Developer: A.I. Co. Publisher: Turbo Technologies Inc. Released: 1993 Genre: Platformer
There were many casualties during the mascot platformer wars of the 16-bit era. For every Sonic and Sparkster there were countless Awesome Possums and Titus the Foxes. And while I lament the ones that never hit it big like High Seas Havoc there is nothing sadder than a once great mascot that falls from grace. Bonk was the face of the Turbo Grafx-16. But in the years after his initial adventures the bar was raised and sadly the little caveman could not keep up, at least on his home platform. Bonk III: Bonk’s Big Adventure is not bad but it is mediocre.
Bonk returns and largely feels the same as he did in Bonk’s Revenge. This mostly involved the way his spin cycle worked which made him feel complete as a character. His jumps still feel stilted next to his contemporaries but work for the purposes of this game. Bonk uses his massive head as his primary weapon and can climb walls with his teeth as well as swing on tree branches. Eating meat will transform him, with the first piece allowing you to freeze enemies. Eating two pieces grants temporary invincibility and the power to breathe fire. It is possible to keep this going as he reverts one level after it runs out.
The big gameplay element Bonk III tries to sell itself on is the ability to transform, growing super large or extra small. Special candies will change Bonk’s size and are practically everywhere. As little Bonk you can squeeze in to small passages while giant Bonk can stomp around and makes the platforming easier. The odd crab form you could assume in the second game returns in a more prominent role at points and even makes a particular boss battle simple.
As cool as these sounds Bonk III does little with all of this. Becoming a giant is basically useless as you become a giant target with no real benefit. The game leans on little Bonk heavily and while it can be creative at times largely it is more of an annoyance. The times when the game provides the necessary candy is great. But when you have to backtrack and avoid taking a hit it is annoying. Even worse you have to take damage to revert back. These elements could have made for a more interesting game if they were implemented well. Instead they feel like an afterthought, as though they needed something to differentiate the game from its predecessor and settled on this.
The feeling of déjà vu is heavy in Bonk III for a number of reasons. You can very easily mistake it for the prior games not just because of its similar look but because it recycles a lot of its content. The first few stages remix stages from Bonk’s revenge blatantly. It’s a lot to ask of a long term fan to replay content they have seen before to get to the new stuff. If the level design were strong overall it might have been excusable. But as I outlined earlier Bonk III shoves its gimmick in to the game’s detriment. While it would have been looked down upon if they were going to follow the blueprint set up in Bonk’s Revenge so heavily they could have at least copied its great level design full of variety. Instead we are left with this pale imitation.
There is one addition that works surprisingly well. Bonk III has multiplayer which on its face sounds like a disaster. However its implementation is great. In coop both players share one life bar. However with the abundance of fruit it is not an issue. Actually coop makes the stupid giant candy worthwhile as the other player can ride on his massive head. If players are separated pressing select will bring them together. Multiplayer makes an already easy game that much simpler, not that the Bonk series was ever difficult. The only thing holding it back is the need of a Turbotap but that is on NEC.
Outside of the tired gameplay perhaps the most disappointing aspect of Bonk III is its presentation. The series has always had a distinct, simplified look. But by 1993 it is not unreasonable to expect more. The lack of any parallax scrolling is glaring and would have gone a long way to make the game look modern next to its contemporaries. The art direction is also questionable. The series is definitely prehistoric but also flirts with modern technology. Bonk III leans heavier in that direction at times and it looks out of place and not consistent. That is my personal opinion of course.
In Closing
Bonk III: Bonk’s Big Adventure is decent for what it is. But it had the potential to be more. With such strong competition in the genre at the time It does not do enough to stand out. Turbo Grafx-16 owners were not spoiled for choice but could certainly do better than this.
