Greetings to you all! Today, we have a LOT to discuss in terms of this project. There's quite a bit of info incoming and I don't plan on holding back as we are swiftly nearing the ending of the development of version 2. That said, let's take a deep dive into what we have in store for you all today!

Overall Progress

Before we kick things off, I'd like to let you all know that progress has been going incredibly well. Things have been knocked out left and right and I'm happy to say that we are about 92-95 percent complete. This new version focuses primarily on expanding the game in just about every category. There are still a wealth of unexplored ideas however, but for this version they have been scrapped to save for another time or for entirely different projects.

3rd Anniversary Coming Up!

The first thing I'd like to discuss is that the 3rd anniversary of the project's first reveal is coming up on October 31st, which is directly on Halloween. However, I am currently working as fast and efficiently as possible to make sure we have enough time to give testers the opportunity to play it before then.

Testers Needed Soon?

In terms of testers, currently we have seven different individuals (myself included). That is a large boost from the initial one that we had when we first released the game earlier this year. We will all be meeting on Discord in a private group. We could use more if you are ever interested in joining us. But, there is one requirement I have to test the update, you must have a game clear save file.

Screenshot Updates


A completion percentage bar and combo meter have been added to the save menu!


The options menus have finally been categorized! A new option has also been added that will allow you to turn off the scene controls and skip information.


The Shantae seals have been relieved of their duties as the talisman icons and now every one is different.


Each bond now has type information!


Extra Synth Crystal Collection

Within the next update, there were originally planned to be 30 new Dream Gates. But, I pick certain numbers in the game for a reason. There are 120 of them in all and that number is based on Super Mario 64's 120 Power Stars. So, instead of letting those 30 variables go to waste, I decided to place them around the base world map for you to find. Some of them will only appear if you do something within the screen they are located as well. I'm kind of tempted to add 20 more though...



The Bond Barrier

One crucial addition that had to be added was the "Bond Barrier" system. Basically what this means is, you will NOT be able to use the abilities of individuals you have not met yet. The reason why this was done is because there are some new bonds in the game and I wouldn't want you to get their abilities without even knowing who they are or who does what.

The second main reason this was implemented is because there are ultimate bonds in the game that will allow you to equip every ability of that particular bond type. But, unlike in version 1.4, you must meet each individual to add that ability to the ultimate's arsenal.

The Colosseum Update

Since one of the top focuses in this project is its battle system and character variety, there was one ultimate option I wanted to add to increase the combat capabilities even further. That option is the ability to fight any boss with any character.

Now, you have the complete freedom of choosing a party or going in solo. If you decided to go solo however, at the beginning of every battle, you will be taken to the character select menu to choose who you want to be.

On top of that, battles have now been categorized so that you can find them much easier. This includes single, double, and special. And just in case you want to change your combat class without leaving the simulator, you can also change it on the battle selection menu too.




NPC And Chat Additions

As mentioned before, nearly all directories of the game are receiving either slight or heavy expansions. Two of the smaller ones include the addition of new NPCs and chats!




World Map Polishing

In addition to all of the content above, some cherry-picked areas of the world map have been expanded, altered, or remade entirely to fit the new content and to celebrate the upcoming release of a large expansion. I won't say which areas they are in particular, but you're bound to see them sooner or later.

New Art Pieces!

Along with the update will come 2 new art pieces submitted by Paulo Munir. The first one is older, but the 2nd one is recent. He is a wonderful artist and he was kind enough to let us use both of them for the game's gallery. If you are seeing this now, thank you so much, Paulo!





New Music Tracks!

Another update to the game is a shift in some of the tracks as well as new ones being added. There are over 12 new locations (some big, some small) and it is good to have ones that will fit the areas necessary. I also would like to once again thank my buddy, Swine is Online for continuing to make new tracks for areas that are needed as well as agreeing to assist me on the upcoming revival of the project, Monster World Legends.

Miscellaneous Updates

• New Pepelogoo Courses

• Extra scenes galore

• New enemy spell: Floor Freeze

• Sound effect authenticity nearly complete

• New books

• You can now end the game via the pause menu

• Some NPC objects have their functions back

• The 2nd theater at Starlight Park now has a movie too

• Active and Wait party swap modes

Thank you

To put it in simple terms, this has been one of the greatest experiences of my entire life. Working on it has brought me much joy and the vast number of individuals and collaborators I've met on this nearly 3 year journey has been something truly surreal. Your feedback, suggestions and overall warmth has really driven me to want to complete this update and get it out to all of you as fast and efficiently as possible.

