PixlBit

Travel back in time and join a little dude with a big head as he takes on the dinos

Bonk's Adventure was released in 1989 for the TurboGrafx-16, a new competitor to Nintendo's NES. It was developed by Red Company and Atlus, and published by Hudson. It's a platformer starring a cute little caveman with a big head named Bonk. Bonk quickly became the mascot for NEC's TurboGrafx-16, starring in three games for the system, and several more on other systems. What a shame the little guy isn't around today to compete with Mario and Sonic.

The game starts without giving you a shred of plot or anything; simply hit "Start" and Bonk appears in level 1-1 (sound familiar?). The setting is prehistoric, of course, so the scenery is old dino-infested land and volcanoes in the background. Bonk can run, jump, and, his most unique feature, can head-butt his enemies. While in the air, Bonk can do a downward headbutting dive, which will demolish anyone he lands on (that is one tough head!). Here we see Bonk's difference from Mario, that platformer extraordinaire; only his head will hurt enemies; if he jumps on an enemy, he will get hurt (and no wonder, he's not wearing any shoes).

But wait, there's more! By eating meat, Bonk can power-up into a stronger and fiercer-looking Bonk (a little creepy too). While he's in this form, Bonk can do double the damage; enemies who took two hits to kill can now be defeated in one. If he eats a giant slab of meat, Bonk will become invincible for a short time. What stinks is the fact that Bonk can't run; he can only walk at a brisk pace (he does move a little faster while invincible however). Bonk can also grab onto certain areas with his teeth, often onto the edge of a platform; he bites and bites and eventually jumps up. One level uses this mechanic to have Bonk bite and spin around walls in a maze tower, which I thought was neat.

The level design is fine, although nothing stood out to me as spectacular. The levels feel very samey until you reach level 3-3 and have to go swimming underwater. It's neat to see underwater dinosaurs and other prehistoric stuff throughout the game. Also, the music recycles too much throughout the game (although the songs are good); the boss music is even used for a later level, which I felt was cheap.

One problem I found in the game involved swinging on vines. When swinging, Bonk will (for some reason) jump in the opposite direction he's swinging. So when he's all the way to the right and you want him to jump right onto a platform, he jumps left, even though you're pushing in the right direction. The enemies can also be very annoying. I really hate little bugs in games. Seriously, BUGS hurt this guy! Some enemies in the game move very quickly and shoot projectiles even quicker, so I had some frustrating moments.If Bonk dies, he will simply lay down and close his eyes (is he dead or sleeping?); when you press start, he wakes up and you can start the next life right where you're at (which is really great). After three lives, it's Game Over, but you can continue at the beginning of the level you're on (#-1).

Bonk will face four bosses in the game (plus the final boss). These bosses are always in boss chambers which Bonk travels to in a skull elevator. The bosses are the best part of the game; each one is unique in appearance and attacks. By far the best of the bunch is the fourth boss, a boxing dinosaur who throws jabs at Bonk and even shoots out missile boxing gloves. Each boss has a weak spot (which is always the top of the head, which is glowing in every color of the rainbow). The weird part is, after Bonk defeats the boss, he transforms into a beautiful and innocent-looking creature and says something cheesy to Bonk. Also, a couple of the dinosaurs suddenly grow long hair that would fit nicely into the '70s (almost prehistoric now).

The game becomes really hard starting at level 4-1; enemies are everywhere, volcanoes are spitting stuff, pterodactyles are flying low to get you, etc. The last level (5) is very long; it just keeps going and going. Then you go into rooms and walk past statues of the four bosses; you keep moving and find the final boss; he vanishes and uses magical eggs to bring the bosses back to life. Yup, you have to re-fight the four bosses before you can face the final boss. This isn't really a problem because they're not very tough, but this "fight all the bosses again" thing is an annoying factor, in my opinion. The final boss is a huge dragon/dinosaur thing named "King Drool." Nothing special about the final boss fight or the ending.

Final Verdict--4 Stars: Recommended

Bonk's Adventure is a nice little game. It doesn't have the level design of Mario, or the speed and attitude of Sonic, but it has a charm of its own. The head-butting mechanic is unique and done well. The overall game is enjoyable. It is a little weird that Bonk is the only caveman in the entire game, but that's not a big deal (he needs a girlfriend or something). This game is available on the Wii Virtual Console. It's worth it if you enjoy platformers; I mean, give the little man some respect, he was big back in the day (atleast his head was big!).

Join me every Saturday as we take a look back at all kinds of retro games, good and bad.