New Adventure Island officially "Not Worth It"

[Black Tiger]

Wow, I didn't see this one coming. After 1up.com lets all kinds of crap slide in the spirit of "retro"ness, it seems that New Adventure Island is one of the simply the cream of the crap-

Hudson's Adventure Island games have a long and sort of convoluted history, and quite a few fans as well. Young Master Higgins began life as the evil twin of eventual Sega mascot Wonder Boy, but the two heroes soon went their own separate ways. Oddly enough, they both went in pretty much the same direction anyway: Non-linear platform adventures.

So New Adventure Island is sort of a letdown. Much like New Super Mario Bros., its name is incredibly literal: Rather than building on all the games that had come before, it's really just a repackaging of the very first Adventure Island with prettier graphics. Fans of the original will definitely want to play, since the simple play mechanics translate over pretty well, but those who prefer Master Higgins' more robust 8-bit adventures will find this two-steps-back approach rather lacking.

Watch, eventually the original Wonderboy will appear on the new SMS VC or Virtual Arcade and get an enthusiastic thumbs up. 

[esteban]

Watch, eventually the original Wonderboy will appear on the new SMS VC or Virtual Arcade and get an enthusiastic thumbs up. 

Exactly! Lame, lame, lame. This entire review is written from a distorted perspective: namely, it assumes that most folks want (and prefer) one genre over another. Lame! The reviewer could easily have evaluated New Adventure Island for what it is, first and foremost. Then he(?) should have  addressed any misconceptions / misunderstandings he (and others) might have about it.

As it stands, this isn't a review at all, but a lament!

[Joe Redifer]

Watch, eventually the original Wonderboy will appear on the new SMS VC or Virtual Arcade and get an enthusiastic thumbs up. 

That's because Wonder Boy is better.  His hair is yellow and he doesn't look like a complete jackass.  Instead he looks like a 'tard.

[Keranu]

Wonderboy Boy looks like a fat German kid with an obsession for chocolate.

[FM-77]

I think they meant the name is disappointing. It says NEW Adventure Island, but is exactly the same as Old Adventure Island - which would've been a more fitting name for this one.

It should've been Adventure Island Engine or Adventure Island 16 in north america.

[Keranu]

Personally I think New Adventure Island is a better name than Adventure Island Engine or Adventure Island 16 . I don't think "New" necessarily implies New as a completely new sequel, but more like a remake. Perhaps Adventure Island REEEEEMIIIIIX would've been a good name?

[Black Tiger]

Watch, eventually the original Wonderboy will appear on the new SMS VC or Virtual Arcade and get an enthusiastic thumbs up. 

That's because Wonder Boy is better.  His hair is yellow and he doesn't look like a complete jackass.  Instead he looks like a 'tard.

He does look like uniquely disabled. 

Personally, I wish there were more straight-Wonderboy games.

[Joe Redifer]

Wonder Boy should have been a black guy with a huge 'fro with a bone in it.  They could never do that because it's not politically correct and white people would have complained that it is insulting to blacks.  But man, I would have purchased 19 copies because that would be so cool.

[Black Tiger]

Wonder Boy should have been a black guy with a huge 'fro with a bone in it.  They could never do that because it's not politically correct and white people would have complained that it is insulting to blacks.  But man, I would have purchased 19 copies because that would be so cool.

At least the game has "black guys with a huge 'fro with a bone in it" as enemies.

Which if anything is even more politically incorrect. 

[Keranu]

Wonder Boy should have been a black guy with a huge 'fro with a bone in it.  They could never do that because it's not politically correct and white people would have complained that it is insulting to blacks.  But man, I would have purchased 19 copies because that would be so cool.

Wonderboy does have an orange afro in those posters that are packed in with like ever Master System game.

[FM-77]

Personally I think New Adventure Island is a better name than Adventure Island Engine or Adventure Island 16 .

I think so too, but I was kidding. Someone mentioned that earlier, that it is good that the TG games aren't called "Super Mario 16", etc.

But I still don't think New is a good word to put in the title in such a non-new game. It's just more (or in some cases, the same) of the same.

[esteban]

Personally I think New Adventure Island is a better name than Adventure Island Engine or Adventure Island 16 .

I think so too, but I was kidding. Someone mentioned that earlier, that it is good that the TG games aren't called "Super Mario 16", etc.

But I still don't think New is a good word to put in the title in such a non-new game. It's just more (or in some cases, the same) of the same.

OK, then how about Next Adventure Island?

[FM-77]

Maybe. It needs to be made, at least. Soon.

[Keranu]

Hah, Next Adventure Island sounds good. Or how about Adventure Island: It's A Sequel, But Not Exactly New.?

[GUTS]

I agree with the review, NAI is a decent game but its definitely a big step back.  I never liked the original Adventure Island or the first Wonder Boy so I was really disappointed with it back in the day, I was hoping for the non-linear stuff like the later games.