SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! DEPTH CONTAINS ENDGAME SPOILERS

Wonder Boy III Monster Lair on the first look may look like a main series game, but apparently it isn't! This is a spin off based on the Wonder Boy series of games. You take control of another character(s) that use weapons that shoot projectiles. Sounds easy, isn't it? No, it isn't.

Graphics are basically of equivalent quality of the original arcade version, but if you have an eagle eye, you can see that AlfaSystems, the developer of this game added more "contrast" to the colors, making them vibrant. This, along with the arcade graphics makes an almost unoticeable link with how energetic the music is, but just because its unnoticable doesn't mean it won't affect you--but in this case it does.

Music here is very energetic, from the happy Level 1 theme to the somewhat slow paced Level 2 theme. Virtually all of the tracks created on a PC Engine CD are perfect, and this goes for most games out there! "But what about PSG"? The original PC Engine fans say? Well let me abruptly bury this hatchet for you, PSG isn't used for the music at ALL. It is only used for sound effects, but as you know, the PC engine PSG sounds are like listening to a robot play multiple harmonicas at once, but it isn't annoying like *certain* Master System games without FM sound. But hey, if it isn't using PSG for the music, so I'm fine with it.

Addictiveness here actually assists the difficulty here, but this game will not attempt to make you give up on the first try, instead it basically says "I got your hand, I refuse to let you give up on this game". Its on the equivalent of Pariodus levels of addictiveness. It feels satisfying to complete a level & tear through the next one, if eels satisfying to get a powerup, these are contributers on why the game is so addictive.

Depth...While I remove 3 "points" to the depth for lack of powerups, the stages here are VERY diverse. You have 16 stages, each with a different boss that has different attack patterns, different enviroments...that's all. The final boss is a special case though, and it contributes to the ending cutscene. You see, you fight a dragon in what seems to be space with the previous main character, Book on the dragon's head, commanding it to attack you. Once the dragon has died, it turns out this isn't Book! It's a ghost pretending to be Book, and uses lighting bolts to attack you.

Difficulty here is brutally hard, even for a shooter game. To back up my point, let me compare this game to a similar shooter, Parodius DA! (The arcade game). In Parodius, most of the later stages are basically bullet hell games because of how many projectiles are being thrown at you. even on easy this is the same, but the "speed" powerup makes you better at dodging projectiles quickly, and the O-trap (character exclusive) gives you a vulnerable "shield" in front of you, able to withstand multiple attacks before breaking. But in Wonder Boy III? Powerups only give you an offensive advantage, not a defensive advantage sadly. And this is worsened by the fact that the boss levels are so difficult.

In conclusion, Wonder Boy III is off limits for newbies, but completely fine for professionals. If you need a long, but fun shooter game for your PC Engine CD, this is the one for you.