Bonk's Revenge

Bonk's Revenge (PC-Genjin 2 in Japan) is a 2D platformer originally for the TurboGrafx 16 console, created in 1991 by  the Red Company for Hudson and Turbo Technologies, and licensed by NEC. The game was ported (with several changes) to the Game Boy, whereas the original version was re-released for Virtual Console. This is the second title in the Bonk series.

Gameplay
This time, the titular large-headed caveman is on a quest to recover half of the moon, which was stolen by the evil King Drool. Its multiple stages each contain several specific areas, which range from outdoors to trains to space to underwater. As in most platformers, Bonk has several crucial abilities: the A button causes him to jump; the B button causes him to "bonk," an action in which Bonk slams his head forward, inflicting a killing blow on most enemies; A jump-B combo causes Bonk to head-butt the Earth, killing enemies he lands on and creating a damaging shockwave; A frequent tapping of B in midair causes Bonk to rotate and hover, allowing for long, controlled jumps. Bonk can also use his large mouth to grip onto surfaces for climbing.

Bonk's health is reflected in heart containers, similar to games in the Zelda series. Taking damage will cause Bonk to lose a certain amount of hearts, and hearts can be refilled through items collected throughout the game. Bonk can also attain items that increase his amount of hearts, allowing him to effectively gain more health as the game progresses. The game also features Smileys, similar to coins in the Mario series, which provide an extra life when one hundred are collected. Bonk can also turn invincible when he collects a large H, and can gain an extra life when he collects a small model of himself.

Power-up Forms
A unique feature of the game is Bonk's ability to power-up and change into various forms by eating certain foods. Bonk can turn into Nuclear Bonk by eating a small slab of meat. When he Bonks, a nuclear cloud floats towards enemies, freezing them when they come in contact. When he spins in the air, he has a nuclear cloud surrounding him. When he lands on his head, it freezes all enemies onscreen. He can become Butthead Bonk when he eats a large slab of meat, or a second small slab while in '"Nuclear"' form. In this form his head literally looks like a butt, hence the name. With this, he breathes fire, which destroys any enemies that comes into contact with it. When spinning, he is surrounded by fire, & when he lands, it causes damage to all enemies, & instantly destroys most, but not all of them onscreen.

Variations in Gameplay
In the Game Boy version of this title, Bonk can turn into one of three unique heroes: Master Bonk, Hungry Bonk, or Stealth Bonk. Becoming Master Bonk dresses Bonk in a cape and provides him with Vulcan-esque ears, and gives him the ability to move faster and jump higher. Becoming Hungry Bonk gives Bonk an animalistic appearance with evil eyes and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, and gives bonk the ability to chew enemies to death, as well as providing him with a much stronger head-butt that can kill nearby foes. Becoming Stealth Bonk dresses Bonk in a striped jail outfit, and gives him the ability to enter special locked doors that lead to areas such as the bank, where Bonk can collect Smileys, the butcher's, where Bonk can eat more slabs of meat in hope for a different power-up, and jail, where Bonk loses a portion of his Smileys.

Grabbing one of many tulips scattered throughout the game carries Bonk to a special bonus stage where he can face off against Mechabonk -- a Robocop-esque version of Bonk -- in a best-of-three battle to "bonk" one another off the edge of a small stage. Winning two rounds provides Bonk with an extra life, while a loss transforms Bonk into Wounded Bonk, where Bonk resembles a mummy and takes twice as much damage as usual.

The game overall is very similar to games in the Mario series, providing linear, side-scrolling action, multiple power-ups, and several small boss confrontations leading up to a final boss. Its treatment of power-ups is similar as well: taking a hit while powered-up causes Bonk to take no damage but instead lose his power. For those who struggle with the game, the game offers passwords after game-overs so the player does not need to start over from the beginning.