Wonder Boy in Monster Land is probably my all-time favourite video game, and it has been with me practically my whole life. I played it a lot as a kid, and I still play it from time to time, even though I now know all secrets, and would probably be able to finish it blindfolded. But it has taken me some hundred hours with it to get there.
The reason why I wanted it so much as a kid, was because my friend had it for his Commodore 64, and I knew there was a Master System-version of it as well. So one time when I was in the toy store where they sold Master System-games, I convinced my parents to buy it to me, even though it was the most expensive game they had. I remember not being so good at it at first, but I eventually got better and better. Discovering all it's secrets was fun - hidden coins, hidden doors ... And being able to buy better equipment - boots, shields and armours. Developing strategies for how to spend my gold - which equipment should be bought in which shop? Personally my strategy was, besides buying better equipment, to buy as many fire balls as I could, to use them on the dragon (final boss). Having to discover all these things by myself made me even more connected to the game, and one secret I didn't actually discover until I started playing the game on emulators - was where the boss with the legendary sword is.
And the final stage is, of course, a story of its own. I spent so much time on that level the music used to give me nightmares, and I was sure I was never going to find my way through that dreadful labyrinth castle. It's funny how I have memorized the way, so that I know it by heart now, even though I don't play the game as often. But back then it was a nightmare. Especially the jumping-up-on-the-moving-blocks part. One mistake and it was back to the beginning! And then the dragon. Woooh.. The dragon! He was hard. It wasn't until I developed my collect-fireballs strategy that I was able to beat him. And of course learning the way in the castle by heart, so I could select the ruby instead of the bell.
I guess it's hard to explain why you fall in love, and it's hard to explain why I fell in love with this game. It's one of those truly classic games from the late 80s, and I am willing to say the Master System version is as good as the arcade version. The music is fantastic, the graphics looks perfect for an 8-bit fan like me, and the game has mysteries, secrets, dragons and witches. It's a magic world this game throws us into, and the story is a classic one - an evil dragon has taken over the country and it's up to a young boy to get to him and kill him. A bit simple maybe, but it doesn't get much more classic than that. And "classic" is also the word I would use to describe this game.