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Wonder Boy

6/10

Video Archive

Wonder Boy – Why Did Zzap!64 Give the C64 Version Just 52%?

️ Wonder Boy (1987) – Commodore 64 Arcade Conversion by Activision Why did Zzap! 64 give Wonder Boy on the Commodore 64 just 52%? I loved Sega’s arcade game, pumped plenty of 10p pieces into it and couldn't wait to get the C64 conversion home – so nearly forty years later, I’m going back to see whether that score was really deserved. Released for the C64 by Activision in 1987, Wonder Boy takes the Sega arcade platformer and squeezes its fruit collecting, axes, skateboards, fairies, enemies and rapidly disappearing vitality bar onto the Commodore. The C64 conversion was programmed by James Smart, who also handled the music, with graphics by Andrew Pang and the C64 version credited to Images Design. There’s plenty here I still enjoy: big colourful sprites, smooth scrolling, familiar arcade details and that constant pressure to keep moving and collecting food.

Magazine Reviews

Magazine Reviews

Magazine Reviews Scores, issue details and original review links
Magazine Reviews · 9 Contemporary average 61% · range 46–80%
6/10
Commodore User Issue 46 · July 1987 · page 29 Reviewed by Eugene Lacey
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2.3/5
Datormagazin Issue 4-5 · June-July 1987 · page 8 · Swedish Reviewed by Pekka Hedqvst
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8/10
Your Commodore Issue 35 · August 1987 · page 66 Reviewed by Kirk Rutter
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52%
Zzap!64 Issue 28 · August 1987 · page 28 Reviewed by Julian Rignall, Paul Sumner & Steve Jarratt
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