Play Wonder Boy V - Monster World III (Japan) Online

Wonder Boy V (or Monster World III, depending on which side of the box art you believe) is one of those Genesis games that slipped under the radar but absolutely shouldn’t have. You play as Shion, a blue-haired kid who gets roped into rescuing some girl from an empire—pretty standard stuff, except the world feels alive in that way only 16-bit games could pull off. The first thing you’ll notice? The colors. Everything pops, from the lush greens of the overworld to the weirdly cozy caves full of… whatever those grinning enemies are supposed to be.

Combat’s simple at first—just swing your sword—but then you start finding these little creature companions that follow you around, each with their own weird abilities. The fire-breathing one saved my butt so many times. And the music? Pure SEGA magic. That overworld theme still gets stuck in my head decades later.

It’s got that perfect mix of exploration and tight platforming, like if Zelda and Castlevania had a kid who refused to take itself too seriously. Just don’t get hung up on the numbering—this one’s a gem, no matter what you call it.