Bonk's Revenge
TurboGrafx-16
Nostalgia Factor:
I played and reviewed the original Bonk’s Adventure for the TurboGrafx-16 back in June of 2021. I had a somewhat lukewarm opinion of the game, saying that while overall I had a decent time playing it, there was nothing too remarkable or memorable about the title overall. I gave it the slightly above average final grade of a C+.
Due to my unenthusiastic reception to that particular game, I didn’t have much of a desire to come back to the series – particularly so soon. But then Mop Up Duty came along. Of all the games released in 1991 that I wanted to check out, for some reason Bonk’s Revenge was sticking out to me. I figured: why not? At least if I didn’t like the game, it probably wouldn’t take me too long to beat it - and then I could move onto something else. Plus I had read somewhere that the Bonk series got better with each passing installment. Figured there was no better time to put that to the test.
Would Bonk’s Revenge end up being more of the same, or would it end up being a massive improvement over its predecessor? Read on for my full review.
Story:
The first Bonk game didn’t offer much in terms of storyline, and neither does this one. You’re Bonk and it’s your mission defeat the evil bad guy on his moon fortress. That’s really all there is to this game. I have a feeling this will be a recurring theme among the rest of the Bonk games.
Gameplay:
This game handles just like the original Bonk title. You run, jump, smash stuff with your head, and air-spin your way through a series of stages. Each stage ends with a fight against a boss character. Then you move onto the next stage. Rinse and repeat. While on the surface it doesn’t seem like this game does much different from its predecessor, I had a ton of fun this time around.
I can’t even tell you what’s so different about this game that sets it apart. It’s been a good ten months since I played the first game in the series, so it is a little hard for me to pinpoint just why I had such a better time with this one. But I did!
This game is flat out fun. There was never a dull moment as I made my way through these stages. There’s always items to collect, there’s always enemies to defeat, there’s always platforming sections to make your way through. There are secret areas galore. There are fun bonus stages and mini games hidden throughout each level. The boss battles are super fun. I had a great time with these battles, trying to recognize the enemy’s pattern and trying to find and exploit his or her weakness. I’ll get to this more in detail later when I talk about the game’s graphics, but it seems like the stages are better designed this time around. They’re so creative! And there are multiple ways to make it through most of them. It’s almost like this game is akin to something like Super Mario World whereas the original Bonk was more like a Kirby game. I don’t know. Maybe that’s a bad comparison. But I definitely enjoyed this more than the first game.
Bonk’s Revenge is a decent challenge as well – just enough to not be too easy and just enough to not be too frustrating either. They truly found the perfect balance with this game.
Graphics:
This is a really good looking game. The graphics are sharp, with well-defined sprite characters. The stages are full of life and color. The very first stage of the game sets the tone for your adventure perfectly with its lush waterfalls and its plethora of bright flowers to collect. And things only get better looking from there.
As I alluded to before, stage design is a key component to what makes this game so fun. I love how each area has a theme. The level of detail put into making this game seem like a living and breathing cartoon world is truly appreciated by me.
Sound:
This game has a fun musical score that fits its look perfectly. I can’t complain one tiny bit about this game’s presentation. I have only played about five TurboGrafx-16 games in my life, but I have to think that this must be one of the most well put together games for this system.
Overall:
I’m so glad I decided to pick Bonk’s Revenge as one of my 1991 game reviews. I could have easily just said something like “the first Bonk was just an okay game. No need to play its sequels!” and called it a day. But I gave the series a second chance, and I couldn’t be any happier.
This is one of the best 2D platformers I’ve played in a long time. It’s unbridled fun from beginning to end. I couldn’t be more impressed with this game. I could easily see myself coming back to this in the future; maybe even showing my son the ropes when he’s old enough to play a game like this (he just turned two last week, so it may be another few years). As I said, my experience with the TurboGrafx-16 is relatively light. But I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being the best game I play for the console. It’s that good.
If you haven’t played this game, do yourself a favor and find a way to check it out. Even if you didn’t like the first Bonk game, it is still well worth your time.
THE GRADE:
A-
40th Birthday Mop Up Duty Celebration Tour:
1984:
1985:
1986:
1987:
1988:
1989:
1990:
1991:
Bonk's Revenge (The review you're reading)
1992:
Up Next: Blaster Master Boy!
I was going to play through Final Fantasy Adventure for the Game Boy as my third and final 1991 game review, but somehow my save file became corrupted about three or four hours into the game and I’d have to start the whole thing over again from the beginning if I want to complete it. No thanks. I’ll probably come back and finish it someday, but for now I’m just going to move on from 1991 having only done two reviews for this year. I hope that’s okay with you. It better be!
For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click
>HERE<
No comments:
Post a Comment