Wonder Boy III the Dragon's Trap

$68.99
Regular price: ~~$80.99~~
Sale price: $68.99
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Packaging & contents:

Complete in box

Box, manual and game — all original, all in the photos. Game condition guide →

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Item Condition

Complete in box: the cartridge, the manual and the box, all original. Original inserts or paperwork shown in the photos are included; display stands and other photography props are not. The photos are of this exact cartridge — look them over closely for its condition, packaging and details. Every cartridge's shell, label and board are checked for authenticity when it comes into the store, and it's tested before it's listed. It ships in a collector's bag or a hard plastic case.

Item Description

The adventure begins where most games end: deep inside the Dragon's Castle, face to face with the Meka Dragon, with a full set of gear on your back. Win that fight and the dragon's dying curse turns the hero into a fire-breathing lizard, strips away his equipment and sends him back out into the world in search of a cure. It is among the great openings of the 8-bit era, and it sets up a game that still feels remarkably modern.

Every boss Wonder Boy defeats lifts the curse only partway, trading his form for a new one with new abilities. Lizard-Man breathes fire, Mouse-Man is small enough to slip through narrow passages and cling to checkered blocks on walls and ceilings, Piranha-Man swims freely through underwater areas, Lion-Man swings his sword in a wide arc, and Hawk-Man takes to the skies. Each transformation reopens parts of the interconnected world you have already crossed, so the map keeps folding back on itself, with new routes and hidden rooms waiting behind passages that were out of reach an hour earlier.

Underneath the platforming sits a satisfying RPG layer. Gold from defeated enemies buys swords, shields and armor in the shops, each form has its own strengths, and the best gear demands enough charm to wear it, so picking the right kit for the right form becomes part of the fun. Progress is saved with passwords, which made the game ideal for long weekends spent mapping the world one discovery at a time.

Developed by Westone and published by Sega in 1989, The Dragon's Trap is the direct sequel to Wonder Boy in Monster Land and a superb early example of the ability-gated, interconnected design that would later be called the Metroidvania. It was ported to the TurboGrafx-16 as Dragon's Curse, and Lizardcube's 2017 remake followed the original so faithfully that you could flip between hand-drawn art and the 8-bit graphics at the press of a button. That remake is a lovely tribute, but this cartridge is the source, and a frequent pick for the finest game the Master System ever had.

Fast factsgame data via IGDB

Released: 1989
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Genre: Platformer, RPG
Players: Single player

About the game

A direct sequel to Wonder Boy in Monster Land, you wander through the lands using multiple forms that each have different abilities. Each defeated boss unlocks a new form that has to be used to advance to a new area, while shops give you access to new equipment for money.

Summary from the IGDB community database — the condition and contents of this listing are described above and in the photos.

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