Bonk's Adventure (Game Boy)

Bonk's Adventure

Game Boy - USA - 1st edition.

Developer Hudson Soft Publisher Hudson Soft Published 1992-11-27 Platforms Game Boy Genres Platformer Themes Cartoon, Prehistoric Series Bonk Distribution Commercial

Bonk's Adventure is a platform action game release on the Game Boy on 1992-11-27. Although the game uses the same title as Bonk's Adventure for the TurboGrafx-16, it's actually a fairly different game. Owing to the weaker hardware, the developers had to remove several of the technically complex aspects of the original, but the game also incorporates many elements from Bonk's Revenge. It's the fourth game in the Bonk series.

In the game, you play the role of Bonk, a young caveman who uses his comically large head to smash apart enemies. In the story, Za, the Princess of Moonland, and her subjects, have been corrupted by King Drool and sent to the land where Bonk lives where they are creating havoc. Bonk must free them from King Drool's spell and then travel to Moonland to defeat King Drool.

Personal

Own?	No.
Won?	Yes.
Finished	2015-01-25.

I first played Bonk's Adventure on the Game Boy after seeing it high on a list of the most popular Game Boy games. I beat it on my first attempt.

Review

4	5	4	4	3

Best Version: Game Boy

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• The game is fun, the graphics are well-drawn, and the player is easy to control.
• Bonk's animation is just as funny as it is from the TG-16 edition.

Bad

• The music is pretty dull.
• Collecting fruit is pretty pointless as it only gives a few points, and you need a lot to earn a free guy.
• The game is very easy and short. I was able to beat it in a single sitting without ever getting a game over.
• The bosses, although graphically different, all employ similar movement patterns, and therefore can be defeated with the same tactics.
• The ending sequence is uninspired.
• The title misleads the buyer into thinking this is a Game Boy port of the TurboGrafx-16 game. A tactic that was all-too-common on the Game Boy.

Ugly

• Nothing.

Media

Box Art

• 

  The Japanese cover has a style similar to the PC Engine cover with a newspaper background, but uses the cartoon style of the Famicom box. Unlike the US and EU releases, the Japanese box clearly indicates that this game is different from the console releases.

• 

  The American Game Boy box uses the same art as the NES release. It's competently painted, but Bonk is a bit odd.

• 

  The European box uses the same art as the Amiga box of Bonk's Adventure. This is my favorite box.

• 

  The Asian region got to see more of the background from the Japanese cover.

Documentation

• 

  Manual - USA.

Videos

Longplay.

Play Online

Game Boy (Europe), Game Boy (Japan), Game Boy (USA)

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	The only women are a damsel in distress and reward, and a boss. Neither are important.
Bechdel test?	Fail	The women never speak to each other.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	Bonk is the only human, and he's white.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Titles

Language	Native	Transliteration	Translation
English (Europe)	B.C. Kid
English (North America)	Bonk's Adventure
Japanese	GB原人	GB Genjin	GB Caveman

Links