Revenge of Drancon

Revenge of Drancon for Sega Game Gear is the North American title for Sega's handheld version of the original Wonder Boy. Developed by Escape and published by Sega, it arrived in North America in 1991 after the related Game Gear release had appeared in Japan as Wonder Boy. Rather than a new entry in the series, it adapts the 1986 arcade platform game for Sega's portable system, recasting the familiar rescue story around the more prominently named King Drancon.

The adventure follows Tom-Tom, the loincloth-clad hero, after Drancon kidnaps his girlfriend Tanya. Each side-scrolling round sends him running from left to right through hazardous country in pursuit of the king. Forests, beaches and oceans, caverns, volcanic ground, deserts, waterfalls, and cloud-high routes give the quest changing scenery, while enemy creatures and environmental obstacles make timing as important as speed.

Tom-Tom can jump over danger and throw stone hatchets at enemies. Breakable eggs scattered through the stages supply useful items: a hatchet when he needs one, a skateboard for a faster and riskier run, and temporary angel protection that lets him defeat enemies by contact. Not every egg helps, however. Some conceal harmful surprises, so a player must decide quickly whether to take an item or keep moving.

The Game Gear version retains the original's steadily draining vitality meter. Fruit found along a route restores health, making pickups part of the basic survival rhythm rather than mere score items. Dolls hidden through the rounds add another reason to explore; collecting the complete set opens extra content. At the end of an area, Tom-Tom confronts Drancon in a boss encounter before the chase continues.

Although it is rooted in the arcade Wonder Boy, Revenge of Drancon reflects the home-console branch of the game. Its Game Gear program follows the expanded Sega 8-bit layout of 40 rounds, with additional areas beyond the arcade game's standard progression. The handheld presentation also pares back the on-screen information to emphasize the vitality display, while its small-screen adaptation keeps the bright character sprites, scrolling courses, and two-button action central to play.

The title is a useful reminder of the unusual naming history surrounding the first Wonder Boy. Sega used Wonder Boy for the Game Gear version in Japan and Europe, but North American players received it as Revenge of Drancon; the renamed box and premise still lead to the same foundational Wonder Boy adventure. As the series' original style of fast, stage-by-stage platform action, this Game Gear edition stands apart from the role-playing elements that later became associated with several Wonder Boy and Monster World sequels.