Thank you all so much for everything you have done or said, whether it be public or private. It truly means the world to me and I do hope that this has been a wonderful experience for you too. That said, this is all I have for you all today. I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting some things, but if they come back to me, they'll be edited in as soon as possible.

We hope you are looking forward to this as much as we are and until next time! :D

Hey, everyone! It's been a little while since the last blog as I seemed to have skipped the month of June for one, but we do have some updates for you today regarding the project's next, big update (version 2). Hopefully, this will make up for the information drought. That said, let's get started!

2nd Arc Story Development

As stated in previous blogs, there is a second, but shorter story arc in development that will take place some time before the semi-final cut scene of the ending. For those who have played the game by now, you probably know what I am speaking of.

The arc itself dives into injecting nearly all of the concepts that were scrapped from the original vision. This includes stages, bosses, sounds, music, cut scenes, and much more! And yes, all of your save files will be compatible as every last thing is being carefully crafted so that you will NOT have to start over again when this drops.

World Map Expansions

In addition to all of the new content being developed, there are some expansions here and there to the world map, including some which are areas you've probably been to before. Since the new story arc has a new item to collect, you won't be able to rush directly to the new final boss that is waiting for you at the end of this journey.

Character Sound Effect Authenticity

One of the things that bothered me a little was the fact that some characters have their authentic sound effects while others do not. Characters who didn't have any sound effects online had to use Monster World 4's sound effects by default, which is fine, but also a bummer because other playable characters like Tails, Shantae, and the Mega Man crew have their sounds.

HOWEVER, thanks to some tools, I was finally able to retrieve the authentic sound effects to characters who did not have them before such as Milon, Princess, and the Goemon characters! It might be a shock at first, but I hope you all will get used to the change.

Moveset Expansions

While many of the characters have a decent set of moves, there are indeed some that at least need one or two more to be even more effective in combat. Characters that were overly simplistic such as Tails and Milon are some core examples of ones in desperate need for a new move or two. When you get the next package, be absolutely sure to check your move list! It is there for a reason.

Some characters will also be getting special alterations or expansions. I felt there were a handful that were kind of lackluster, so some of them need to feel more impactful.

New Art Piece

Adding to the media we have now, an artist who submitted to the game has provided another piece that I would love to share with you all! I will also place it in the Media section along with his handles so you can follow him. He's a cool guy and a good friend of mine, so why don't you drop by sometime and say hello? Here it is! It will also be featured in version 2.



New Music Pieces!

Along with the new piece of artwork, I have been working with another friend of mine who is willingly remixing THE ENTIRE Monster World IV soundtrack! He is responsible for some of the tracks the game already has such as the market district and Sheila's victory theme. I will post a handful of the tracks and his handle as well in the Media section so you can follow or subscribe to him if you desire to do so. A sample was supposed to be here, but it seems there's something wrong with the mp3 function...

I've been doing some remastered MW tracks myself to replace a few of the original game chiptunes that are present within the project. Those will also likely be posted.

Discord Server Invite

There was something I totally forgot to do the last time a blog was added and that was to give you all in invite to my discord server. It is not specifically for this game, but it is discussed in it from time to time as well as other things that a handful of individuals are working on too. Many of this project's testers and collaborators are there, so if you're interested and want to be able to keep track of some things in real-time, be sure to drop on by! I will leave the invite open for about a week.

https://discord.gg/pj7jBwr

Thank You!

I am very grateful for all of you that have played the game so far (hopefully to completion) and have given not only great feedback and suggestions, but also to those who have stuck by me throughout and beyond its creation.

Every last one of you played a role in keeping both myself and this project going and I'm almost certain the drive to do this update wouldn't be as strong without all of your kind words and overall eagerness to see more of it. Thank you all so much and have a wonderful rest of your week! :D

Hi all! Today, I have come with information regarding version 2.0 of this project. I won't be long, so let's get this show on the road!

7 Areas Have Been Added

While the base game has plenty to explore as it is, Some small detours, new areas, and more have made their way back into the game. As of now, a total of 7 locations have been added to the world map. This includes...

