Play Wonder Boy III - The Dragon's Trap (USA, Europe) Online

Game Overview

Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap is one of those weird, charming Sega Master System gems that somehow blends platforming and RPG elements before that was even a thing. You start off as this armored knight, but after a run-in with a dragon, boom—you're cursed and turn into some weird lizard creature. And that's just the beginning.

The cool part? Each form you unlock (lizard, mouse, lion, etc.) has its own abilities, so backtracking through areas actually feels rewarding. The mouse can squeeze into tiny gaps, the lion slashes through enemies like butter—it’s a neat little puzzle figuring out which form works where. The graphics are simple but colorful, and the music’s got that classic 8-bit charm. If you’ve played the TurboGrafx version (Dragon’s Curse), yeah, it’s prettier, but there’s something about the Master System’s chunky sprites that just feels right.

It’s not super long, but there’s enough hidden stuff to make exploring fun. Just don’t expect hand-holding—this one’s from the era where you had to poke around and figure things out yourself.