Wonder Boy in Monster Land/Walkthrough

Game flow
Wonder Boy in Monster Land is a linear game which takes place across 11 stages, or 12 in the case of the Sega Master System. The SMS version contains an extra stage deposited between the 7th and 8th stage of the original game which is not found in any other conversion. The round numbers used in this guide reflect the Sega Master System edition of the game. The walkthrough for the 8th through 11th rounds of the arcade (and many other versions) are provided by Rounds 9 through 12 respectively. There are no warps, and no chances to skip any stages. You must complete the game in its entirety to see the ending.

In each round, you begin at one end of a stage and must reach your objective on the other end. The objective is either to defeat a boss and collect a key which must be brought to a gate, or to simply defeat the boss at the end of the level. You begin each stage with a certain amount of health (determined by how much with which you completed the previous stage.) As you play, an hourglass constantly pours sand from the top to the bottom. When all of the sand has drained to the bottom, you lose one heart of health and the hourglass turns over to start again. Health can be restored by collecting hearts that enemies drop, by buying drinks at a bar, or by staying at a hospital. See below for more information.

Famicom note: the hourglass system does not exist in this port. Also notice that the stage layout is totally different from other versions, so that below walkthrough may not be applicable.

If you run out of hearts during the course of the adventure, the game will end if you do not possess Medicine. If you do possess Medicine, it will automatically restore five hearts of health (or your entire meter in the case of the SMS version.) Typically, when you defeat a boss, you also gain back one heart of health. When you complete a stage, all of your remaining health is drained and converted to bonus points. Then you receive back all of the health you had previously plus one extra heart's worth, before beginning the next stage.

Shops
There are many shops that you will find throughout the game. The doors to many shops are visible, but there are plenty of other shops whose doors you cannot see unless you push up to investigate a location.

Equipment
Some shops are designated as Shield, Armor, or Shoe shops. These shops will always make available the next two levels of equipment above the one you currently posses. For example, if you possess the Light Shield when you enter a shield shop, you will be able to purchase only the Knight Shield or the Hard Shield. The Legend Shield will not be made available for purchase until you possess at least the Knight Shield.

Bars
Bars offer two kinds of drinks at various prices throughout the game. Regardless of the price of the drinks, the more expensive drink will always restore one full heart of health, while the less expensive drink will only restore one half of a heart. You can visit a bar twice before you are prevented from entering again.

Hospital
By paying for a cure at a hospital, your remaining health will be drained for bonus point, just like at the end of each level, and then all of your health will be completely restored. Note however that each time you stay at a hospital, the cost of the next stay will increase. Your first stay will cost 20 gold, while the next time you choose to stay, it will cost 40 gold, then 70 gold, and so on.