Bonk's Revenge Thread

[esteban]

Why 3 the most? I'm curious.

It's longer, it looks the best, the candy can be fun (though half the time it's useless), it's two player, and the minigames of the CD version are fun mid-level intermissions.  I also dig a couple of the CD tunes, but I wouldn't say they're superior to the great chippy tunes found in the other games, and the 'blowing wind' track is downright godawful.

I have become less critical of Bonk III over the years.

What changed my mind?

Everything you said (but for HuCARD, I don't have CD).

First, playing all the other Bonk games made me appreciate the things that Bonk III did right (the control, for example, is decent...unlike NES version which just feels "off", features in Bonk III are neat...2-player, big-small).

Playing 2-player co-op with my daughter has been a lot of fun. While not a perfect implementation—one of the pair can get stuck in an odd spot and you have to backtrack/coordinate with each other—it is not broken by any means, and is a taste of something that could have/should have appeared in other games.

Big-small is fun. Even if it was included just for fun, with no real purpose (i.e. overcoming an obstacle, obtaining hidden power-ups) there is something downright enjoyable in  shrinking down and scuttling about, or transforming into a behemoth. It is just fun.

[csgx1]

Revenge is definitely my favorite in the series.  One of the few games that I bought in the early '90s and played the sh*t out of bitd.  Also the only game that I have 3 copies of: Bonks Revenge, PC Genjin 2 and the 4 in 1 SCD.  The PCE differences are slight, but got me curious enough to pick up a copy in addition to my original. 

I need to revisit Bonk 3 again with all the praise here.  The big/small gimmick was really irritating to me, but maybe I'm getting Super Bonk and Bonk 3 mixed up.
 

2) What's the proper technique for the piranha bonus level?

Not sure about proper technique but here are a few tips:
-Do the least amount of jumping through out the course. 
-Don't spin
-Jump over the gaps at the very edge.  With well timed jumps, all gaps without water can be cleared.
-Try not to bite climb the side of the logs since it quickly shakes off the piranhas.
-Swim to the top right when jumping out of the water.

Timing the jumps over the gaps and not bite climbing are the most important parts to not losing the piranhas. 

[Necromancer]

That's the strategy I've followed, csgx1, but I've never kept all ten to the finish line and always lose one or two along the way.  It's likely possible to get a perfect score, but there's gotta be zero room for error.

[johnnykonami]

Esteban, I had the opposite experience regarding Bonk's Adventure & Bonk's Revenge.  Since Bonk's Adventure was like my 3rd TG-16 game back in 1990, along with Keith and Alien Crush, I beat it dozens and dozens of times, played it damn near to death.  That's just what you did with a new game as a kid, right?  For me they only came twice a year at most - birthday and Xmas.  You tend to get really wiped out on games you play that much.  So even though I really like Adventure overall (and I agree the music is really great) and I love things about it, especially the bosses for one, my experience with Bonk's Revenge was damn near transcendent.  I probably played through it as much as I did as Adventure, but I think I had a much larger library to choose from at that point.  Maybe that helped.  But the exploratory aspect, larger feeling of the world, and variety makes me wanna go back to Revenge first.  I think it's pretty deserving of all the praise and one of the best video game sequels out there, considering how many times sequels don't live up to the game they are based on.  Both are great games though and I hope my original post didn't imply you should neglect Adventure.  PS - I dunno if my use of the term "facts" inspired your point about that in your post, but I meant it only to segue into the bit about the music in Revenge being more of an opinion whereas the other things I was saying were more or less objectively improved, world detail and so forth.

Moreover, I haven't finished any of the games beyond Revenge, so my efforts should probably go into beating Bonk 3 (played partway through it once) and the two Super Famicom games first.  Especially after the testimonials about 3!  The huge bonk sprite was always cool looking from magazine screenshots, and I agree co-op play is a great feature.  Unfortunately the one time I played co-op with my girlfriend, she was mad at me (hence why I didn't finish it) so it soured the experience a little.

[lukester]

I like Bonk III, but the music compositions are pretty grating. Talking about the HuCard.

The final boss is the best in the trilogy though.

[esteban]

Esteban, I had the opposite experience regarding Bonk's Adventure & Bonk's Revenge.  Since Bonk's Adventure was like my 3rd TG-16 game back in 1990, along with Keith and Alien Crush, I beat it dozens and dozens of times, played it damn near to death.  That's just what you did with a new game as a kid, right?  For me they only came twice a year at most - birthday and Xmas.  You tend to get really wiped out on games you play that much.  So even though I really like Adventure overall (and I agree the music is really great) and I love things about it, especially the bosses for one, my experience with Bonk's Revenge was damn near transcendent.  I probably played through it as much as I did as Adventure, but I think I had a much larger library to choose from at that point.  Maybe that helped.  But the exploratory aspect, larger feeling of the world, and variety makes me wanna go back to Revenge first.  I think it's pretty deserving of all the praise and one of the best video game sequels out there, considering how many times sequels don't live up to the game they are based on.  Both are great games though and I hope my original post didn't imply you should neglect Adventure.  PS - I dunno if my use of the term "facts" inspired your point about that in your post, but I meant it only to segue into the bit about the music in Revenge being more of an opinion whereas the other things I was saying were more or less objectively improved, world detail and so forth.

