Get sum head!

GAME OF THE MONTH COLLECTION!
BONK'S ADVENTURE
(Hudson Soft/Red/Atlus, 1990)

Introduction and Story:

If you want to have a successful gaming machine to sell to the masses you need both a great game and a good marketable mascot like a Super Mario or a Sonic for example. NEC tried this with Keith Courage by packing it in the NEC Turbografx-16 system but his game was kind of bland and the character himself wasn't getting over with the public so that was a bust. NEC and Hudson didn't give up though because they created a cool new character that not only had a game that was fun to play but he even had a special weapon that made a pretty big impact.

In this action game you play as this caveman dude named Bonk and it's easy to see where he got the name from. The guy has a really big head and if you get him mad he'll freakin' head butt ya like a soccer player! He's going to need that big melon too because the evil King Drool has brain washed Princess Za and her friends and destroyed their once peaceful homeland. Bonk must fight his way through hordes of wacky dinosaurs in your typical video game stages like ice worlds and underwater levels. The game also throws in a few strange but cool challenges at you like going inside a giant dinosaur itself.

The game play and bottomline:

Bonk is a pretty tough little dude on his own here but if he eats a piece of meat power up he'll because enraged and become even more powerful. Not only does getting a big meat make you invincible for a bit but he can even cause earthquakes that actually freeze most enemies in their tracks which is pretty damn cool.

If all that wasn't enough the game looks amazing with lots of colourful prehistoric stages, big bosses, and wacky enemies that help it be one of the stand out for the system. The game's comical music and impactful sound effects is also nice and catchy here too so the presentation is great all around.

The only real problem with I have with Bonk's Adventure is that it was far too easy and it only comes with just 5 levels here. Sure, it's still a really great game for the kids and the casual player out there but the pro gamers of the world will be done with this game in a few days or even hours, no problem. Despite that Bonk's Adventure is one well crafted title with excellent cartoonish art and even good music. It's well worth the measly 600 points on the Nintendo Wii or few bucks for the original game card itself.

Here is my 8 minute video review of Bonk's Adventure too!

Conclusion:
600 points to download on the Wii Virtual Console Bonk's Adventure overall rating: 82/100 Find Bonk's Adventure on eBay here! For 1 player only Rated (E) for Everyone graphics: 8/10 sound: 8/10 gameplay: 6/10 replay: 5/10 StarSoldier1* (Ryan Genno) 2008 Other Games of the Month