Wonderland Adventures is a series of puzzle/action games by indie developer Patrick Maidorn (Midnight Synergy), created as a Sequel Series to the original Wonderland trilogy with (somewhat) different gameplay.
The three games in the series are:
- Wonderland Adventures (2007)
- Wonderland Adventures: Mysteries of Fire Island (2008)
- Wonderland Adventures: Planet of the Z-Bots (2013)
Provides examples of:
- Artificial Stupidity: The NPCs (Baby Boomers and Wee Stinkers included) don't actually have any way to detect and avoid enemies or other harmful obstacles. While they're generally pretty smart at getting from point A to point B, they can and will charge recklessly into a fire if it's in their way (thankfully this is only really a problem in Wee Stinker/Baby Boomer levels).
- Chaos Architecture: The world of Wonderland seems to have changed very much from the Classic Trilogy to the Adventures trilogy (Fire Island looks very different, for example).
- Character Customization: The player can create their own custom Stinker in the Adventures series, though the differences are only cosmetic.
- Clairvoyant Security Force: While they're not a security force, Chompers will take the most direct path possible to reach the player, even if the player can't physically see them. Ghosts in PoTZ do this as well, when they're active.
- Crate Expectations: They're not actually that common, but barrels can be found scattered around in some places.
- The Centerpiece Spectacular: Halfway through MoFI, the Ice Trolls come out of nowhere, steal the Star Key, freeze everyone present except you, and cause you to be trapped inside the Volcano.
- Darker and Edgier: Mysteries of Fire Island to the first game. While the first game was just about finding the Rainbow Shards to stop some Non-Malicious Monster bad guys, MOFI has the protagonist shipwrecked on a Desert Island trying to prevent a meteor shower, and most of his or her companions get frozen into ice cubes early on.
- Death of a Child: There are many occasions where Wee Stinkers or Baby Boomers can die if you're careless (as well as some instances where they're in danger and you need to hurry to save them).
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: More so in the first game than in the second, but NPCs in both games will ask you to take a break from saving the world for a bit in order to help them do stuff. ZigZagged in PoTZ – while everyone in-game is more or less aware of what the player's busy with, they'll sometimes recommend taking a moment to relax (in the form of either playing games in the arcade or solving puzzles that have been put together for them). Only one NPC in the game actually asks the player for help that's unrelated to the main quest.
- Downer Ending: Played straight in MoFI, with the Ice Trolls you have been fighting the entire game turn out to be trying, and failing, to prevent the invasion of Wonderland by the Z-Bots, and the Z-Bot army arriving in Wonderland.
- Enter Solution Here: A combination between this and a Dialogue Tree in the beginning of MoFI. An NPC finds a machine and asks the player what code they should input to keep moving forward (Thankfully, the code happens to be hidden in the same room, so the player doesn't have to do a lot of backtracking to find it).
- Game-Breaking Bug: A bug that was patched in WA1 was the ability to shoot spells through walls. This was known as wall-blinking, because Blink – which allows the player to teleport – could cause some relatively bad side-effects (such as being unable to return to one area to finish any potential leftover adventures later on).
- Game Within a Game: Happens in both WA1 and PoTZ, wherein the player can collect tokens to play arcade games (all of which are references to classic Atari 2600 games).
- Glass Cannon: The player character, in a way. They're perfectly capable of wielding potentially dangerous magic spells, but they're still a One Hit-Point Wonder.
- Have a Nice Death: There aren't that many unique ways to die, but the "Adventure Failed" screen has a different line at the bottom depending on how you died.
- 100% Completion: Each game has an extra, hidden surprise for any player who scopes out every single level in the game. In PoTZ, this is exaggerated – the player needs to find every single gold coin.
- Impassable Desert: There's a large abyss between the edge of the Forever Forest and the Wasteland in WA1. The player can't cross the abyss until they've collected the Green Shard.
- Ironic Fear: Jedlic is afraid of Scritters. He even admits that he knows how cute and harmless they are.
- It's Up to You: Zig-Zagged. The player character is portrayed as rather adventurous and inquisitive, getting themselves involved in the events of the first game willingly. In the beginning of MoFI, the player gets dragged into things thanks to Morklin, but ends up willingly going along with the adventure later on.
