/vr/ - Retro Games

As a fan of the original, I’ll give the remake go. Can’t say I’m too hyped about it, though, as what I’ve seen doesn’t really chime with what I loved about WBIII.

Dragon’s Trap takes place in the shadow of the final level of the previous game. Rather than move on to a new adventure, on to bigger and better things, you’re cursed to wander around the area you just fought through without any ‘human’ interaction or any sort of sympathy. It’s quite a melancholy experience, and i haven’t played many games where a first-level boss looms so large over proceedings. It felt like the Mecha Dragon had had the last laugh, and you couldn’t even get your revenge - he was long gone.

The ending, too. Although you could say that, in the end, you liberate Monster World from the other dragons, in truth it felt that the only person you’d really saved was yourself, and you were still very much by yourself at the end - there was no swooning princess or grateful villagers waiting for you. You were human again, but, just like the rest of the game, you were alone.

I guess this could all be replicated by the remake, but as much as I love the art style (and I do), I think it’s a little too characterful and cheerful to do that. It all bursts with energy and positivity - there’s no sense of any of the character’s personas suffering from the isolation or loneliness that made the original so memorable.

Also, as an aside, I think I first played the SMS version when I was about 5 or 6. Given that WBIII came out towards the end of the console’s life, a lot of my friends had either moved on to other consoles, or were excited about doing so. At that age, as ridiculous as it seems, a lot of your identity comes from what you own and who else owns what you own. I don’t remember anyone but myself remotely caring about the game at the time, which made playing it a truly bittersweet experience. I obviously don’t think the remake will be able to replicate that.