Moreover, I haven't finished any of the games beyond Revenge, so my efforts should probably go into beating Bonk 3 (played partway through it once) and the two Super Famicom games first.  Especially after the testimonials about 3!  The huge bonk sprite was always cool looking from magazine screenshots, and I agree co-op play is a great feature.  Unfortunately the one time I played co-op with my girlfriend, she was mad at me (hence why I didn't finish it) so it soured the experience a little.

Nah, I wasn't directing a ting in my post at any individual. I was just disrupting the pot of praise for Bonk's Revenge  by throwing some jalapeños in it.

Too often, folks just say "Bonk's Revenge > Bonk's Adventure" and poor Bonk1 is relegated to runner-up status.

I should know, since I was one of those people!

I love Bonk2/PC Genjin 2!

I just don't think it utterly crushes Bonk1/PC Genjin1.   

Everything I wrote was spicy and from my own journey...and I know that some of the folks here will see the True Light one of these years...



CHRONOLOGY
• First, I played Bonk's Adventure to death
• Then, I played Bonk's Revenge to death. I saw it is an upgrade and superior game, even when revisiting Bonk1.
• Over the years, I play all Bonk games, including cellphone, using Bonk's Revenge as the Gold Standard. 
•  FINALLY, after hearing some discussion here at pcefx praising Bonk1, I revisit both Bonk 1+2 and realize Bonk1 is not the inferior game. BOTH ARE L'awesome.
• I revisit Bonk III, realize it wasn't nearly as lame as I thought it was.
• I spread the Good Word.

[_joshuaTurbo]

I've never owned a copy of Bonk's Revenge.  However I do have it on the Gate of Thunder 4in1 disc.  I'd like to pop it in my turboexpress someday... hmmmmm

[johnnykonami]

Esteban, I had the opposite experience regarding Bonk's Adventure & Bonk's Revenge.  Since Bonk's Adventure was like my 3rd TG-16 game back in 1990, along with Keith and Alien Crush, I beat it dozens and dozens of times, played it damn near to death.  That's just what you did with a new game as a kid, right?  For me they only came twice a year at most - birthday and Xmas.  You tend to get really wiped out on games you play that much.  So even though I really like Adventure overall (and I agree the music is really great) and I love things about it, especially the bosses for one, my experience with Bonk's Revenge was damn near transcendent.  I probably played through it as much as I did as Adventure, but I think I had a much larger library to choose from at that point.  Maybe that helped.  But the exploratory aspect, larger feeling of the world, and variety makes me wanna go back to Revenge first.  I think it's pretty deserving of all the praise and one of the best video game sequels out there, considering how many times sequels don't live up to the game they are based on.  Both are great games though and I hope my original post didn't imply you should neglect Adventure.  PS - I dunno if my use of the term "facts" inspired your point about that in your post, but I meant it only to segue into the bit about the music in Revenge being more of an opinion whereas the other things I was saying were more or less objectively improved, world detail and so forth.

Moreover, I haven't finished any of the games beyond Revenge, so my efforts should probably go into beating Bonk 3 (played partway through it once) and the two Super Famicom games first.  Especially after the testimonials about 3!  The huge bonk sprite was always cool looking from magazine screenshots, and I agree co-op play is a great feature.  Unfortunately the one time I played co-op with my girlfriend, she was mad at me (hence why I didn't finish it) so it soured the experience a little.

Nah, I wasn't directing a ting in my post at any individual. I was just disrupting the pot of praise for Bonk's Revenge  by throwing some jalapeños in it.

Too often, folks just say "Bonk's Revenge > Bonk's Adventure" and poor Bonk1 is relegated to runner-up status.

I should know, since I was one of those people!

I love Bonk2/PC Genjin 2!

I just don't think it utterly crushes Bonk1/PC Genjin1.   

Everything I wrote was spicy and from my own journey...and I know that some of the folks here will see the True Light one of these years...



CHRONOLOGY
• First, I played Bonk's Adventure to death
• Then, I played Bonk's Revenge to death. I saw it is an upgrade and superior game, even when revisiting Bonk1.
• Over the years, I play all Bonk games, including cellphone, using Bonk's Revenge as the Gold Standard. 
•  FINALLY, after hearing some discussion here at pcefx praising Bonk1, I revisit both Bonk 1+2 and realize Bonk1 is not the inferior game. BOTH ARE L'awesome.
• I revisit Bonk III, realize it wasn't nearly as lame as I thought it was.
• I spread the Good Word.

Yeah, agreed.  Adventure deserves a lot of credit it may not get - I think there's a benefit to being able to play the games in a series as they come out, because otherwise you are tempted to ignore a sequels predecessors based maybe only on superficial details when you can choose from all of them at once.  Since many of us here played them in order, we can give credit where it's due.

