Bonk's Adventure ROM

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Bonk’s Adventure, known as PC Genjin in Japan and BC Kid in Europe, is a scrolling platform game developed by Red Company and Atlus and released in 1989 in Japan and 1990 in North America for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16. The Japanese title PC Genjin is a play on the system’s original name, PC Engine, with the European title PC Kid similarly referencing the system’s name. The first game in the Bonk series, it was followed by two more games for the TurboGrafx-16 before branching out to other platforms.

The game takes place in a fictional prehistoric era. Its protagonist is Bonk, a strong and bald caveboy who battles anthropomorphic dinosaurs and other prehistoric enemies. Bonk’s mission is to rescue Princess Za (a small pink Plesiosaur-type reptile) who has been kidnapped by the evil King Drool (a large, green, Tyrannosaurus-type dinosaur). In the arcade version, Bonk is also assisted by a female version of himself.

Bonk attacks enemies by “bonking” them with his large, invincible forehead. Bonk starts the game with three hearts’ worth of health, which are depleted to blue as Bonk takes damage, and three extra lives. Bonk’s health can be restored in increments by collecting fruits and vegetables. Bonk can also collect pieces of meat as power-ups; these lend him special abilities and make him stronger.

There are three stages of a power-up: his normal self, a second stage during which he can stun enemies by pounding on the ground, and a third stage where he becomes temporarily invulnerable. Meat can be found in two varieties: big meat and small meat. The effects of meat are additive but wear off over time. A small meat gives Bonk the second stage of meat power, and a large one takes him to stage three.

Eating small meat while in stage two will also put Bonk into the third, invincible stage of meat power. When the third stage effect wears off, he returns to the second state and remains there for a while before turning back to the regular Bonk. Eating either size of meat while in the third stage of meat power-up will reset the timer on Bonk’s meat power.