Bonk's Adventure (1989)

Preliminary: Yayyy I love reading that you can have a "chain of multi-bonk"s haha I love when I bounce from enemy to enemy... I hope that's what that means :-p I am, of course, playing the original PC Engine version tho.

Although changing directions feels a bit clunky, other than that it feels smooth and I'm lovvvving the Look with the odd moon or whatever. And the Look continued to be really cute on and on, and tho it's been the same tune so far, I'm enjoying it

This really feels like the harkening of the Turbo grafx/Genesis/SNES eraaaaa. I love how advanced it feels. Tho the collision masks have some issues, due to the large size of the sprites. Like I've mentioned in other recent reviews, I think I'm more forgiving of that because a lot of the SNES platformers I loved and early PS1 games had the same issue. basically a sacrifice of precise collision masks for the more 90s Look.

I'm really enjoying this so far but with the higher capacity of the next gen of consoles comes longer games... We will see if I push through the whole thing. Either way, so far I've been impressed with the PC Engine/Turbo grafx.

Day 1

Ahhh I just found a secret 1-up on my ownnnn! It was hard to get to the narrow path (mind you, I'm inside the innards of a dinosaur lol) but I did it! That's that stuff that makes me proud and makes me really enjoy a game. Truly feel like I'm entering the 90s and indeed, I am.

Omg I love it! I just continuously bonked (with timing my uh bonk button right) the first boss!

Welp here's where I left off on the first night and still having a blast and a new song in the second stage yay!

Day 2

I love the Look of this water part here

Hallelujah for a great Look, a great Sound, an overall Feel to everything that beckons the 90s era, and best of all--not infinitely spawning enemies :-p If you come up with a plan to manage the onslaught, you actually managed the onslaught. Unlike what seems every other of its contemporary platformers.

The mechanics for the swinging vines are questionable. And I don't like the thing that Mario does where if you bump against a platform your momentum gets stopped, or even when you land down from a platform it's hard to explain but I've noticed it most in Super Mario World when attempting speedruns.

I like how the bosses turn into cute forms after you bonk them enough. And I lovvve a good string of bonks

I love the spin jumps that let you reach other places and it felt intuitive to figure out.

I'm on the final stage. I'm never a big fan of boss rushes, and I'm down to just 2 hearts heh. (I only collected one of the Blue Hearts, which expand your maximum health, and that was purely by luck. I read there are 2 in the game)

Well, I definitely had to use savestates for the final boss but it was nice to finally play through a game without obnoxious savestating.

Nice music for... wait... this isn't the end?! Ok this was looking to be a new Favorite, first in a long while, but this ending sequence is just ridiculous. It had been so forgiving and enjoyable up until now. I suppose they wanted people to have to replay it a lot etc etc but sheesh.... At least the death function is very forgiving and you start right where you were. The music for this final boss is so underwhelming, the other "final boss" felt more final-y and epic. Lame.

Finally.... What a terrible way to end the game after such fun.

Great 90s colors tho for the end, and nice credits music etc.. still left me with a headache which is never good. I'll wait to rate this till later so I don't let just one boss sour the overall game.

Look: 8.5/10 Super cute, nothing spectacular but consistently great

Sound: 8.5/10 I never once wanted to mute it so that's a great sound. Nothing spectacular tho.

Play: 9/10 I loved bonking around, I love the usual action platformer hook, it has its clunkiness and the final boss was a headache, but otherwise it's a lot of fun.

Feel: 9/10 Everything comes together to make a great Feel that is a great start to a series I'd never heard of.

Attachment: 9/10 This is definitely at the top of the list for 1989 platformers (I assume Castlevania III will shortly be joining that list). I was about to include Rygar for NES and Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa with that, but realized I just played those in 2024, not that they are 1989. 1989 was an odd year--felt very transitional. 1987 and 1988 had a lot more sparks to em, like the heyday of NES I'd say. This game beckoned the rise of Genesis, Turbografx, and SNES indeed.

Overall: 8.8/10

Completion: Main Story

Playtime: 2h 30m

Ah Bonk, the Sonic/Mario of the TurboGrafx! I'd long intended to play this for the TG-16 at some point... but i wanted to check out the other ports of this I had available. I'm a bit surprised at how different the ports were from the arcade, its hardly the same game, only uses the same kinda characters and gameplay. The arcade is a wild and absurd take with exagerrated expressions and idea expressed in the gameplay. Here our caveman collects the maximum amount of 'lumps' on his head' they function exactly as collecting rings in sonic the hedgehog.

Arcade: Really nice looking and sounding. Music is fun. Graphics are really bright and colorful. Game play is okay and control is ok. one quarter gets you a few lives and when you die you spawn right back where you were (awesome!) unfortunately you cant keep adding lives per quarter and must restart any of the 20 or so levels (you may freely pic any from the choose next mission screen) after completing af ew, you then get to pick your boss level. Odd, but kinda nice concept to give you the choice (as if you knew what you were choosing!) or skip a level you suck at. Finish the level with maximum bonk boo-boos and you get the Perfect bonus of 10k!

