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By Leroux Bonk's Adventure was first released for the NEC TurboGrafx 16. Have you ever heard of this console? Did you even know it was a console? Probably not. After Bonk suffered this rather unsurprising failure though, Hudson Soft thought it would be a good idea to bring Bonk to the fading fast NES in 1993. Surprise, surprise - another failure. Bonk was just never put in the situation to be loved. Then again, it would take an awful big heart to love this. No, Bonk isn't an insensitive mutated ogre that is confined to the basement for eternity. He's not unlovable in that way. He's more along the lines of the fat kid with the pork chop sideburns who whenever a girl would talk to him would blush and slur something stupid due to his slight speech impediment. But unlike the ogre though, the fat kid and Bonk don't get any sympathy. Ogres have all the luck. Bonk's Adventure is the story of a balding caveman named Bonk dressed in Barney Rubble-like attire who sets forth on an adventure through exotic environments in order to rescue Princess Za from the clutches of King Drool. Basically, an evil force captures a good force and the fate of the good force lies in the hands on an unlikely protagonist, similar to every other story of the time. So Bonk sets out to rescue Princess Za armed with absolutely nothing. In fact, he'd be a moving target on a suicide mission if it weren't for his lone disability that ends up helping save the day. That disability is his bulbous head, perched atop his miniscule caveman body, which contains not a brain, but the hardest skull known to man. A head-butt from the feisty Bonk will send most enemies to their ultimate demise, while a few others may require more than a few hits. Rest assured though, if an enemy can be killed, it will likely have to be done via Bonk's noggin. Bonk has more in his favor than just his cranium though. By jumping on top of what appears to be prehistoric flowers, Bonk can unmask a piece of beef that will give him invincibility over a short time or a heart that will fill up part of his life bar. Also discoverable are extra lives, keys that will whisk you away to bonus games, and empty heart pieces that will increase your vitality. All looks fine at a glance, as Bonk seems like a caveman with a lot going for him. He's the prime candidate for the princess rescuing mission, that is until one discovers his own faults and the obvious advantages some enemies have over him. How he managed to get the job is still questionable. Bonk is a tank. Not only does he just ram straight into enemies with his head, but his movement is also similar to one. He's sluggish and difficult to spin around in order to counter enemies attempting to blindside him, and making long jumps is close to impossible with Bonk's lack of agility. There is no boost button that will give Bonk some much-needed speed prior to his leap, and many times, he'll end up falling just short of the platform he had to reach. Bonk's jump is also hard to control even when trying to overcome short distances, as he can stand right next to a flower and end up jumping right over it on occasion rather than land on it like he should. With the awkward "primitive grace" Bonk jumps with, it's easy to misjudge distances, and often time will end up being the hardest part of the game. The enemies encountered by our hero are not dimwitted like the ones his nemesis Mario assaults. The majority of Bonk's foes have unique attacks or have weapons to defend themselves, and those that don't usually require a couple hits to slay. Preliminary foes are easily defeated, although unfair at times. Example being the skull headed enemies that wield swords, and will slash down with them at the most inappropriate times, usually at the moment when Bonk chooses to attack. Bonk will often jump into the air and land directly into the attack of a waiting opponent, another cheap tactic of King Drool's crew. In many portions of the game it is nay impossible not to take damage, most notably the boss fights, which are especially unfair since there's no way to avoid their wrath. Graphically, Adventure is an attractive game. While a bit crude in appearance, few could say that Bonk doesn't possess any charm, with bright vivid colors and backgrounds that stray from clichéd jungle themes, showing erupting volcanoes and blooming forestry that stand out without becoming too ostentatious. When there are multiple enemies on the screen though (read: two or more), the larger than normal sprites tend to flicker, but such is the price of having such a magnificent color scheme on the NES. The music in the game seems cheery at first, but eventually it starts to get tiring to listen to, as there just isn't enough variety to the tracks to be blunt. They're different, but yet so much the same. Bonk's Adventure isn't a horrible game, but it's not nearly as enjoyable as most of its counterparts on the system. The one innovation the game offers, that being Bonk's head-butt, is too flawed in its execution to be commended. Other than that Bonk feels frustrating and cheap, although still slightly enjoyable despite all its flaws. It's a very playable game, but not a worthwhile one. My Score: 5/10 |
© 2001-2003 Stephen Maiorana (RoyalRanger)
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