New Wonder Boy Announced for Nintendo Switch

Wonder Boy – Asha in Monster World is the next installment in the nearly 35 year-old Wonder Boy/Monster World series.  

IGN announced that Wonder Boy – Asha in Monster World will release in the beginning of 2021 on Nintendo Switch and PS4. It will be developed by STUDIOARTDINK with members of the original Wonder Boy creative team which include the series creator, Ryuichi Nishizawa and original composer, Shinichi Sakamoto. Nishizawa will finally return to the series since he last directed Monster World IV which released in 1994.

The game will see the protagonist, Asha, and her flying, blue Pepelogoo saving the world. It’s worth noting that Asha was also the protagonist of the aforementioned Monster World IV which only released in Japan for the Mega Drive, but then released in the west in 2012 via Wii Shop Channel. This will also be the first game in the series to be fully voiced. 

This new installment comes off the success of the two remakes, 2016’s Wonder Boy Returns (1986’s Wonder Boy) and 2017’s Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap (1989’s Wonder Boy III), along with the 2018 follow-up, Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom. Monster World IV also got a second worldwide release in 2019 via the Sega Genesis Mini.

Full gameplay will be revealed on Saturday, August 29, during Gamescom 2020.