The Proper Wonder Boy Collection Comes to PS5, PS4 on 26th January

Wonderful

by Sammy Barker Fri 16th Dec 2022

Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection PS5 PS4 PlayStation 1

You may or may not be familiar with the saga surrounding the Wonder Boy Collection. So, here’s what happened: the game launched on the PS Store earlier this year, featuring four retro games from the iconic side-scrolling series. However, there was a second edition made available exclusively on Blu-ray by Strictly Limited Games, which featured 21 titles and ultimately sold out.

Now, publisher Bliss Brain has announced that the more comprehensive compilation, Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection, will be coming to digital storefronts on PS5 and PS4 from 26th January, 2023. It’s obviously the correct outcome to make this content more readily available, but it’s a kick in the teeth for those who already plumped up for the inferior Wonder Boy Collection.

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Nevertheless, what do you get in this new version? Well, as it happens, a lot:

Wonder Boy

Wonder Boy / International / Arcade (SYSTEM-1)
Wonder Boy / Japan / SG-1000
Super Wonder Boy / Japan / Master System / SEGA MARK III
Wonder Boy / International / Master System / SEGA MARK III
Revenge of Drancon / International / Game Gear
Wonder Boy / Japan / Game Gear

Wonder Boy in Monster Land

Wonder Boy in Monster Land / International / Arcade (SYSTEM-2)
Wonder Boy in Monster Land / International / Master System / SEGA MARK III
Wonder Boy in Monster Land / Japan / Arcade (SYSTEM-2)
Super Wonder Boy in Monster Land / Japan / Master System / SEGA MARK III

Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap

Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap / International / Master System / SEGA MARK III
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap / International / Game Gear
Monster World II / Japan / Master System / SEGA MARK III
Monster World II: The Dragon’s Trap / Japan / Game Gear

Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair

Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair / International / Arcade (SYSTEM-16)
Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair / International / Mega Drive / Genesis

Wonder Boy in Monster World

Wonder Boy in Monster World / International / Mega Drive / Genesis
Wonder Boy in Monster World / International / Master System / SEGA MARK III
Wonder Boy V: Monster World III / Japan / Mega Drive

Monster World IV

Monster World IV / International / Mega Drive / Genesis
Monster World IV / Japan / Mega Drive

Every game has been upgraded for modern consoles, including shaders, filters, the ability to rewind, and even art galleries. It obviously doesn’t get much more complete than this, unless you throw in the modern remakes as well – but this should have been what launched to begin with. Better late than never, though, we suppose.

[source twitter.com]

As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.

1
belmont
Fri 16th Dec 2022

I preordered the limited physical version for 50 euros (I rarely buy physical games) and I never received it. It will come in March! I feel sort of bad. They only reason I did it was because it was supposed to have exclusive games.

2
Mostik
Fri 16th Dec 2022

Shame there is no physical version, I bought the first one with only the 4 games on it and would double dip for this if it ever comes out. The recent Atari collection is fantastic and should be the bench mark for all retro collections!

3
get2sammyb
Fri 16th Dec 2022

@belmont I did exactly the same.

4
get2sammyb
Fri 16th Dec 2022

@Mostik There are some more physical PS5 copies up for pre-order now. 43% sold so far.

5
themightyant
Fri 16th Dec 2022

Feel for anyone that bought the lame 4-game Wonderboy Collection, and it would be nice if they got a discount. Though another part of me also thinks they only have themselves to blame, that version shouldn't have been supported.

Will likely pick this one up.

6
playstation1995
Fri 16th Dec 2022

Cool.classic wonder boy games.more retro games is always welcome.so a wonder boy collection is cool.word up son

7
Mostik
Fri 16th Dec 2022

@get2sammyb Thank you, appreciate the heads up 👍

8
yoda87960
Fri 16th Dec 2022

I thought they might do this, which is another reason why maybe believing internet FOMO/outrage is expensive. A similar thing happened with the Turrican games, but didn't get as much press. (They're pretty expensive on digital storefronts for the more complete versions.) I was looking into this a few weeks ago and opted into buying the cheaper Wonder Boy because I saw no one had gotten the limited version yet. Also, you can get the Mega Drive version of Monster Lair in the PS4 Sega Mega Drive Classics collection and Dragon's Trap as a standalone remake (it's figuratively a very high quality reskin that lets you swap graphics at any time). No alternate ports included, but both of these are available physically.

9
Amnesiac
Fri 16th Dec 2022

@themightyant That seems a bit harsh. I had no idea they were going to release a more complete package a scant 6 months after the first go around. I would have bought it if it had gone on sale, but I guess now I can delete it from my wishlist.

I don’t blame anyone who’s a big fan of the series for picking this up. It’s just a shame that they got taken in by some pretty atrocious sales practices courtesy of Bliss and Strictly Limited Games, who never miss an opportunity to create false scarcity (as their name implies). If Ubisoft or EA had done this, half of the Push Square community would be lighting their torches and sharpening their pitchforks by now.

10
themightyant
Fri 16th Dec 2022

@Amnesiac It was a bit harsh, that was the devil on my shoulder talking.

But I do think that sometimes fans need to reel themselves in and just say this isn't good enough, we won't support it, else they will keep getting taking advantage of. They have the power not to buy.

11
Amnesiac
Fri 16th Dec 2022

@themightyant Fair point! I have almost no willpower when it comes to classic games, yet was irritated enough to hold off. Unfortunately now I’m going to reward Bliss by buying this in January because the amount of content in this package has crushed my willpower like a grape.

12
Flaming_Kaiser
Sat 17th Dec 2022

@get2sammyb Thanks for the information.

13
sentiententity
Sat 17th Dec 2022

They sure nickel and dime people with these various releases. Everybody's trying to do the "Disney vault" of drip feeding. If only there was a way to have all the retro stuff in one box. I'd be willing to be a dastardly super villain to have it...