When did Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap release?

Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap was first released on September 1, 1989.

Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap

Sep 1, 1989PlatformRole-playing (RPG)Wii Sega Master System/Mark III Sega Game GearPC Engine/TurboGrafx-16Mobile

Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap — frequently asked questions

What platforms is Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap on?: Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap was released on Wii, Sega Master System/Mark III, Sega Game Gear, PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16, Mobile, iOS, TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine.
When did Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap release?: Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap was first released on September 1, 1989.

About Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap

A direct sequel to Wonder Boy in Monster Land, you wander through the lands using multiple forms that each have different abilities. Each defeated boss unlocks a new form that has to be used to advance to a new area, while shops give you access to new equipment for money.

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

Platforms: Wii, Sega Master System/Mark III, Sega Game Gear, PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16, Mobile, iOS, TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine
Developer: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Game modes: Single player
Themes: Action, Fantasy
Series: Wonder Boy

Details via IGDB.

Reception

IGDB rating

80/100

from 24 ratings

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Period reviews	Built by	Fake risk
Sega Master System	1989	$30	$60	$305	17 reviews	Tec Toy (publisher)	Low (look-alike)

Also released on: Wii · Sega Master System/Mark III · Sega Game Gear · PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 · Mobile · iOS · TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.

Collector value & authenticity

Sega Master System · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-28

Loose

$30

Complete

$60

Sealed

$305

few sales

Other releases and variants

Release	Loose	Complete	Sealed
European (PAL) release	$12	$35	—
Brazilian release (Turma da Monica em O Resgate)Tectoy retitled this game for Brazil; PriceCharting files it on its PAL list.	—	$155	—

How often it sells

Loose: about 2 times a month
Complete: about once a week
Sealed: about once a year

Prices marked “few sales” rest on about one recorded sale a year, so treat them as a rough guide: the next copy could sell well above or below. Expect to wait for one to come up.

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-28.

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $8.34 in Jul 2009, $35 five years ago, and $30 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2010	$6.99	—
Jan 2011	$10.97	—
Jan 2012	$12.95	—
Jan 2013	$12.99	—
Jan 2014	$16.00	$25
Jan 2015	$19.99	$45
Jan 2016	$25	$26
Jan 2017	$30	$47
Jan 2018	$40	$75
Jan 2019	$28	$50
Jan 2020	$33	$60
Jan 2021	$38	$56
Jan 2022	$40	$52
Jan 2023	$35	$68
Jan 2024	$33	$41
Jan 2025	$33	$50
Jan 2026	$28	$52
Oct 2026	$30	$60

Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.

Release record

Territory	Date	Product number	Known board
North America	September 1989	—	—
Europe / PAL	1989	—	—
Brazil	1993	026.260	171-5507 · MPR-15999

Source: Product numbers: MAME's Master System software list and the No-Intro serial records in the libretro database, published only where both agree on the same cartridge dump; Japanese numbers also checked against Sega Japan's software list. Board and ROM numbers: MAME's software list

Region: NA+EU+BR
Released: 1989
Authenticity: Low

Modern re-releases, such as Sega Ages and Virtual Console, are not tracked hereLow look-alike risk

Sega Master System prices, all games & how to spot a fake

A sprawling action-adventure that Master System magazines treated as one of the system's best.

Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap was developed by Westone and published by Sega, reaching North America in September 1989 and Europe the same year. Wonder Boy has been cursed and must find the Salamander Cross to lift it, exploring a non-linear world and transforming into other forms that gain different abilities. This is the Master System version; there is also a Brazilian edition from Tec Toy, released in 1993 as Turma da Monica em O Resgate, with characters from the Monica's Gang comics.

Praise was strong. Mean Machines called it one of the greatest Master System games ever, with a look reminiscent of the Mario series and great depth. ACE listed it among the three best Master System games available in 1989, and Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it its Master System Game of the Year award for 1989. Criticisms were sprite flickering and slippery controls, and The Games Machine also noted weak animation on some characters and choppy scrolling.

How it was made

Developed by Westone. Shinichi Sakamoto is credited as composer.

What the press said at the time

Mean Machines Sega Issue 1	October 1992	OVERALL 95%
Mean Machines Games Guide	May 1992	OVERALL 96%
Mean Machines Sega Issue 3	December 1992	OVERALL 96%
Sega Pro Issue 22	August 1993	93%
Sega Pro Issue 24	October 1993	93%
Sega Pro Issue 25	November 1993	93%
Sega Pro Issue 36	September 1994	93%
Sega Pro Issue 42	March 1995	80%
Sega Pro Issue 44	May 1995	80%
ACE		915/1000
Computer and Video Games		86% / 96%
Joystick		88%
The Games Machine		71%
Video Games		83%
Zero		73%
Sega Power		5/5
S: The Sega Magazine		92%

“This is just as good as ever it was! I still find the immense depth of the game amazing, and the quest to return Wonderboy to his original form makes for what still is probably the best Master System gome ever!”
— Mean Machines Sega, October 1992

“Wonderboy 111 has to rank as one of the greatest Master System games ever! It has a look and feel slightly reminiscent of the Nintendo Mario series (no bad thing) and a depth of gameplay second to none”
— Mean Machines, May 1992

“Wonderboy III has to rank as one of the greatest Master System games ever! It has a look and feel slightly reminiscent of the Nintendo Mario series (no bad thing) and a depth of gameplay second to none. Make sure it's in your collection - NOW!”
— Mean Machines Sega, December 1992

“If you like the others, you’ll go wild over the third outing which is the best by miles. You must again hack your v/ay along the path, but you are helped out by shops, that seli weapons, along the routě. A great arcade adventure without hedgehogs or dueks. Now that has to be worth something!”
— Sega Pro, August 1993

Undated scores are from the review table in the game's Wikipedia article, limited to reviews of the Sega Master System version.

How the Sega Master System version differs

Reviewers criticized sprite flickering and slippery controls in the Master System version.

A Brazilian Master System release from Tec Toy replaced the sprites with characters from the comic series Monica's Gang, so the hero turns into different comic characters instead of different creatures.

Also on other platforms

Game Gear · PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 · Mobile · iOS · TurboGrafx-16

TurboGrafx-16	Hudson Soft
Sega Master System	Tec Toy (publisher)

TurboGrafx-16. Hudson Soft's port was released as Dragon's Curse, and Westone let Hudson publish it provided there was no reference to the Wonder Boy series.
Game Gear. The game did not reach Japan until its Game Gear port, which was localized under a different title.

How the other versions reviewed

TurboGrafx-16	GamePro	20/25
TurboGrafx-16	Raze	80%
TurboGrafx-16	The Games Machine	86%

These are the other versions’ scores, not this one’s. Ports of this era were frequently built by different studios, so they do not transfer.

Before you buy

The European cart is much cheaper than the US one, loose and complete, so it is the economical way in if you do not need an American box. The US cart sits above the middle of the US carts when loose, and the look-alike risk is low. Tec Toy's retitled Brazilian edition is an official release, not a hack. Check the manual is present, as it is the piece most often missing.