- Forgetful Jones: Gaboonga. He even has a habit of calling the player character Gaboonga. This changes in the second game however, when he has his Memory Gem.
- Freelook Button: The Spy-eye is an in-universe example – functionally, it allows the player to pan the camera around the level outside of their regular view (though it doesn't have infinite range).
- Level Editor: There is a free level editor that lets you make standalone levels or full “hub” projects, similar to the original games.
- Level Goal: Quite a few. There's the default collection of the gold star, rescuing Wee Stinkers, capturing (or killing) scritters, collecting gems, destroying cuboids, and destroying fire flowers. The second game adds capturing all crabs, and rescuing all Baby Boomers, while the third game adds destroying all Z-Bots in a level.
- Living MacGuffin: The Rainbow Wizards themselves in the third game, in that the only way to stop the Z-Bots and destroy the Void Crystal is through gathering all 7 of them.
- Magic Mirror: A mirror that allows you to transport to different areas by using a glyph and stepping through it.
- Magnetic Hero: Many NPCs from WA1 joined the crew in MoFI because of their prior experience with the player.
- Mooks, but no Bosses: Sort of. The game doesn't particularly focus on fighting enemies either way, but there aren't any traditional boss fights.
- No Name Given: The player character, unless you play as Stinky, Loof, Qookie, or Peegue. Either way, none of the NPCs actually refer to the character by any name.
- Plot Coupon That Does Something: The Rainbow Shards in WA1.
- Point of No Return: Three kinds.
- Polite with the Wonderfalls in MoFI, at the end of the first chapter; there would be nothing to go back for anyway.
- Cruel twice: once in WA1 after the Thwarts unexpectedly complete their spell, and once in MoFI after you get stranded in the Volcano. Both of these are temporary, since you can go back to the main hub once you complete the chapter... but only so long as your backpack isn't full and you can't pick up anything more, rendering the game Unintentionally Unwinnable.
- Merciful at the end of MoFI. Just don't save after the cutscene, or you won't be able to go back.
- Either Tough or Polite in PoTZ – once you leave the Planet of the Z-Bots for the first time, you can't backtrack to some of the very first areas. The only things you're really going to miss are gems for bonus points, which don't actually provide any in-game benefit. Subverted somewhat in that you return to the Planet of the Z-Bots at the climax of the game, but after leaving it again, there's no going back. Again, though, the only thing you run the risk of losing forever is bonus points, so...
- Pop Quiz: The final challenge in level "The Pyramid" involves knowing 7 extremely obscure facts about Wonderland's landscape.
- Previous Player-Character Cameo: In WA1's ending, Stinky (as well as NPCs who are presumably supposed to be Loof, Qookie, and Peegue, despite having the wrong eye colours) is seen dancing among the crowd.
- Rooftop Confrontation: Subverted at the end of MoFI; the Ice Trolls show up on the roof, but the player just runs away.
- Run, Don't Walk: Inverted/Zig-Zagged. There's no "run" key in the game itself, but some level completion conditions will make the character use a running animation instead. You don't actually move any faster, though.
- Save Scumming: There's no autosave function. Generally, though, the only place where this really becomes a hassle is during adventures that require pinpoint timing.
- Schrödinger's Player Character: Of the four pre-made player characters, none of them appear in-game, other than the one you picked.
- Secret Path: In MoFI, Oondy discovers a secret way into the Ice Troll fortress.
- Set a Mook to Kill a Mook: The player can trick Fire Flowers into shooting other monsters, which will destroy them.
- Sidetrack Bonus: Mostly in the first game, there are often NPCs off the beaten path who might have optional adventures the player can do.
- Springs, Springs Everywhere: One of the gameplay elements is a spring embedded in certain walls. Walk into it, and... Boing!
- Super Drowning Skills: You generally can't walk into water, but if you fall in any water via one of the various methods of doing so, you're pretty much going to drown. Interestingly, there is an area in the first game where you walk through water without drowning.
- Unintentionally Unwinnable: There are a few NPC-related bugs in some of the games that can block access to optional adventures, so if you're trying to get 100%...
- Voice Grunting: As of PoTZ, each NPC has a unique “Hello!” clip that plays when you start talking to them. All the dialogue is still rendered in text.
