Bonk's Adventure
| Industry | Video game development |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1989 |
| Products | Bonk's Adventure |
Bonk's Adventure, titled in Japan and known as PC Kid or B.C. Kid in Europe, is a side-scrolling platform game developed jointly by Red Company and Atlus. It was initially launched in 1989 in Japan and followed by a 1990 release in North America for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16. The Japanese name PC Genjin cleverly references the console’s original designation, PC Engine, while the European version PC Kid similarly nods to the system. This title marks the debut entry in the Bonk series, preceding two additional TurboGrafx-16 releases before branching out to other gaming platforms.
Ports of the game appeared on the NES and Amiga, alongside a coin-operated arcade game adaptation that carried different names: FC Genjin and BC Genjin in Japan, and BC Kid in Europe. A separate installment featuring the same characters was introduced on the Game Boy toward the end of 1992, under the name GB Genjin in Japan.
Plot
Set during an imaginative prehistoric period, the story follows Bonk, a muscular, bald caveboy who confronts various anthropomorphic dinosaurs and ancient adversaries. His quest involves rescuing Princess Za, a small pink reptilian creature resembling a Plesiosaur, who has been abducted by King Drool, a towering green dinosaur akin to a Tyrannosaurus. In the arcade variant, Bonk receives assistance from a female companion.
Gameplay
Bonk defeats foes by striking them with his large, indestructible forehead. Players begin with three health hearts and three extra lives; health diminishes when Bonk sustains damage but can be replenished through collecting fruits and vegetables.
Power-ups include meat items that bestow special abilities across three tiers: standard attacks, stunning enemies by pounding the ground, and temporary invincibility. Meat appears in small and large varieties; effects stack but are limited by time. Consuming additional meat while powered up resets this duration.
Red heart collectibles restore health incrementally or fully, whereas rare blue hearts increase Bonk’s maximum health capacity. Enemies drop smiley face power-ups upon defeat, which accumulate points awarded at stage completion based on the total collected.
The arcade edition presents notable differences: players select from 28 brief levels focused on speed and scoring. Sports-themed items such as basketballs provide bonus points when dribbled. Levels conclude with goal posts that grant extra points. After completing three stages, players choose among seven boss encounters. Unlike other versions, this arcade release omits power-ups; instead, smiley faces attach to Bonk’s head to absorb incoming projectiles or extend attack range but are lost when Bonk takes damage. It also includes a two-player mode featuring a female Bonk as player two and offers adjustable ticket payout settings for arcade operators.
Development
Bonk’s character, originally named PC-Genjin (PC原人), translating roughly to PC-Caveman in Japanese, was designed by Kobuta Aoki as a mascot to promote the PC Engine console. The name is a wordplay combining PC-Engine with Pithecanthropus erectus. For international markets, titles were modified to align with respective platforms—for instance, FC-Kid for the Family Computer (NES) and GB-Kid for Game Boy versions. In North America, the game consistently carried the title Bonk's Adventure.
Reception
Entertainment Weekly ranked this title as the third-best game released in 1991, commending its captivating gameplay and impressive graphics. Later, in 1997, Electronic Gaming Monthly included the TurboGrafx-16 edition at number 85 in their "100 Best Games of All Time," emphasizing the game's creative level design and its amusing main character.
The Amiga adaptation, known as BC Kid, earned a 93% rating from Computer and Video Games in 1992. Reviewer Tim Boone expressed that the original PC Engine version was among his preferred console games and praised the Amiga port for its close adherence to the source material. Nonetheless, the American TurboGrafx-16 release faced criticism for the name "Bonk," which carried an inappropriate slang connotation in British English.
Legacy
Hudson Soft produced a 3D remake of Bonk's Adventure in 2003, included in their Hudson Selection collection for PlayStation 2 and GameCube exclusively in Japan. Factor 5, responsible for the Amiga port, offered their rendition of BC-Kid as a free download on their official website.
The TurboGrafx-16 version saw a re-release on the Wii Virtual Console in November 2006 and quickly became one of the most downloaded titles on that platform. Additionally, a mobile phone edition was launched in Japan during March 2008.
Before Hudson Soft’s closure, they were developing a reboot titled Bonk: Brink of Extinction intended for WiiWare and PlayStation Network; however, this project was ultimately canceled.
In July 2016, the TurboGrafx-16 iteration of Bonk's Adventure was reintroduced to the Wii U Virtual Console. Furthermore, the original PC Engine version was featured on every regional variant of the TurboGrafx-16 Mini, which was released exclusively through Amazon in March 2020.