This is the sequel to the Wonder Boy game of which I uploaded a playthrough earlier. On the NES the Wonder Boy sequels were similar in style to the first game while the series developed into an adventure on the Sega Master System.
Like in the first game there is a time limit. Once the hourglass is empty you lose one heart. Unfortunately, this is a problem if you want to explore and find money that is hidden behind trees or elsewhere in the landscape. You need to figure that out during many many playthroughs until you master it. And you really need money for the legendary armor. I've never been able to buy all three pieces, but maybe if you are extremely lucky and get high value coins and bags and know each and every hidden money spot you may have enough cash to get it all. Which I absolutely doubt because I only found about half of the bags on my own and got the rest with a list I found on the internet.
This game also has really weird jumping controls and collision detection. You often bump into things that clearly didn't touch your sprite and swinging your sword while jumping can be difficult against moving enemies. However, this only is a real issue during the first couple of attempts on the game which can be very frustrating. Once you figure out when to swing your sword on moving enemies so you don't get hit, things get much easier. It is a challenge, yes, but it is fair and motivating. It is also much easier than the first Wonder Boy game (at least in my opinion) which is extremely long, quite repetitive and you need to memorize way too much. Just the last level out of twelve is a real pain in the butt. It's a large maze and if you go the wrong way you go back a couple of screens - while losing health due to the time limit. There is an item that will help you find the way though. And the last boss truly is hard even with the Armor of Legend.
This game was a lot of fun and I'm glad I discovered this gem. Go check it out, you won't regret it. Next... Wonder Boy III.
