Guide: Where to Find All the Hearts in Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap

Lizardcube's loving recreation of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap set a new standard for retro remakes when it came out. Games from the '80s weren't really the best at directing the player, however, and that rings true for this faithful production of Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap on Nintendo Switch.

Fortunately we're here to help you make your Wonder Boy or Wonder Girl a little bit more wondrous. The game has a total of six additional hearts to collect to make you a little bit stronger; whatever form you take you're going to want to collect these.

Heart # 1

The first heart is the easiest to collect and of course the easiest to find. After you've completed the intro and been cursed as Dragon Man head into the tower, then make a right to fall into the well. From there, just continue to the right a few steps and you'll find a chest containing the heart.

Heart # 2

Unlike our first heart, this second heart requires you to have progressed in the story somewhat. Once you've unlocked Mouse-Man head West out of town, climbing over the blocks to continue on your path to the desert. Once you're in the desert, continue West until you reach a pyramid. Instead of dropping into a pit to gain access to the pyramid, jump over them and begin ascending.

Once you reach the summit of the pyramid and climb down the other side, you'll see a Sphinx with a door. Go on in and the next heart is awaiting you in a chest inside.

Heart # 3

The third heart is located deep in the jungle on the way to that area's dragon. To get there from town all you need to do is head left until you hit a dead end. It's a long trip, spanning several screens, but you won't need much gear to do it. All you have to do is have Mouse-Man unlocked. Once you reach the dead end, as Mouse-Man you can choose to either scale the wall or drop into the water below.

Jump into the water where you'll find another set of blocks to climb with a door atop them. Climb the blocks, open the door and get the heart from the chest.

Heart # 4

The fourth heart is one of the most complex to find. To get it you'll need to have unlocked Piranha-Man, so make sure you've done that before you proceed. Fortunately, this one is on the way to your next story objective as well, but it's not exactly easy to know where to go.

From town you'll want to make your way to the beach. Once you're at the beach, clear the first set of platforms, then drop into the water just before the next set. When you reach bottom you'll see four rather conspicuous looking blocks; smash them up with your sword and follow the path to get to the next area.

The next few areas are linear, so you won't have any choice but to continue along the path. Keep going until you swim upward to reach a new area. When you get to this area, you'll have the option of going either left or right. To get to the next heart you need to make a right; don't fret about the left as the only thing that way is a nurse. As you continue right you'll notice a door on the roof and column of blocks followed by a hole you can drop into. Ignore the door for now and drop into the hole. The next area has a few blocks for you to navigate past before arriving at a new door shortly after. Go through the door and collect your reward.

Heart # 5

The fifth heart has been hiding under our noses all along! To get it, you'll need Lion-Man. Once you've got him, go to the tower and head to the left of it. You'll see four blocks over some water. Using Lion-Man's ability to attack downward smash the blocks and jump in.

Once you're in the underground move left to find four more blocks; smash those and descend again. From there, head right and you'll see a bunch of blocks guarding a treasure chest; smash them up and open to chest to claim your heart.

Heart # 6

The sixth and final heart is far and away the most difficult to find as it's buried within the final boss's lair, which is itself difficult to find. Fear not, as we'll show you how to locate both. You'll need to have unlocked all of your forms, save for Hu-Man to get there; you need to start out as Hawk-Man and make sure you have a key in your inventory as well as the Miracle Sword. After you have your key, go to the tower and fly up. On the next screen, fly left until you see a floating door surrounded by blocks. Smash the blocks and open the door to find a room full of star-shaped blocks. Equip the Miracle Sword and use the miracle sword to turn the star pictured below into a block, then smash that block to unveil an item that will make a door appear on the opposite side of the room.

Now that you've made it to the castle, it's time to locate the heart. Fortunately the castle is fairly straightforward, but it will require use of every form you've acquired up to this point. You'll soon reach a dead end. When you get there, simply walk through the wall to continue on.

Next you'll find a door containing a transformation pedestal. You'll need to become Mouse-Man to continue on to the heart, and of course the game decides to become tricky here. You'll see a group of blocks Mouse-Man can stick to up against a wall. Stick to the upper set of blocks and move around them to find your way through the wall.

As you continue along, you'll find a structure that looks like a set of steps with not visible means of passage. Just climb up the first step, then walk forward to get through it. Continue until you drop down into a room with three fire stones in it. When you get there, walk through the the bottom step underneath the lowest fire stone to drop into a new room. When you fall in you'll see a door guarded by a red cyclops. Kill it and enter the door to get this heart.

Heart # 7

Screenshot/details courtesy of reader Greenalink

The final heart is right in town. As Hawk-Man, fly over the blocks at the starting point of town then continue right. You'll see a treasure chest surround by blocks, at which point you'll keep going right until you see a cliff. Walk off the cliff to descend to the beach, then go left. You'll see a pool of water with some light filtering down over it. Fly up to reach the treasure chest you saw earlier and claim your heart!

That's it. You now have all the life you need to take on the Vampire Dragon and restore Wonder Boy to his original form. Did you find this useful? Let us know in the comments.