My only previous experience with WonderBoy games was the first one, I wasn't a big fan. I bought this mainly for the artwork, and not only I wasn't dissapointed but I was amazed on how great the gameplay is. The game takes the mechanics from the old-school version and goes with it, just updating graphics and music (which you can switch to the old school mode just like the Monkey Island remakes).
The gameplay appears forgiving at first, but it starts becoming more challenging quite fast. You can die often if you are not careful enough, you will lose all your items but not your money, but fret not, items are quite easy to come by since enemies drop them a lot. Remember to upgrade your equipment everytime you can, as it will make the game easier, or if you feel like you want a challenge, do a vanilla run and try not to die (it won't be easy).
The artwork is stunning, whenever you switch with the retro mode you wonder how they did come up with these concepts from the original style, since most of the stages of the original seem to miss them. The remake has incredible backgrounds with very creative features. The animation is incredible, very fluid, it looks like a movie. The soundtrack is very pleasant, with quite an upbeat rhythm characteristic of old-school games and a wide range of instruments with a strong presence of wind instruments, there are hints of jazz here and there.
Get it if you like: solid platformer mechanics, simple yet interesting items, stunning artwork, cute stuff.