When a developer wants to port or remake an old, classic game usually they will have to pay attention to two types of audiences. The first type is the ones who have tried the original game before and look for that experience from their memory. The second type is the newcomers who didn't play it or even have never heard about that game before.
Lizardcube remade the original game Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap on Switch, Xbox One, and PS4 with the name of Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap. Then Playdigious brought the game to the mobile platform. The game has a reasonable price tag of 5.99 dollars (Rs 415) for iOS which is only about 30 percent of the price of the console version. and with this port, they have nailed it for both types of audiences.
In fact, I belong to the type who never played the original game and only did try out on the remake of DotEmu and Lizardcube with my Switch. That remake is amazing and it won me over with its new music and beautiful graphics. I bought the game on the eShop of Nintendo once but then bought it again physically with the limited edition for Switch and PS4, because I love the game so much. Those game like Wonder Boy, Cursed Kingdom and Monster Boy of Game Atelier have really shown how to bring old school games to modern audiences.
The main storyline
You will begin the game with a simple option of play as Wonder Boy or Wonder Girl. Then you will receive a character with decent stats to start the adventure. But within yourself is a curse that makes you a half lizard half human. So you set out to find a method to remove that curse through some well designed and gorgeous levels. The progression in this game is non-linear and you will have the transformation as well as many other skills which will help you uncover the secrets of the land. The estimated time to play through the campaign of the game is about 6 hours.
Graphics and Music
Over the last couple of days, I have played this game on iPhone 7, iPad Air 2, and iPad Pro and regardless of the device the game always looks gorgeous. Lizardcube has done an amazing job with the animations and art of the remake. I could even say that this game looks like a moving painting. The performance of the game is for the most part, OK. But still, sometimes I ran into some slowdown in the game at those quick turn arounds or during heavy animations. It was the same as the version on Switch. They chose the 16:9 aspect ratio for this game so any devices with other ratios ( iPads, iPhone X) will have bars on both sides or bottom and top of the screen. The game does try to mitigate it by adding a piece of artwork on the background of the bars, though.
Switching between eras
To accompany the stunning graphics, the developers also put in this game a fantastic soundtrack. You can also switch to retro music or graphics while playing this game at any time you want. Just drag your fingers from left-2-right to switch the graphics. You can also leave it in the middle so each half of the screen will display graphics from different eras. It's even more awesome if you have a Mfi controller, then you can switch the music and graphics of the game with the triggers (save you the bother of going to the menu).
Currently, there are a few choices when it comes to music but I found that the newest soundtrack is amazing. If you find that the classic level design and enemy placements are too unfair then there is also an easy option available in the menu. Minor attention such as this will surely help attract more newcomers.
The annoyance
The major annoyance with this iOS port (aside from the performance issue) is the control scheme on iPhone 7. The size of the default button is too big in comparison with the screen which leads to the restriction of the viewing area. There are a lot of things that can be fixed, but I think this game is supposed to be on a bigger screen with enough space for controlling. Remember that you can resize and reposition as you wish from the menu of the game. Still, I recommend you use an MFi controller to play it if possible.
Another issue with the control is that sometimes the button sizes have a too small touch target. Moreover, as mentioned before, the game was made to be run at a 16:9 aspect ratio, so if your device does not support that, you'll have bars on the sides or at the top and bottom of your screen. This leads to another issue: The inventory and pause menu are located on the top right and left of the game screen, not the actual screen of the device, which honestly bothers me more than it should.
Summary
In general, you must play this amazing remake if you are into platformers and wanna try a premium mobile experience. Playdigious has done well with the porting and the game pairs perfectly with an MFi controller. I really suggest that you get one because the touch control of this game is not really great. If you still want to use the touch controls then remember to customize the button positions and sizes to your liking. All in all, though, this game is my favorite game when it comes to ports or remakes of classical titles. Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap is an amazing remake.
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