 ^14.5 ^14.6 ^14.7 https://steamdb.info/app/71168/history/?changeid=5755188
↑ ^15.0 ^15.1 ^15.2 ^15.3 ^15.4 ^15.5 ^15.6 ^15.7 http://steamdb.info/app/71168/ (Wayback Machine: 2019-11-22 23:26)
↑ http://sega.jp/segavoice/vol64/ (Wayback Machine: 2008-02-28 09:39)
↑ Sega TV Game Genga Gallery, Graphic Sha, page 101
↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 186
↑ Aktueller Software Markt, "März 1991" (DE; 1991-02-22), page 114
↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "December 1990" (JP; 1990-11-08), page 28
↑ The Complete Guide to Sega, "" (UK; 1991-05-xx), page 31
↑ Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 136
↑ Computer & Video Games, "March 1991" (UK; 1991-02-16), page 88
↑ Famitsu, "" (JP; 199x-xx-xx), page 1
↑ Génération 4, "Février 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 96
↑ Hippon Super, "January 1991" (JP; 1990-12-04), page 42
↑ Joystick, "Mars 1991" (FR; 1991-0x-xx), page 111
↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 95
↑ Mega Drive Fan, "March 1991" (JP; 1991-02-08), page 99
↑ Mega, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-20), page 21
↑ MegaTech, "Xmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-06), page 81
↑ Micromanía (segunda época), "Junio 1991" (ES; 1991-0x-xx), page 55
↑ Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 143
↑ Player One, "Juin 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 38
↑ Power Play, "4/91" (DE; 1991-03-15), page 136
↑ Raze, "July 1991" (UK; 1991-05-30), page 60
↑ Sega Power, "July 1991" (UK; 1991-06-06), page 24
↑ Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 55
↑ Sega Pro, "April 1992" (UK; 1992-03-19), page 31
↑ Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 68
↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 171
↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 225
↑ User, "Aprílios 1992" (GR; 1992-0x-xx), page 87
↑ Zero, "June 1991" (UK; 1991-0x-xx), page 66

Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair
	Main page \| Comparisons \| Maps \| Hidden content \| Magazine articles \| Video coverage \| Reception \| Promotional material \| Region coding \| Technical information \| Bootlegs No results

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)
Wonder Boy related media
	(2007) \| (2018) \| (2023)
	(1991)

[:File:WB3ML_MD_JP_Box.jpg_p-1] File:WB3ML MD JP Box.jpg

[https:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20200720095133.2Fhttps:.2F.2Fsega.jp.2Fhistory.2Fhard.2Fmegadrive.2Fsoftware.html-2] 2.0 ^2.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-20 09:51)

[:File:Mdfan_JP_1992-06.pdf_p75-3] Mega Drive Fan, "June 1992" (JP; 1992-05-08), page 75

[:File:Raze_UK_11.pdf_p76-4] Raze, "September 1991" (UK; 1991-07-25), page 76

[:File:SegaPower_UK_20.pdf_p25-5] Sega Power, "July 1991" (UK; 1991-06-06), page 25

[http:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20180128132704.2Fhttps:.2F.2Fwww.nintendo.co.jp.2Fwii.2Fvc.2Fsoftware.2F09.html-6] ttps://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/software/09.html (Wayback Machine: 2018-01-28 13:27)

[http:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20090203130924.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fvc.sega.jp:80.2Fvc_lair-7] ttp://vc.sega.jp:80/vc_lair (Wayback Machine: 2009-02-03 13:09)

[http:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20101121030427.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fwww.nintendo.com:80.2Fgames.2Fdetail.2Fgm69Zp71U1JJHcy0E9aMizMZd7-zYuOJ-8] 8.0 ^8.1 http://www.nintendo.com:80/games/detail/gm69Zp71U1JJHcy0E9aMizMZd7-zYuOJ (Wayback Machine: 2010-11-21 03:04)

[http:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20170609060633.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fwww.nintendolife.com.2Fgames.2Fmegadrive.2Fwonder_boy_iii_monster_lair-9] 9.0 ^9.1 http://www.nintendolife.com/games/megadrive/wonder_boy_iii_monster_lair (Wayback Machine: 2017-06-09 06:06)

[https:.2F.2Farchive.is.2FN1A3D-10] ttps://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Virtual-Console-Wii-/Wonder-Boy-III-Monster-Lair--280163.html (archive.today)

[http:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20120328001857.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fwww.nintendo.com.au.2Findex.php.3Faction.3Dcatalogue.26prodcat_id.3D41.26prod_id.3D19789.26pageID.3D4-11] ttp://www.nintendo.com.au/index.php?action=catalogue&prodcat_id=41&prod_id=19789&pageID=4 (Wayback Machine: 2012-03-28 00:18)