Oh yeah the levels are timed so watch that clock... a big super mario world type up-and-down finish line aways you, will you be able to break through the line? (Congrats, you did it... you've just won a visit from Nintendo's lawyers on how similiar it looks!)

TG-16: TBH a bit disappointed, its not the best looking but i've seen worse. sound is ok. music is actually really great in some places (and really sports the signature metalllic clangy electronic sound of this platform's hardware) nothing at all like the Arcade version of the game. elements of gameplay quite different as well. Smileys are collected like points (and there is no time) Also seems much easier. (at least at the beginning) I realize it's a technological downgrade but aside from that I dont really like it or dislike it. It's too different to even compare really. It seems the key gameplay mechanic that makes this really chaotic, fun and challenging, is doing a jump-bonk and then upon bonking, immediately do another bonk before falling into the enemy to do a limitless chain-bonk. This is key to defeating bosses and survivng the last level of the game.

NES: Decided to play up through the first boss fight. gameplay is very similiar to the TG-16 version. There are some gameplay differences. Control feels far more slippier in this version. Game doesnt look as good or sound as good as TG-16 version. Too many sprites on the screen in some areas cause slow down/flicker(did not ever notice it on TG-16)
okay. It seems the boss fights in the NES version are going to be a bit different.

tldrl all three versions are three star games. bonking around is fun for a while but I don't love it. The arcade is the most impressive. But it plays differently.

(This is the 10th game in my challenge to go through many known games in chronological order starting in 1990. The spreadsheet is in my bio.)

Bonk's Adventure is a platformer released for the TurboGrafx-16 and developed by Red Company and Atlus. Actually it apparently got initially released in December 15, 1989 in Japan, and released in April 1990 in NA (so it's technically not a 1990 game, but I played it anyway). It later was ported to NES and Amiga.

In Bonk's Adventure, you play as Bonk, who fittingly is equipped with a strong head that he can bonk his enemies with. He is a young, bald, strong caveboy and to go through levels, you have to hit enemies with your head, avoid running into them and ... well, that about covers it.

STORYTELLING

If you're looking for a platformer with a story, you got a little bit of story here. If you're looking for a bit more than about a dozen or so lines, you should look elsewhere.

In this game, there are 5 levels, which all have multiple different stages. At the end of each level is a boss, who thank you after you beat them and it appears as if they're being mind controlled by something. They all look kinda unique and most like dinosaurs, with one wearing boxing gloves and another glasses. And there is also a princess to rescue, Princess Za, but that's not something I learned from playing the game, since that goal only becomes known if you reach the final boss or read the manual.

There is a small little epilogue that is something cute to reward the player with, and while the story and characters will add to making the experience a bit more memorable, there isn't much here overall, not that there needs to be, since platformers live and die by their gameplay, especially in these times.

GAMEPLAY

This is a 2D-platformer and sees you fight a bunch of different enemies, some that fit the "10000 BC" theme of this game, some that don't necessarily feel as tied to it. There are dinosaurs, mosquitos, eagles that throw axes, erupting volcanoes, cacti and more. Some actively attack you, some simply follow a specific route. All pretty typical stuff.

The attack button leads to Bonk smashing his big slab of a head to the ground in front of him, so most ground-based enemies can be easily taken care of this way. Some enemies attack from the air, so a well timed jump can lead to Bonk smashing his head to the enemy from below, which does the trick just as well.

There is also an invincibility mode that you can trigger by eating some meat, similar to Mario collecting a star. This lets you rush through enemies, which is pretty neat thanks to the meat.

The gameplay mostly is the same throughout, but there are some water levels added to the mix as well. Plus, as mentioned, each level ends with a boss fight. The dinosaur with gloves is called "Punchy Pedro", the one with glasses called "Gladdis" and a big one with a cap that you fight first is called "Huey". Mostly, you try to avoid the stuff they are throwing while "bonking" the top of their heads until they die and are broken free from the claws of the ulitmate boss, King Drool.

The final boss fight is a pretty big mess and even playthroughs by skilled players will just not look all too pretty because it was just designed that poorly. Overall however, enemy design is mostly charming, though it does lack in variety over time.

MUSIC/SOUND/VOICE

No voice acting. Average sound design for the time with sounds that you have heard in many other games. The sound quality is good overall.

As with many games from this time, Bonk's Adventure has a really solid soundtrack overall. It ranges from OK to really catchy, and while it's not a soundtrack I'd listen to outside of the game, it does enhance the experience in a positive way.

GRAPHICS/ART DESIGN

Very good. Levels are mostly in tune with the theme of the game, sprites are clean, the game has a very good use of the available color palette and most importantly, the animations in this game are great. From Bonk's angry demeanor when smashing his head to his outburst when he eats meat to turn invincible for a bit, to holding on to a ledge by using just his teeth, to holding his breath underwater and even foaming at the mouth when he dies - which did look a bit gross though - the animation here is really well done for the time.

