Just finished earning all the achievements in the Monster World collection. Monster World 3 was easily my favorite of the bunch. I quite enjoyed the Metroid-esque world to explore, the different weapon upgrades, the secrets to uncover, the use of magic, etc... Just felt like the most well-rounded product.
Monster Land is an arcade game from 1986 and it feels as such. There is an irritating timer that is constantly ticking off your health. Score plays a massive role in earning more hearts as does maximizing your money to afford vital upgrades. I found it became necessary to abuse quicksave's and to set the turbo spin jump to a button for anytime a secret coin is discovered in order to earn a 60+ drop instead of meager 1-10(you'll understand if you play). Even with full Legendary equipment the endboss was cheap and irritating. My least favorite of the collection.
MWIV was alright. Occasionally had some clever level encounters, but mostly it was somewhat forgettable. Being a late-gen Genesis game, it has some nifty tech effects. Some obtuse puzzles, and the removal of magic alongside very bland equipment upgrades made it feel uneven compared to MW3. The later stages removed the best gimmick from the game(bird) and tossed in some frustrating platforming and action segments. Not bad, but not the shining gem of the Genesis library I was led to believe.
