If I had to pick one incredible Switch game that everybody has slept on, it would be Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap. Released in 2017, this action-adventure platformer is a remake of 1989’s Wonder Boy III for the Sega Master System, and it absolutely shattered my expectations of what a video game remake should be.

Developed by Lizardcube and published Dotemu, The Dragon's Trap takes an old game, and faithfully brings it — (at least I assume it’s faithful; I didn’t actually play the original) — to modern platforms. But it does so much more than simply port a classic game. The folks at Lizardcube have completely revamped and turbo-charged the entire audio/visual presentation, basically reinventing the game as something refreshingly new. But wait, there’s more!

At the touch of button, the audio & visuals can be switched back to the 8-bit look of the original, allowing the player to toggle the aesthetics of the game on the fly. This is not only a fantastic homage to the source material, but also a staggeringly cool trick. How is it that, with all of the modern remakes and releases of classic games, we’ve never had this option before? It’s a literal game changer.

That’s not to say that you are likely to want to use the old-school aesthetics for much of your playtime. It’s really cool to toggle back now and again to see how particular elements looked in the original game, but nobody’s going to want to stick with the 8-bit. And that’s because this game’s hand-drawn animations are freaking gorgeous!

Now this is going to sound like a weird thing to say about a four-year-old remake of 26-year-old 2D platformer, but I’m going to say it anyway… Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is one of the best-looking games I’m ever played. The updated visuals are just pitch-perfect, and the cartoon-come-to-life look is extremely consistent throughout the entirety of the game. So while I’m normally the old man gushing over retro-stylized super-crisp pixel art, even I must admit that hand-drawn art like this is tops. Simply unbeatable.

This game doesn’t disappoint in the audio department either, with some chill and jazzy tunes that make the adventure a rather relaxing affair. My wife, Marissa, who’s often put off by video game music—and really anything even remotely resembling chiptunes—commented on how enjoyable this game’s music is. (Previous game soundtracks she could tolerate include Zelda: BOTW and…oh wow…just BOTW. And that one’s mostly only ambient nature sounds.)

Gameplay-wise, The Dragon's Trap is 2D side-scrolling adventure game. I suppose these days you would call it a “Metroidvania” (though the original game came out well before the term was established), with new sections of the map gradually made accessible to the play through new abilities the hero learns along the way. You start out as a regular human Wonder Boy—or Wonder Girl, if you prefer—wielding a sword and shield. But over the course of the adventure, our Hu-man hero is morphed into various animal forms, including Lizard-Man, Mouse-Man, Hawk-Man, and more. Each animal form provides an ability that allows you to explore more of the game’s environment.

Oh yeah, and if that wasn’t enough for you, the game also includes a museum mode with tons of unlockable content: concept sketches, artwork, music, etc. I’m really loving when games include behind-the-scenes content like this. It’s like bonus features on a DVD, but actually interesting!

Overall, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is an unexpected triumph. The new hand-drawn animations are a sheer delight, and the entire presentation is just bursting with bubbly personality. I would say the $20 price tag on the Switch eShop is worth it, but if that feels a tad bit expensive for a revitalized old game then I’d recommend waiting for deal. This particular title seems to go on sale fairly often, so you might not have to wait long. Just don’t forget to give a shot, it’s too good to be ignored.