ATMOSPHERE

From music to art design to sound, the devs created a pretty atmospheric game that is in tune with its theme.

CONTENT

There are 5 levels and a few bonus levels, plus all the boss fights. The levels are separated into multiple stages, so there is a good 5-10 hours of content here before you probably are good enough to beat the game. At times the sections do get repetitive and the game could have done with more power ups to mix things up, but there is good content here if you are looking for an old platformer to master or just beat.

LEVEL/MISSION DESIGN

Especially early on, there is good variety in levels. There is your basic ground floor level, then there is the under water level and then there even is a level where you have the ability to swing from a liana. From there, levels start to feel a bit similar, probably due to the use of a few similar enemy types a lot. But there still are enough different levels here where I thought it was a plus overall.

The two big minuses come from the bad boss fight design at the end (which I didn't manage to get to myself but watched others play) and the cramming of enemies into tight spaces a lot. Even skilled players wouldn't be able to get out of those situations without taking damage, which is a sign of suboptimal level design to me usually. Sometimes you'd have two ground enemies coming at you with two monsters flying above and ready to fly down, so sometimes I would just have to be OK with eating the hit and use my invincibility seconds after that to get out fast. Due to that it didn't often flow well, which was annoying.

CONCEPT/INNOVATION

Different combat ability than other games based on looks and animation, but not too different in terms of mechanics. This was a fun little platformer but it didn't really bring anything new to the table.

REPLAYABILITY

Not much replayability here once you complete a playthrough, apart from trying to beat your high score of course.

PLAYABILITY

The game worked fine at all times.

OVERALL

I've played platformers mostly since starting this challenge and I'd say out of all of them, this is an above average one overall thanks to it's solid presentation in pretty much every category you can think of from its animation work to the soundtrack to the color use. As an overall package, you're looking at a platformer that works well, that should provide a fun challenge for the couple hours you would spend with it, but probably will have controls that don't feel tight enough and levels that don't feel fair enough to make you wish to see it through until the annoying boss fight at the end, which is followed by a nice epilogue to be fair. Bonk's Adventure is a solid platformer for its time but not a must-play at this point.

WHAT THEY SAID AT THE TIME

• Clayton Walnum for VG&CE, Issue 15 (Apr 90): "Bonk's Adventure is a terrific game, the best I've seen on the TurboGrafx-16 yet." | The TG-16 released in NA 8 months prior to this game
• The Eliminator for GamePro, Issue 10 (May 90): "The graphics and animation are great."
• Noreen Lovoi for Game Players Issue 9 (March 90): "a clever and thoroughly addictive game with cartoonlike graphics"

I had this game growing up, and it was one of the first platformers I remember playing. The gameplay is a little strange; you can bonk things with your epic caveman head on the ground, divebomb with your epic caveman head, or flip in the air and kind of glide? Bonking on the ground is kind of useless. The game isn't designed that well, but it's definitely playable and the feel of Bonk is better than many platformers from this era.

It's a fairly short game, and I mostly like it for nostalgia, but I had a fun time replaying it tonight. It must have been a little challenging for me when I was little, but isn't very bad now. The game over system is very forgiving.

Platform:

Turbografx-16 version.

Graphics/Sound:

I liked the art style, which was one of the things that brought me back to this game several times. It's a unique sprite style, reminded me a bit of old Doraemon or other goofy looking manga. They put a lot of love into the characters, each of them even got a name. The environments are varied enough to keep you entertained, and the music completes the immersion.

Gameplay:

The gameplay is where I had most of my issues with this game at first. It's a basic action platformer, but the controls feel weird if you have never played a Bonk game. There is a quite significant inertia to your character that you notice most in trying to aim your jumps, and I feel the character also walks a bit too slow. The level design at the beginning feel like it is almost non-existent. One of the levels is literally just a straight line from start to finish. It gets a bit more varied in the end, but platforming is always kept at a very basic level, and almost all of the stages you just move from left to right until you reach the exit. But where the game shines is the interaction with enemies. The headbutt attack is great fun once you get the hang of it. You can do combos of hitting multiple enemies in mid-air if you can time it right, so basically the game becomes more fun the more enemies there are. There is also a set of interesting boss battles, each of them unique but easy to figure out what you have to do.

Difficulty:

The game isn't very easy, in the beginning mostly because controlling the character needs practice. Once you got that the difficulty curve feels about right, it doesn't increase too much over time. One thing I appreciated is that when you loose a life you don't get set back but you can just continue where you are, that makes it less frustrating to die. The difficulty progression in boss battles, however, didn't feel linear.

If you dismissed this game for feeling awkward or the levels seeming boring, give this one a second chance. Once you progress beyond one or two boss battles it develops its charm, and you won't regret having spent the time.