Bonk (video game)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bonk is a video game character from NEC's TurboGrafx-16 console. Known in Japan as "PC-Genjin" (ＰＣ原人, PC-Caveman, a pun on "PC Engine") and as "BC Kid" in PAL territories, Bonk was a mascot for NEC's console, though some Bonk games eventually saw releases on other consoles as well. A large-headed, bald caveman, his favored form of attack was the headbutt. The "PC" part of his Japanese name stands for "Pithecanthropus Computerurus", a fictitious species name for Bonk.
He starred in a number of games, including:
- Bonk's Adventure for the TurboGrafx-16
- Bonk's Adventure for the NES (a variation of the original)
- Bonk's Adventure for the Arcade (a completely new game, with 2 player co-op, & is more of a competition game)
- BC Kid for the Amiga (a variation of the Bonk's Adventure)
- Bonk's Adventure for the Game Boy(a completely new game)
- Bonk's Adventure for the PlayStation 2 (complete remake of the original)
- Bonk's Adventure for the Nintendo GameCube (same as the PlayStation 2 release)
- TurboGrafx-16 version confirmed for Wii's Virtual Console service .
- Bonk's Revenge for the TurboGrafx-16
- Bonk's Revenge for the Game Boy(a completely new game)
- Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure (TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine)
- Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure CD (TurboGrafx-16 US release exclusive)
- Super Bonk for the Super NES(vaguely similar to Bonk 3)
- Chou Genjin 2 for the Super Famicom(translated as "Super Bonk 2"; sequel to Super Bonk and released only in Japan)
- GB Genjin Land: Viva! Chikkun Kingdomfor the Game Boy(a collection of mini games)
- Genjin Collection for the Game Boy (collection of the 3 Game Boy titles)
- RPG Genjin for the PC Engine(also known as Bonk's Quest, currently unreleased, but rumored to be finished for release on Wii's Virtual Console
His first game, Bonk's Adventure, was released in 1990, published by Hudson Soft and developed by Atlus Software and Red Entertainment. The game was a side-scrolling platformer, a genre that was very popular at the time, especially for mascots (Sonic The Hedgehog and Mario both vaulted to mascot status via this genre). Bonk's Adventure was very well received by critics outside of Japan, winning several awards in 1990: "Turbografx-16 Game of the Year" by Game Player’s Magazine, "Most Exciting New Theme of 1990" by Electronic Gaming Monthly Magazine, "Special Achievement Award" from OMNI Magazine, and "Best Action Video Game of 1990" by Video Games & Computer Entertainment Magazine. Despite this, the TurboGrafx suffered from poor sales, and the Bonk mascot was eventually retired in 1992 (with the launch of TTi's new TurboDuo console), replaced by Air Zonk (the official mascot of the DUO). Not surprisingly, Zonk -- a "future descendant of Bonk", according to the mythos -- bears a strong likeness to his predecessor, Bonk. In recent years, Johnny Turbo, who starred in three isolated advertisements for the TurboDuo, has gained a cult following and is sometimes mistaken as a mascot for the console. In fact, Johnny Turbo was never a mascot -- not even an unofficial one. Zonk, who was featured prominently in all of TTi's branding efforts, was the only mascot for the TurboDuo.
When NEC's TurboDuo console was sold in 1992, it included a CD-ROM containing Bonk's Adventure, Bonk's Revenge and Gate of Thunder, packaged with merely a slipcover and manuals.
Kaneko published an arcade version of Bonk's Adventure (released as B.C. Kid in Europe) in 1994. This version offered more enemies per screen than the standard Bonk game and included a variety of other strange tasks for the player to accomplish. Other unique features included two-player simultaneous play and the only female Bonk in the series.
[edit] External links
- The Bonk Compendium (Covering all games and references to Bonk)
- Planet-PCengine
- Hudson Selection Vol. 3: PC Genjin (Bonk's Adventure remake for Nintendo GameCube and Sony PlayStation 2)
- Factor 5 Downloads (B.C. Kid free download for Amiga)
