so in all honesty how does the pcengine compare?

[vestcoat]

but the SMS is the master of wonderboy games!

Sort of--The Turbo never got the original Wonderboy but the SMS never got Monster Lair.  The Turbo also has New Adventure Island if you count the AI games as part of the WB line.

I've been thinking of buying Bikkuriman World.  Did they make a CD version or is it just on hucard?  Any difference between the two besides sound quality?

I recently picked up Wonderboy in Monster World on the SMS.  It's cool to see an 8-bit version of the game and is interesting to compare it to Dynastic Hero.  Keranu, didn't you once recommend playing through the Genesis version of WB in Monster World as a way to figure out puzzles in PCE Dynastic Hero and avoid getting stuck because of the language barrier?  Anyone know if the SMS version is faithful enough for me to figure the game out and move on to the PCE version after I beat it?

And remember:  Dynastic Hero, despite being on a SCD, is still a lowly 8-bit game if you're playing the PCE import.  If you want the full experience of the "16-bit era" you need to track down the TurboGrafx-16 SCD!

[vestcoat]

8-bit era/post-crash of '83 era (1983-1989)

# PC Engine (1987, Japan)

16-bit era (1989-1994)

# TurboGrafx-16 (1989)

Booyah!  We had to wait a couple years, but this proves the TG16 was a whole GENERATION of gaming above the puny PCE.   Looks like it's time for you import diehards to step out of the stone age and stop whining about cover art.  I knew they did something good when the US console was twice the size of it's predecessor.

Hell yeah.  And that one dude, Emerald Rocker, thinks TurboChips are, like, waaay less powerful than HuCards.  Well now it is PROVEN that TurboChips are waaaaaaaaay better than wimpy ass HuCards.  I say we bomb Japan again because TurboChips kick so much ass and they never had them.

Yeah, that's probably why we never saw the "SuperGrafx" or "Arcade Card" here in the States--We didn't need them!   We were already a whole generation ahead of Japan.  The ACD games weren't created to compete with the Genesis, SNES or Neo Geo; they were a miserable attempt to catch up to the TurboGrafx.

[Keranu]

Keranu, didn't you once recommend playing through the Genesis version of WB in Monster World as a way to figure out puzzles in PCE Dynastic Hero and avoid getting stuck because of the language barrier?

Playing through the Genesis version first would probably help, but I think you should be able to get through the language barrier even if you didn't. It would be cool to play both versions though so you can see all the differences.

[Black Tiger]

The SMS version of MWIII is supposed to be a little different, but it looks amazing. Unfortunately, it doesn't support FM sound. 

If you don't go by official title names alone, the SMS is second to the PCE for Wonderboy games.

SMS:

Wonderboy
Monster Land
WBIII: Dragon's Trap
MWIII


PCE:

New Adventure Island (Wonderboy remake)
Bikkuriman World (Monster Land arcade)
Adventure Island/Dragon's Curse (WBIII SMS)
Dynastic Hero (MWIII)
Monster Lair (WBIII arcade)

...plus JJ & Jeff/KC&KC (WB bastard)


If you want to count the SMS Wonderboy games as part of the Megadrive, then it's the WB/MW king.

[Joe Redifer]

I don't know how JJ & Jeff could possibly be considered in the same universe as Wonderboy-style games.  For one, JJ & Jeff is pure dogshit.  Wonderboy games are actually worth playing.  My favorite "Wonderboy" game would be Monster World 4 on the Mega Drive.  Fantastic graphics and color, amazing control and a great game altogether.

[Keranu]

I don't know how JJ & Jeff could possibly be considered in the same universe as Wonderboy-style games.  For one, JJ & Jeff is pure dogshit.  Wonderboy games are actually worth playing.  My favorite "Wonderboy" game would be Monster World 4 on the Mega Drive.  Fantastic graphics and color, amazing control and a great game altogether.

There is nothing bad about J.J. & Jeff. Nothing drives me crazier than people saying how much they enjoy Wonderboy and Adventure Island, but shit on J.J. & Jeff.

J.J. and Jeff 4 Life.

[Black Tiger]

I don't know how JJ & Jeff could possibly be considered in the same universe as Wonderboy-style games.  For one, JJ & Jeff is pure dogshit.  Wonderboy games are actually worth playing.  My favorite "Wonderboy" game would be Monster World 4 on the Mega Drive.  Fantastic graphics and color, amazing control and a great game altogether.

