Lucas M. Thomas writes for IGN:
"It strikes me as odd that SEGA would select Wonder Boy as their flagship title heralding the arrival of the Master System on the Virtual Console, since Wii gamers have had the opportunity to download the very same game design for over half a year in the form of Hudson's NES Adventure Island. What's more, Wonder Boy has arrived at a pricepoint of 500 Wii Points, giving it no monetary value advantage over the previous release either – when Master System games were expected to be available for a standard rate of 400 Points instead. Wonder Boy is still a fair selection and will certainly appeal to gamers nostalgic for the Master System, and placed head-to-head against Adventure Island it edges out Master Higgins' quest by just a bit. But let's hope that the next Master System title to arrive in the Wii Shop is one of that console's truly unique efforts."
"The Adventure Island and Wonder Boy series have a long shared history so let's explore both franchises and see which one's best." - A.J. Maciejewski from Video Chums
What is the secret of his power? From Alex Kidd to Vectorman, Sega had a ton of series that are unfortunately now buried in the past.
Samir Torres: The technology behind today's video-game consoles and computers lets designers create fantastical, breathtaking environments. But if you're like me, what you really want to see are old, sprite-based characters doing their thing in real-life backdrops.
I had no Balloon Fight was so disturbing.
Other than the fact that, eh, it's not so great.