• Dribble Fountain

• Orb Tower

• Ancient Ruins

• To'Ahl City

• The Tower of Silence(restoration)

• The Memory Shrine

• Subterranea

A few more areas are in development also, but the cameo ones are essentially dying down for now simply because I believe the seed has been planted in some players to play some of the games this pays tribute to already. Over time, a good handful of individuals have expressed how this has sparked interest in them to play games such as Tales of Phantasia, Monster Tale, Popful Mail, and much more! Since that was one of this project's primary goals, the fact that it's happening now makes me incredibly happy.

Extra Scenes and Scenario In Development

To add on to the previous note, in honor of adding all of this new stuff to the project, extra scenes, chats, and the Otherworldly Staircase scenario is now in development. Level design is the #1 thing that takes the most time to create due to how many steps go into crafting each and every screen. Once that's done, cut scenes are added to them if they're needed.

Character development and interaction is one of the top things I adore in RPGs and games in general, so this is my second favorite step in the process. While there are over 100 scenes in the game(I think), adding more of them to flesh some things out will be a fun process. So, when this releases, be sure to explore the world map again to find new events!

The Master Gauntlets

In my opinion, a game with this much combat in it would not be complete without some kind of enemy gauntlet. So, there are now two of them. The first one is Subterranea, which is the underground monster fortress in Monster World 4. If you had the chance to view the epilogue before, it was only a single screen, so now, it's a full-blown combat-based dungeon.

The second gauntlet is the game's current ultimate challenge where you will be blasted with over 60 rapid-fire challenges based on a combination of both new and scrapped rooms that have been in the game's database since the very beginning. On average, the challenge can take over 20 minutes and is sometimes filled with merciless missions, so before you enter it, you will indeed need to prepare the best that you can. Those who make it to the very bottom can truly call themselves a master.




New Skill Grid Nodes

If you have been playing for a while, you may have noticed that a majority of your post-game Synth Crystals are gained by fighting at the Colosseum or Combat Simulator. This was designed specifically to train you up as a better fighter and prepare you for what is yet to come. However, once you clear all 103 skills on the grid, there's nothing left to upgrade...or so we thought.

In version 2.0, several new skill grid nodes are being added that will give a grander purpose to things such as combos and full HP status. However, many of them are expensive to activate, so be sure to stock up plenty of Synth Crystals by fighting lots! This means you'll likely be at Lv.200 and up.



Closing Words

That's about all I have for you all this time around. There's more I want to discuss, but I'll save it for next time. This is likely one of the final blogs before 2.0, so we're essentially getting very close to the release. Working on this has been a pure joy and hearing feedback from both veterans and newcomers has been awesome and very helpful! I hope that the 2.0 package will enhance this even more, so stay tuned! Until next time!

Greetings to all! Today, I have come with an update regarding the first extra character to be added to the playable roster along with some other information regarding DLC. I'd like for this to be short and sweet, so without further ado, let's get started!

New Playable Character!




As of now, this project has a total of 26 playable characters. However, if you count Mega Man's Rush form, that technically counts as 27 in total. Today, our 28th playable character joins the roster!

Our first DLC fighter goes to no other than Shion from the 1991 Sega Genesis Classic, Wonder Boy in Monster World! It is the fifth Wonder Boy title in the series and the third Monster World game. As this project primarily celebrates side-scrolling action adventure titles with RPG and platforming elements, it would have been a "sin" to not include him along with the other color-blasted characters represented.


With a solid art style, equipment-based gameplay and a decent-sized world full of adventure, Monster World III is one of the series' finest titles and was the primary inspiration for the blueprint of Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom.

How Does Shion Fight?

Before you simply pass Shion off as "another swordsman", most know that as long as you do something unique with them, they're always welcome additions. With that said, Shion's abilities are completely different from Asha and the others and he might just be the one of the most versatile and powerful characters in the entire game. I'll explain why with his unique moves.

• Auto Block

Since Wonder Boy characters in Monster World 1, 2, 3, and Monster Boy always hold their shields up similar to Dragon Quest characters, there is no need to block manually. This means that he is able to avoid most damage from projectiles simply by standing there. This also means that physical blows aren't effective against him either as long as the attack hits the shield before it hits him.

• Magic Switch

Shion is able to switch between five magic abilities based on the original game. These spells include Firestorm, Quake, Thunder, Power, and Shield. In other words, he has two screen nukes, a homing attack, and two moves that focus on buffs. One of the most special of them is Shield because it grants invincibility for a short time, but uses all Action Points to avoid abuse of it.

