Format: Super CD-ROM²
Genre: Action platformer
Developer: Alfa System
Publisher: Hudson Soft

The Mega Drive's "Wonder Boy in Monster World" already had a colorful, imagination-capturing world aesthetic, but the character designs were generic and uninspired. Step in Alfa System, who took it upon themselves to not just port the game, but to completely redraw all of the game's characters, bosses, and many NPCs, and even to add additional detail to many of the enemy and stage sprites, taking advantage of the PC Engine's massive color capabilities. And although the PC Engine port lacks the Mega Drive version's paralax scrolling, the overall result of Alfa's efforts is a positive one.

The Mega Drive version of this title had a pretty forgettable soundtrack, with only a couple of memorable tunes-- the second boss theme, and the castle song particularly. Like the character sprites, Alfa completely redid the soundtrack from scratch, not using even a single melody of motif from the original. And in true PC Engine spirit, this new soundtrack is CD quality, performed with real instruments! Sound effects are very similar to the Mega Drive title's, but with a bit harder sound to them.

The one area of the game that was completely unchanged by Alfa was the gameplay; jumping and movement physics are just as solid as they were in the Mega Drive version, and the identical level design still wraps around on itself in very clever and satisfying ways. As was the case with the original, the game's level design is fairly simple compared to later titles in the subgenre, but in some ways that is a benefit; there is tons of variety of settings in the game, and the shorter stages keep the game's length from overstaying its welcome.

Dynastic Hero is one of those very solid, well designed, simple games that fill out a platform's library, and that people tend to look back on fondly, not for having done anything brilliant or truly first-order, but for having a mission, and unapologetically and successfully pursuing it in a charming way. Dynastic Hero is well paced, and its straightforward manner would in particular make it a good introduction to the subgenre for those previously unacquainted, even though it's an enjoyable experience with good replay value even for veterans of this game type.