Tales of Monsterland DX

A village besieged by monsters, a mysterious tower and a broken rope bridge.

Save the village by uncovering the origin of these creatures.
Run, jump and battle your way through a strange land,
gaining powerful abilities to help you in your quest.
It’s non-stop action all the way to the end and then maybe,
you can find your way home.

TALES OF MONSTERLAND DX is a new title for the Game Boy Color and compatible devices that hearkens back to a golden age of platforming adventures.

Explore an interconnected world, discovering hidden items and areas.‍

Designed to run on original hardware, this handheld game really shines on Game Boy Color handheld systems and above. Tales of Monsterland is love letter to the classic platform games of the 8-bit era.

• Full colour!
• Play on Game Boy Color compatible devices
• Four magical forms to unlock
• Unlockable classic Game Boy DMG & Pocket palettes!
• Find the hidden world!
• Original, all new chip tune soundtrack by Incognito
• Suitable for all ages
• Featuring battery-less saving!

Reviews

Structurally this game reminded me immediately of Wario Land 3 and that is a very good thing. The overworld consists of several interconnected levels that you can traverse between once you find certain upgrades, treasures or other secrets to help you on your quest. There is a lot of immediate charm to the game, from the way the characters are designed and the manner in which they speak, to how you interact with the world. I especially loved how you can ignore instructions like getting a sword and just set out on your own. The game feels much more modern than traditional platforming action games in that regard. But the highlight is without a doubt the great soundtrack, that uses all of the Game Boy Color’s capabilities to deliver some fantastic atmosphere. Tales Of Monsterland DX really nails that feeling of picking up a platforming adventure and getting lost in the world. 

— Nintendo World Report  11/24

Playing the game

Designed to be played on original hardware, download the .gbc ROM and give it a try (or play in the browser window).

Controls

A (x) – Jump, dialogue proceed
B (z) – Attack, interact
Up – Interact with item, go in door, sign etc
Back – Dash back (child)
Shift (select) – Inventory / change form
Enter (start) – Menu, save, load, check game status

Click game in browser window before starting.

Tips

• Talk to everyone in the village
• Save often
• Some areas you'll need to go back to when you've gained an ability
• Check your status to see what's left to collect

‍

Background

My first Game Boy game, created in the lockdown of 2021, inspired by 8-bit games such as Kirby and Wonderboy.  I've had the opportunity to revisit it in 2024, rebuilding almost from scratch using the more recent tooling allowing me to improve and add to it, including –

• New original chip tune OST of around 14 tracks by Incognito
• Additional connecting scenes, update tiles and environment effects
• More and bigger monsters! (it is Monsterland after all)
• New coin placements, new collectable 'pages'
• Unlockable classic views/palettes (Game Boy DMG green, Game Boy Pocket B&W)
• More animations, jump state, new walk cycles etc
• Improved sound effects
• Moving platforms & proper slopes/diagonals
• Extra save game (battery less) slots
• Bug fixes, tweaks and balancing

Credits

Development, graphics, story, design, manual and packaging.
— Joel Jarman

Audio‍

Original soundtrack by June Wilson / Incognitio
SFX by Coffee ‘Valen’ Bat

Box art

New box art work by Marissa Paradis (https://linktr.ee/digitalhollow)

Playtesting and feedback

‍— Chris Beach, Matt Winston, Eric Mack, Mr.Blinky, 2BitCrook, Obscure Games and Consoles

Typefaces

‍Orthodox Herbertarian by MEP
Original Polaris font by DamienG (https://damieng.com/)

Special thanks to

‍Chris Maltby, Pau Tomas for GB Studio and plugins, Hauntology, Rulz, Bryan Rollins, GB Central and all the rest of the GB Studio community as well as anyone who has supported me in any way, including encouragement, feedback, likes and shares.