If Sega made a new MW they would probably go the 3D world route like LOZ or something. It would work alright like that but I would rather have an even longer 2D adventure like MWIV maybe a Mario3DLand type gameplay wise.

I hope you're wrong on both counts. I hope deep in my heart that Sega has learned the grave mistakes of turning a 2D game into 3D. This isn't 1997 anymore.

Yeah, I can't really imagine this series working in 3D...

Even so, I'd like to see what Sega does with it.

I'd rather see Sega be smart for once myself, instead of screwing up the only chance we'll ever have at a sequel to this series, assuming a chance is even there. This isn't a series that they should take risks with. There's still plenty they can do with the current formula without having to invent an entirely new one. Shantae proved that.

So how far is everyone in MWIV?
I've just opened the fourth gate in the temple.
The town turned crazy.
The Ice Pyramid was cool

I need to grind some money to buy the Legendary Armor and a better sword.

Unfortunately in this game you can't go back to earlier areas (maybe later?)

I think they should have made it more openworld like Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap and Wonder Boy in Monster World.
I hope there aren't too many missable items.

I beat it today. I'll probably check out the arcade version of Wonder Boy in Monster Land soon.

I don't know what it is, but I just don't see the appeal of sidescrolling RPG titles. I've watched some gameplay videos of the Wonder Boy titles, but I don't see what's so great about the series. Can somebody please explain why/how this series has accumulated such a gathering of followers? Is it just because of it's certain 8-bit retro charm, or is there more than meets the eye? Also, are there any puzzle aspects incorporated into the gameplay?

Same here.

Thankfully, I found enough gold bars so I never had to grind for anything.

I guess everything is better with RPG elements, even side scrollers.

Monster World IV has puzzles. I got stuck on a few.

The series gets better with the game, I'll tell ya that. I take it you haven't seen MWIV yet?

Beat Monster World IV today.
Missed the Legendary Armor.
Found unbelievable 148/150 Tear Drops.

Now travelling to Monster Land.

Wonder Boy in Monster Land is so hard. I can't get past Snow Kong.

Monster Land,
Made it to the final stage where all your continues reset back to zero and you can't add any more.
Game Over. Start from scratch.
The game seems harder, faster, and shorter than the Master System version.

So SKTTR, which version would you recommend more highly?

Does anyone know if the stories to the Monster World games go together? Like if I play Monster World IV will I be supremely confused if I didn't play the others?

Not really. The plots are pretty simplistic. You could easily play Monster World IV on its own. Only Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap is a direct continuation of a previous game (and even then the story's pretty basic).

From what I've seen so far,

Wonder Boy in Monster Land is the prequel to Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap.

And Wonder Boy in Monster World is the prequel to Monster World IV, hence the references in some of the books and the Japanese name Monster World III.

And the Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair could be a sequel to the original Wonder Boy, as it shares more similarities than all the others.

For me they're connected in pairs of two, but in a loose way. I mean, you don't need to play any of them in a specific order.

Thanks to all those who responded, but I'm still pretty confused. I think I will FOR SURE buy MWIV, and after I buy that, I'll have 600 points left over. I don't know whether I should try one of the earlier Wonder Boy games before I try MWIV, and which one it should be. Which one from the series is the best to get into as a newcomer, and what version of that is the best? Thanks in advance.

Dragon's Curse is the one you should get.

He should get Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap. It's the original, it's 100pts cheaper and it has two soundtracks.
Content, controls and graphics are pretty much the same.

For 500pts even the Master System versions of Wonder Boy and Wonder Boy in Monster Land are good, but the arcade versions are better. Especially Monster Lair. It's missing a few stages in the Mega Drive version.
Anyway here's the chronological list.

1. Wonder Boy (Arcade & MS) - Clone: Adventure Island (NES)
2. Monster World (JP) - Wonder Boy in Monster Land (Arcade & MS)
3. Wonder Boy III - Monster Lair (Arcade & MD) - Clone: Monster Lair (TG)
4. Monster World II (JP) Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap (MS) - Clone: Dragon's Curse (TG)
5. Monster World III (JP) Wonder Boy in Monster World (MD) - Clone: The Dynastic Hero (TG)
6. Monster World IV (JP) (MD)