I was just thinking of how I used to own both games CIC when I was younger.  I think my reasoning for trading them in was the 4-in-1 CD that came with my Duo, which of course contained both.  I still have that (that was post-retard me that thankfully stopped getting trading away/selling games) and somewhere along the line I acquired a loosie of Adventure.  Not a high priority but I would like to get CIC versions again one day.  I worry even though they are pretty common, that Bonk is so well known among newcomer collectors that it might be hard to come by nowadays.  Saddens me to think my copies that I once owned have been recycled over and over on ebay or something, but thats my own 13 year old jackass self to blame.  Luckily I've wised up since then!

[csgx1]

That's the strategy I've followed, csgx1, but I've never kept all ten to the finish line and always lose one or two along the way.  It's likely possible to get a perfect score, but there's gotta be zero room for error.

You're right, there's almost no room for error in order to get a perfect.  That's pretty much how most of the bonus games are though.  Got to master the edge jumping.  I can get a perfect score maybe 1 out of 4 tries but I usually screw up on timing the edge jump over the 2 larger gaps. 

[Dicer]

Just gave revenge a spin, better than I recall it being to me. I got to end of round 4, will go again and do better...

[gheebee]

It's minor but the one thing I like about Bonk's Adventure better than Bonk's Revenge is the way the items pop out of the florets. In Bonk's Adventure they go straight up and you don't have to move after jumping on the floret to get the item, but in Bonk's Revenge they pop out on an angle and you have to move forward or backward to pick the item up. That said, I too prefer Bonk's Revenge over Bonk's Adventure although not by much; everything just seemed a bit nicer/polished in Bonk's Revenge (except for the floret thing...).

[Lost Monkey]

The spinning is better in Adventure, and the music is fantastic, but Revenge was my intro to Bonk and I like it far better than the other two.  Bonk's Revenge was the first game I bought, I actually bought 2 that day, the other was Galaga 90.  I got Bonk 3 next circa late 94, early 95 and still preferred Revenge. 

I don't have any ill feelings about Bonk 3, it just doesn't connect with me like Revenge.

Adventure I didn't play until I bought a GOT disc in 95.   It lived up to, and even surpassed the expectations I had for it.

[esteban]

The spinning is better in Adventure, and the music is fantastic, but Revenge was my intro to Bonk and I like it far better than the other two.  Bonk's Revenge was the first game I bought, I actually bought 2 that day, the other was Galaga 90.  I got Bonk 3 next circa late 94, early 95 and still preferred Revenge. 

I don't have any ill feelings about Bonk 3, it just doesn't connect with me like Revenge.

Adventure I didn't play until I bought a GOT disc in 95.   It lived up to, and even surpassed the expectations I had for it.

FINALLY!

The spinning is BEST in Adventure.

They messed it up in later games.

Damn shame.

[_joshuaTurbo]

The spinning is better in Adventure, and the music is fantastic, but Revenge was my intro to Bonk and I like it far better than the other two.  Bonk's Revenge was the first game I bought, I actually bought 2 that day, the other was Galaga 90.  I got Bonk 3 next circa late 94, early 95 and still preferred Revenge. 

I don't have any ill feelings about Bonk 3, it just doesn't connect with me like Revenge.

Adventure I didn't play until I bought a GOT disc in 95.   It lived up to, and even surpassed the expectations I had for it.

FINALLY!

The spinning is BEST in Adventure.

They messed it up in later games.

Damn shame.

It was changed for sure, but I don't think it was messed up.  I think the play control was probably best in the original, but I'm glad they reworked it for "Revenge".  It just wouldn't play the same with "Adventure" style controls.  I would have liked a bit more parallax (any?) in Revenge and 3 though....  The first one is still the only one that actually had any...

[csgx1]

It's minor but the one thing I like about Bonk's Adventure better than Bonk's Revenge is the way the items pop out of the florets. In Bonk's Adventure they go straight up and you don't have to move after jumping on the floret to get the item, but in Bonk's Revenge they pop out on an angle and you have to move forward or backward to pick the item up. That said, I too prefer Bonk's Revenge over Bonk's Adventure although not by much; everything just seemed a bit nicer/polished in Bonk's Revenge (except for the floret thing...).

Items popping out at an angle is a little annoying at times.   In Bonk's Revenge I usually headbutt the florets when possible. 

I do like how in Bonk's Revenge headbutting the florets either makes the item pop out or changes color for secret items.  In Bonk's Adventure headbutting florets only gives a serious knock back.

The spinning is better in Adventure, and the music is fantastic, but Revenge was my intro to Bonk and I like it far better than the other two.  Bonk's Revenge was the first game I bought, I actually bought 2 that day, the other was Galaga 90.  I got Bonk 3 next circa late 94, early 95 and still preferred Revenge. 

I don't have any ill feelings about Bonk 3, it just doesn't connect with me like Revenge.

Adventure I didn't play until I bought a GOT disc in 95.   It lived up to, and even surpassed the expectations I had for it.

FINALLY!

The spinning is BEST in Adventure.

They messed it up in later games.

Damn shame.

I agree that the spinning is better in Adventure.  However, I usually don't rely or use the spin that often.  There's a small chance of getting hurt when attempting to spin attack on enemies.