[http:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20191122232644.2Fhttps:.2F.2Fsteamdb.info.2Fapp.2F71168.2F-12] 12.0 ^12.1 ^12.2 ^12.3 https://steamdb.info/app/71168/ (Wayback Machine: 2019-11-22 23:26)

[http:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20130522200113.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fsteamdb.info.2Fapp.2F71168.2F-13] 13.0 ^13.1 ^13.2 ^13.3 http://steamdb.info/app/71168/ (Wayback Machine: 2013-05-22 20:01)

[https:.2F.2Fsteamdb.info.2Fapp.2F71168.2Fhistory.2F.3Fchangeid.3D5755188-14] 14.0 ^14.1 ^14.2 ^14.3 ^14.4 ^14.5 ^14.6 ^14.7 https://steamdb.info/app/71168/history/?changeid=5755188

[http:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20191122232644.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fsteamdb.info.2Fapp.2F71168.2F-15] 15.0 ^15.1 ^15.2 ^15.3 ^15.4 ^15.5 ^15.6 ^15.7 http://steamdb.info/app/71168/ (Wayback Machine: 2019-11-22 23:26)

[https:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20080228093907.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fsega.jp.2Fsegavoice.2Fvol64.2F-16] ttp://sega.jp/segavoice/vol64/ (Wayback Machine: 2008-02-28 09:39)

[:File:Sega_TV_Game_Genga_Gallery.pdf_p101-17] Sega TV Game Genga Gallery, Graphic Sha, page 101

[18] 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 186

[:File:ASM_DE_1991-03.pdf_p114-19] Aktueller Software Markt, "März 1991" (DE; 1991-02-22), page 114

[:File:BeepMD_JP_1990-12.pdf_p28-20] Beep! MegaDrive, "December 1990" (JP; 1990-11-08), page 28

[:File:TheCompleteGuideToSega_UK.pdf_p31-21] The Complete Guide to Sega, "" (UK; 1991-05-xx), page 31

[:File:Console_XS_UK_01.pdf_p136-22] Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 136

[:File:CVG_UK_112.pdf_p88-23] Computer & Video Games, "March 1991" (UK; 1991-02-16), page 88

[24] Famitsu, "" (JP; 199x-xx-xx), page 1

[:File:Generation4_FR_030.pdf_p96-25] Génération 4, "Février 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 96

[26] Hippon Super, "January 1991" (JP; 1990-12-04), page 42

[:File:Joystick_FR_014.pdf_p111-27] Joystick, "Mars 1991" (FR; 1991-0x-xx), page 111

[:File:MDAG_UK_05.pdf_p95-28] Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 95

[:File:Megadrive_Fan_1991-03.pdf_p99-29] Mega Drive Fan, "March 1991" (JP; 1991-02-08), page 99

[:File:Mega_UK_09.pdf_p21-30] Mega, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-20), page 21

[:File:MegaTech_UK_01.pdf_p81-31] MegaTech, "Xmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-06), page 81

[:File:Micromania2_ES_037.pdf_p55-32] Micromanía (segunda época), "Junio 1991" (ES; 1991-0x-xx), page 55

[:File:MeanMachinesSega01UK.pdf_p143-33] Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 143

[:File:PlayerOne_FR_010.pdf_p38-34] Player One, "Juin 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 38

[:File:PowerPlay_DE_1991-04.pdf_p136-35] Power Play, "4/91" (DE; 1991-03-15), page 136

[:File:Raze_UK_09.pdf_p60-36] Raze, "July 1991" (UK; 1991-05-30), page 60

[:File:SegaPower_UK_20.pdf_p24-37] Sega Power, "July 1991" (UK; 1991-06-06), page 24

[:File:SegaPower_UK_23.pdf_p55-38] Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 55

[:File:SegaPro_UK_06.pdf_p31-39] Sega Pro, "April 1992" (UK; 1992-03-19), page 31

[:File:SegaPro_UK_18.pdf_p68-40] Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 68

[:File:SSM_JP_19950901_1995-09.pdf_p87-41] Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87

[42] Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 171

[43] Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 225

[:File:User_GR_23.pdf_p87-44] User, "Aprílios 1992" (GR; 1992-0x-xx), page 87

[:File:Zero_UK_20.pdf_p66-45] Zero, "June 1991" (UK; 1991-0x-xx), page 66

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Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair

From Sega Retro

Contents

Story

Gameplay

Weapons

Fairies

Rounds

System 16 version

Mega Drive version

History

Legacy

Versions

Production credits

Mega Drive version

Digital manuals

Magazine articles

Promotional material

Artwork

Physical scans

System 16 version

Mega Drive version

Technical information

External links

References