• Active Weapon Switch

If you've played the original, you know that Shion does not only use swords, but various spears too. He attacks normally in a wide range and can poke enemies at a distance while ducking, but if you hold up while grounded, he can perform "Spear Twirl". Spear Twirl allows him to not only do damage, but it also reflects projectiles that are both in front of and above him.

• He's A Fish

No, not literally! What this means is that because of Poseidon's trident, he can freely breathe underwater such as characters like Zero, Sasuke, and Shantae's mermaid form.

• Wing Boots

Within the Monster World lore, there is a pair of boots called the "Wing Boots". With the Wing Boots equipped, any hero is able to slowly descend by holding the jump button while falling. While this ability is not in Monster World III, it has been pulled from the first MW game to pay tribute to that aspect of the series' equipment.

• Dash

Similar to other characters, while grounded, Shion is able to dash in the desired direction to enable fast speed during situations. Since Shion is a legendary hero, he would need to be equipped with the best gear and abilities around to make sure he's ready to take on the task ahead.

What's Up With DLC?

If you've been following this project for a while, then you are aware that DLC is now possible for all of my projects since I no longer use the very flawed built-in save system for Game Maker. This means that new characters, levels, scenes, and much more can be added without any penalty to your save files as long as all the variables are correct. Doing so has opened massive doors to what kinds of things can be added and other games can even interact with each other's save files.

If you are playing the game now, that is a good thing because you'll need a clear save file to access some of the content that is coming in version 2.0. If you're waiting, that's completely fine however. Just remember, that when you have completed the game, be absolutely sure to keep your save files and make sure your master save is in slot number one. This is because since other games can read another games' save files and look for variables, then you'll earn some goodies in other projects as proof that your file is legit(at least I hope...).

Have You Updated?

As you all may know, the game has received updates here and there for various things and has fixed a handful of variable bugs that were my fault for not reading them closely enough. But, thanks to a certain individual who has been helping me left and right with finding things, the game has been rescued in that regard and I'm completely thankful for their assistance!

If you haven't already and your version still says version 1.0 for some reason, be absolutely sure to update your game to avoid some oddities that have already been ironed out in 1.4.

Small Shion Demonstration Possible

With our new, powerful fighter in the game, I've been thinking about doing a small demonstration with him. I am certain he'll be useful for both newcomers and experts alike.

Closing Words

That is pretty much all I have for you all today. There is still a large chunk of extra stuff in development, so I hope you all look forward to that as well as the tie-in saga of Monster World Legends. There's so much more I want to discuss, but I'll save some stuff for later. I hope you all are staying safe out there and have a wonderful day/evening. Until next time!

Hi all! I just wanted to pop in to let you all know that an update was added moments ago. It includes several fixes and a couple of other features to make things a bit smoother in some areas, but rougher in others. I'll be as brief as I can. The following update includes...

• Typo fixes in the game's move list, journal, and other directories

• Monster HP growth depending on difficulty

• Gem to gold conversion rate increase

Enemy Growth

Basically, what this means is that the number of HP of each enemy will increase depending on what difficulty you have selected. This was done because once you are powerful enough, a lot of the normal enemy challenge is thrown out the window because you're able to defeat them within one or two strikes. Now, no matter what your skill level is, it is possible to alter the challenge based on your liking.

Gem To Gold Conversion Update

As you may have noticed, when you have the "Conversion Plus" bond equipped, the conversion rate of gems to gold increases from 1 all the way to 1.5. Now, the conversion rate has been increased to a maximum of 2 gold per gem. This means, you're able to get a maximum of 19998 gold instead of 14998. With the right bonds equipped, you can earn an easy profit doing "something"...

Typo Fixes

Since RPGs are big games and often have a TON of text, it is somewhat normal for there to be typo, grammar, and other spelling errors that will occur. With the help of two additional testers and running things though a much better spell check, things have been going rather smoothly with fixing the game up to be free of such errors.

100+Downloads

I recently checked and it seems the project itself has been downloaded over 100 times! Thank you all who have downloaded so far! I know the initial launch wasn't exactly graceful thanks to the numerous errors found and patches that had to be made to get things working as they should, but I thank you for being patient with me and I hope that things will run MUCH smoother when version 2.0 is released.

The 2.0 package is currently in development and will release sometime soon depending on how fast things go and what kind of content is jammed into it. That's pretty much all I have to say for now. Until next time!