Because all you need to start your adventure is a sword and some medicine right?

While some cheeky folks would tag my interest in the Wonderboy series strictly on it's padded protagonist in the second game, truthfully it stems from a good deal more nostalgia than that. The Sega Master System was something rented frequently on trips to my grandparents place and the console version of the mentioned game was often along side that. Fairly brutal even for an arcade port it still had a good sense of fantasy charm while later games in the series would take it further into the Metroidvania path that felt like a what-if to Zelda II becoming the standard for it's series forward.

To go back to examining Monster Land by itself though, I do find it interesting that he's kept with his diapers on display until at least the 3rd of 8 stages before you can purchase your first set of armor. When asked about it series director Ryuichi Nishizawa said he thought the imagery was 'cute' and even had it for his twitter icon for several years (before recently changing it to Ninja-Kun). I admit to actually sending this picture to him as fan art and he seemed to enjoy it as well.

You can bet though that I am tickled pink by the eventual release of Monster Boy, the spiritual successor to the Monster World series (seeming to take mostly after the sequel Dragon's Trap with it's transformation mechanics). Nishizawa took over the project a year or so back (on what was originally a game called 'Flying Hamster 2' and was meant to be a throwback to the Monster World series anyway) and since then the production value as gone through the roof with some gorgeous sprite work and even an animated intro. I think it'll be wishful thinking though if any reference to our previously pampered attire would make it into the final game though :p

Wonderboy, Monster World, series and concept property of Sega/Westone