Bonk's Adventure
TurboGrafx-16
Nostalgia Factor:
I grew up with three stepbrothers. They didn’t actually live in my family’s house, as their dad had full custody of them. Instead, they would visit and stay with my family every other weekend.
It was a random weekend in the early 90s. When my stepbrothers came over for their bi-weekly visit, they brought over a gift their father had given to them for Christmas: a new video game system called the TurboGrafx-16. I had never heard of the TurboGrafx-16 before, so my interest was immediately piqued. What was this mystery system? Why had I never heard of it before? What kind of games did it have?
My stepbrothers didn’t have a huge variety of games to play, but they had a few. There were a couple Leisure Suit Larry titles. They had a slow moving top-down RPG whose name escapes me at the moment. And they had Bonk’s Adventure, which had come packaged with the system. THIS was the game I was most interested in.
Seeing as how my stepbrothers were mean to me, I never had much of a chance to toy around with the TurboGrafx-16. I remember one of them even telling me, when they left the house to go run an errand, that I had BETTER not touch their system while they were gone. So what did I do? I touched it. I played Bonk’s Adventure from beginning to end that afternoon, finishing it in one sitting.
When the dust settled, I remember thinking WOW that was a really great game. Unfortunately, this happened about 30 years ago and I have not been able to revisit Bonk since. Thanks to the power of emulation, I decided that Bonk’s Adventures would be one of the first titles I would revisit. Was it really a good game, or had I just been blown away by TurboGrafx fever when I was a kid?
Let’s find out.
Story:
Playing as a big-headed caveman named Bonk, you embark on a journey to defeat King Drool, an evil large dinosaur, and rescue a kidnapped princess. Sound familiar?
Honestly, there isn’t much to say about this game’s story.
Gameplay:
This is a very easy game to pick up and play. It’s a traditional left-to-right 2D platformer. You have a few different attacks, all involving your massive chrome dome. You can “bonk” your enemies with a lethal head butt attack, you can jump underneath them and smack them with your head on the way up, or you can flip upside down in mid-air and come crashing down on your enemies with your head.
You pick up power ups along the way. You have your standard health and point-accruing items, but there are a few special items as well. One of them makes you temporarily invincible, destroying every enemy you come into contact with. The other lets you freeze your enemies for a second if you bonk the ground with a diving head attack.
There is not much to say about the structure of the game. You make your way through each level, killing enemies, jumping over obstacles, and collecting items. There are some swimming sections, but those work pretty much exactly as you would expect them to. Every few stages you face off against a boss character whose weakness is highlighted by a glowing spot on their body.
The thing that makes Bonk different is its unique gameplay. I never knew there were so many ways to kill enemies with your head until I played this game. The setting is also cool. The bosses are creative and fun. On the surface, there isn’t much that this game does differently from your traditional 2D platformer. But it works.
Graphics:
I wouldn’t say this game looks as good as most Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo games out there, but it definitely looks better than your average NES title. Bonk is a charming character with some fun animations. There are a series of creative enemies and boss characters to fight. The scenery in this game looks really good. I like all the different color and lighting effects when underwater or In fiery areas. The whole prehistoric/caveman theme works really well. Bonk’s Adventure won’t blow you away with its visuals, but its graphics certainly do an admirable job and accomplish what they set out to do.
Sound:
The music of the game isn’t great. It’s not terrible or anything, but it is just very “meh.” Nothing memorable, nothing that’ll get stuck in your head. The sound effects are better with some of the dinks and doinks and smashing sounds you hear as you play. But honestly there isn’t much to hear here. Hear here? Does that make sense? I’m rolling with it.
Overall:
This is a fun game. Is it outstanding? Is it an unforgettable classic? Absolutely not. I had a fun time playing it when I was a kid. I had a good time playing it as an adult. But there’s nothing about the game that makes it stand out to me. I’ve played over 800 video games in my life. If you want to impress me, you’ve got to do something new and exciting. The whole “head attack” thing is original, I guess. But five minutes into the game it becomes second nature and it is just like you are playing any other generic platformer from the 90s. I don’t mean to do this game a disservice. It is better than your standard generic platformer… but not by much.
I definitely encourage anyone to play Bonk’s Adventure, if only to witness a small piece of video gaming history. You’ll play the game, you’ll probably like it. Will you come out of it thinking “wow this is amazing!?” Probably not. But will you enjoy it? I would like to think so. If you do decide to skip it, honestly you won't be missing much.
Final Score:
C+
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