Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair might seem like a radical departure from the previous Wonder Boy titles, but when you stop and think about it, it's actually quite similar with just a little more emphasis placed on the shooting aspect of the game. Instead of platforming being the main focus in each level, now the game makes you use your shooting projectiles to traverse each level. The game even throws in a palace scene complete with boss that you must play through using a flying vehicle instead of running and jumping your way through it. This change was not very well accepted among the Wonder Boy fan community and is probably the reason that this is the only game that plays more like a shooter than a platformer, as the developers went back to the game's roots for the next release. No matter which side of the fence you're on, it's hard to argue that Monster Lair is a wonderful shooter-platformer hybrid that brings with it a good amount of variety in its game play.

In Monster Lair you take on the role of either Adam or Laura. If you can round up another player you can even play with both players simultaneously. Each level is basically broken down into two parts. The first part of the level is the action sequence. In this portion of the level you'll find the platforming parts of the level but you'll also still have your firepower at your controls as well. You run, jump, and shoot your way through these sections until you reach the dragon's head at the end of the level. As you enter the dragon's head you are then placed in a flying vehicle complete with the same type of firepower you have on foot but now you must pilot your way through each temple and face off with a boss at the end of the level. Most of the enemy patterns in the flying parts of the level are movement based much the same way they are in any shooter from this time period. The bosses themselves also feature a set pattern that you must figure out and exploit in order to take them down. The game starts off fairly easy, but as you progress through the game's 14 levels the action begins to become more intense and the enemies and bosses become more ferocious.

The play control in the action sequences will feel quite familiar to Wonder Boy fans, as it's almost the same as every other game in the series. The only difference is that this time you'll have to use your firepower more often that just jumping over or avoiding enemies. The flying sections have a very responsive feel to them and it's very easy to maneuver through the tight barrage of enemies if you can get an idea of where they're coming from next. The bosses in the game are enormous and each one has its own distinct look and attack pattern so you'll always have to be on your toes when going up against one of them. In fact, some of the later bosses are quite tough. It's easy to see why some Wonder Boy fans didn't care for this title much as the overall feel is quite a bit different at times, but if you can appreciate the heavier emphasis on shooting, you'll find this game a lot of fun.

Visually Monster Lair is pretty standard stuff, even though it is a CD title. Since this was an early CD release, there's not much in the way of cinemas or overblown visual instances. The game instead looks and feels just like all of the other Wonder Boy titles. There is a hint of parallax scrolling here and there, but it's not anything to write home about. The color palette, as with most TurboGrafx-16 games, is very well used and does offer a much more detailed and softer look to it than the Mega Drive release of this same game. It's nice that the developers at least left the game looking like a Wonder Boy title despite a few changes in play control.

Here's a good example of how much the CD medium brings to the table. As good as the soundtrack in the Mega Drive release was, it doesn't hold a candle to the outstanding music that's found throughout this game. There's honestly not a bad track in the entire game and the music just seems to get better the farther into the game you get. The boss scene music is among some of the best ever heard in a CD game on this system and is a testament to what the developers were able to accomplish even this early on in the Turbo CD's lifespan. If you place a high emphasis on music in your video games, this is a game you should check out.

It's clear that Monster Lair does feel a lot different than the other Wonder Boy titles but it's also worth mentioning that the overall experience is still the same, if not better because of it. The emphasis on shooting has given the game a more action-oriented feel to it, and while the lack of platforming elements does take a little away from the overall feel, the flying level in each level will have shooter fans jumping for joy. There were a lot of great cute em' ups available for the Turbografx-16 system, and Monster Lair is right up there with the best of them. As good as the Mega Drive version of the game is, the upgraded music in this release is more than enough reason to pick this one as the best overall version of the game and yet another solid TurboGrafx-16 Virtual Console release.  Whether you're a shooter fan or a platformer fan, this game has plenty of both to offer up.