A giant set of classic retro games, the Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection, is due to launch digitally on January 26th.
The first Wonder Boy game title was released on 1986 for arcades. And it was eventually ported to a ton of home and handheld consoles.
This also lead to an entire franchise of incredible platforming games under the Wonder Boy heading. [ And for some of us, also the Adventure Island games. ]
Due to the sheer number of iterations in the franchise, the new Anniversary Collection features 21 versions of the six titles in the series.
Obviously, this is intended to be the definitive collection of the Wonder Boy franchise.
But the announcement of this “new” collection has us thinking: “wait… haven’t we seen this already?”
The Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection Physical Edition
The physical versions of the Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection are set to be released by Strictly Limited Games.
They are currently available for pre-order with an anticipated November fulfillment.
And they are being labeled as a “Strictly Limited Games exclusive”. The website also emphasizes that this is a limited run, and that “There has never been a Wonder Boy collection quite like this!”
Of course, when prospective buyers see words like “exclusive” and “limited”, they think they had better purchase quick.
Imagine being one of the people who rushed to pre-order with fulfillment nine months out, and then the same collection drops digitally today.
Obviously, with digital you won’t get the actual physical game along with all of the swag that comes with it (collector’s box, soundtrack, autographed card, artbook, poster, ect).
But I’d wager you would still have some feelings about all this “exclusive” talk.
All of this is entirely out of the hands of Strictly Limited Games, we hope. They are, in fact, the exclusive physical distributor.
We would like to believe that they didn’t intentionally mislead people to think this would be the only way to play the full collection. But buyers are still gonna feel shafted.
And let’s not even talk about the fact that the “Wonder Boy Collection” (no ‘anniversary’) released in June of 2022 digitally with four of the six games.
The Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection Digital Edition
The ultra-new ultra-exclusive digital anniversary collection does contain 21 different versions of some of our favorite Wonder Boy video game titles.
This is, in fact, the definitive collection for fans of the classic game franchise looking to revisit those beloved games.
If you have sentimental connection to the Wonder Boy franchise, and have not already pre-ordered a physical set or downloaded the collection offered last year from the same publishers on the same consoles….
Now’s your chance to own the Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection.
Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection Games Included
- Wonder Boy
- Wonder Boy / International / Arcade (SYSTEM-1)
- Wonder Boy / Japan / SG-1000
- Super Wonder Boy / Japan / Master System /SEGA MARK III
- Wonder Boy / International / Master System / SEGA MARK III
- Revenge of Drancon / International / Game Gear
- Wonder Boy / Japan / Game Gear
- Wonder Boy in Monster Land
- Wonder Boy in Monster Land / International / Arcade (SYSTEM-2)
- Wonder Boy in Monster Land / International / Master System / SEGA MARK III
- Wonder Boy in Monster Land / Japan / Arcade (SYSTEM-2)
- Super Wonder Boy in Monster Land / Japan / Master System / SEGA MARK III
- Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap
- Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap / International / Master System / SEGA MARK III
- Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap / International / Game Gear
- Monster World II / Japan / Master System / SEGA MARK III
- Monster World II: The Dragon’s Trap / Japan / Game Gear
- Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair
- Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair / International / Arcade (SYSTEM-16)
- Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair / International / Mega Drive / Genesis
- Wonder Boy in Monster World
- Wonder Boy in Monster World / International / Mega Drive / Genesis
- Wonder Boy in Monster World / International / Master System / SEGA MARK III
- Wonder Boy V: Monster World III / Japan / Mega Drive
- Monster World IV
- Monster World IV / International / Mega Drive / Genesis
- Monster World IV / Japan / Mega Drive
The Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection launches January 26, 2023 for Sony Playstation 4/5 and Nintendo Switch.
