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Review : Hudson Selection Vol. 3: PC Genjin for PS2 Import

Hudson Selection Vol. 3: PC Genjin for PS2 can be a lot of fun.

Back before I got a Sega Genesis in the early 90s I got a Turbo Grafx-16 which was the American version of the NEC PC Engine and my favorite games were the three Bonk games. Bonk's Adventure was as important as Sonic and Mario as a mascot and killer app game in it's day but NEC's game system died a quiet death in the US and it only lasted a bit more over in Japan but not without making some really great games. I really don't consider someone a real Otaku until they show their Turbo Duo.

For those of you who have never played a Turbo Grafx-16/PC Engine and unfortunately there are a lot of you on this world, Bonk is a 2d adventure game like Mario and Sonic but you play a cute caveman with a freaking huge head that can bash cartoon dinosaurs with his freakishly large head and jump up in the air and bash them from above with his large head. When he eats meat he hulks out and powers up. It is cute and had a fun 2d game play that should be respected.

So for years there were no real new Bonk games until Hudson Games made a remake of the original game for the PS2 using a combination of 2d and 3d graphics. I can't explain why this game did not find a US distributer and it did not go on sale outside of Japan but for those of you cool cats and kittens who have modded your PS2 with a pop top drive door to enable fun import games and if you miss some good old Bonk action you should get this. It is titled PC-Genjin for PS2, Hudson Selection Vol. 3: PC Genjin for PS2 or PC Caveman "Pithecanthropus Computerurus". It is in the Hudson The Best series so it can be found for around twenty bucks. Lik-Sang is out of stock but PlayAsia.com has it. PinkGodzilla Games does not stock it but they really should start.

This is a remake of a old 2d action platform game but using 3d graphic characters in a 2d world. It is sort of like Sonic Rush on the Nintendo DS in that it uses the smooth animation of a 3d engine to have really fluid character animation in an purely old school 2d game environment. There are a couple levels that are straight out of the old game Bonk's Adventure/PC Genjin game but it is sort of a remixed classic with modernish tools while paying props to the original. One thing they changed is the bosses are way harder and so far I can't find a way to save and continue at a later level. The second boss is a fast ninja dinosaur and is extremely frustrating as she jumps around the screen and hurts you just by touching you. I don't have a perfect understanding of all the menus but I can read about 70% of the menus but you don't really need to know Japanese to play. If they made the bosses easer this would be a good game for kids but it is just about right for game dorks t hat have been secretly been annoyed that there has not been a new Bonk game in over a decade.

I still think that Hudson should give Bonk a proper anthology collection and that he deserves to have a new game on the Nintendo DS or PSP. If you have an import capable PS2 and you miss Bonk you don't have any excuse not to get this game besides it is not like you were going to use that twenty bucks for anything productive.

Jake at January 9, 2006 Reviews

Comments

Posted by: Sauli Sjöstrand at May 9, 2007 8:44 AM

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