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That most pleasant of kingdoms, Wonderland, is in danger from the evil fire-breathing meka dragon. The dragon has employed a multitude of monsters and minions to go around Wonderland and beat everybody up. Misery and depression falls everywhere and it looks set to stay. Never fear though, because Wonder Boy is here to save the day. He's got a clean nappy and he's willing to risk all to return peace and tranquility to the land.

The character of Wonderboy first appeared as long ago as 1986 in a Sega coin-op, originally called "Bock Lee Temjin" (I kid you not!). How does he fare on the all-growed up ST?

Before you start your dragon-slaying quest you'll need something a little more substantial than a nappy pin. There's a building at the start of the game which contains a nice man - a very nice man, a very, very nice man - who gives you a sword and a bottle of medicine. The sword serves to hack off evil heads and the medicine will make you healthy again if your heart stops a-beating.

All manner of monsters can be found in Wonderland and the only way to stop them is with your rusty... er, trusty sword. Killing them stops them from killing you and usually results in some small reward. Sometimes extra weapons such as bombs, fireballs, whirlwinds, but mostly gold coins.

Wonderland is made up of a multitude of levels that get progressively harder.

At the end of each one there's the compulsory guardian. Defeat him/her/it and you go on to the next level with wads of bonus points.

Periodically you'll come across a doorway which will either contain a horrible monster or a shopkeeper. There's no barging in though, you have to knock on the door first. If only all games would teach such good manners! Monsters must be battled, but shopkeepers must be bathed in bullion.

Shops sell all sorts of things including armour, shields, healing potions, alcohol (for medicinal purposes - honest) and extra weapons. Take care how you spend your money though, it's not easy to come by and some things can be darned expensive.

Wonder Boy has a jolly tune playing throughout. Although the sprites aren't very large, they're colourful and cute. And cuteness is what the game's all about. Ok, so you have to go around killing things gratuitously, but there's no gore. The monsters just have a slightly dazed look on their faces when they're hit and then they shed their mortal coil. The various shopkeepers are nicely drawn and the end-of-level guardians are suitably detailed. In general, Wonderboy looks and sounds very good.

Although Wonderboy is not the most original of concepts and is a very simple game, it is enjoyable. It has that elusive just-one-more-game quality that so much software lacks. Go out there and get yourself a fresh nappy and tackle the nasty old dragon, 'cos reaching the end of the game will take a very long time indeed.