JJ & Jeff has a bunch of the same levels with the same enemies and the same big headed bosses along with a bunch of specific shared traits. It's kinda like what the Wario World games are to the SMB games.

I've wanted to play through MWIV for years and tried the english patched rom on my Mame cabinet recently. But it didn't control well with the X-Arcade stick and the graphics didn't look very good with the emu's filter. So I'm waiting till I can remember to buy the cart before playing it for real.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Well, either that, or you can pick up the PS2 version.  They're releasing a Wonderboy/Monsterworld collection, that even includes the PC Engine versions, so, I'm stoked about that!

[Joe Redifer]

There is nothing bad about J.J. & Jeff. Nothing drives me crazier than people saying how much they enjoy Wonderboy and Adventure Island, but shit on J.J. & Jeff.

Wonderboy DESTROYS JJ & Jeff.  Even Deep Blue has more fans.

[GUTS]

Yeah JJ & Jeff is complete and utter shit, everybody hated that game even back when it was brand new.  The control is horrible, its boring as hell, and it looks like shit.

[termis]

I'm probably one of the few here that came across Kato-chan & Ken-chan before JJ & Jeff - (I grew up going back & forth between So. Cal and Seoul, so I got to see KC&KC while I was in Seoul).  Gotta say I had a blast playing KC&KC - it was just so damn funny.  I was immediately disappointed by the omissions in JJ & Jeff, and I also thought that the goofy-looking Japanese guys suited the humor of the whole game better. 

[Black Tiger]

I've never actually heard anyone trash JJ & Jeff before I came here, even back in the day.

I'm probably one of the few here that came across Kato-chan & Ken-chan before JJ & Jeff - (I grew up going back & forth between So. Cal and Seoul, so I got to see KC&KC while I was in Seoul).  Gotta say I had a blast playing KC&KC - it was just so damn funny.  I was immediately disappointed by the omissions in JJ & Jeff, and I also thought that the goofy-looking Japanese guys suited the humor of the whole game better. 

Has this actually been released, or is it still just 'in development'?

[Keranu]

Yeah JJ & Jeff is complete and utter shit, everybody hated that game even back when it was brand new.  The control is horrible, its boring as hell, and it looks like shit.

The control, as far as I can tell, is no different than what you would find in Wonder Boy or Adventure Island. All those games tend to have the same pace and feel to them. I can't see how it's any more boring than Wonderboy since J.J. and Jeff is loaded with tons of little comedy bits throughout the game to keep you more interested than Wonder Boy ever did. I don't think the game looks like shit. They're not great, but their not bad and have nice, big, detailed sprites. One advantage that Wonder Boy and Adventure Island have over J.J. and Jeff are the items, but I don't really mind since I've had just as much fun without them.

[ParanoiaDragon]

I've never actually heard anyone trash JJ & Jeff before I came here, even back in the day.

I'm probably one of the few here that came across Kato-chan & Ken-chan before JJ & Jeff - (I grew up going back & forth between So. Cal and Seoul, so I got to see KC&KC while I was in Seoul).  Gotta say I had a blast playing KC&KC - it was just so damn funny.  I was immediately disappointed by the omissions in JJ & Jeff, and I also thought that the goofy-looking Japanese guys suited the humor of the whole game better. 

Has this actually been released, or is it still just 'in development'?

It's coming soon http://www.the-magicbox.com/0612/game061225c.shtml

[esteban]

I don't know how JJ & Jeff could possibly be considered in the same universe as Wonderboy-style games.  For one, JJ & Jeff is pure dogshit.  Wonderboy games are actually worth playing.  My favorite "Wonderboy" game would be Monster World 4 on the Mega Drive.  Fantastic graphics and color, amazing control and a great game altogether.

JJ & Jeff has a bunch of the same levels with the same enemies and the same big headed bosses along with a bunch of specific shared traits. It's kinda like what the Wario World games are to the SMB games.

To build on what has already been said see this old discussion (I tried to find my original post at magicengine, but it must have been lost when their forums imploded...).

I bought JJ & Jeff back in the day and I was not particularly excited about it. It was immediately apparanet that it was Wonderboy 1 / Adventure Island + bird poop + slot machine mini-game + dog poop.

Once I got over my initial disappointment, however, it was an enjoyable (but HARD) game thats folks who dig WB1 / AI would find familiar and comfortable. Fans of WB1 / AI should give it a chance .