Bonk | |
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Genres | Platform game |
Developers | Red Entertainment |
Publishers |
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Platforms | Arcade, Turbo-Grafx 16, SNES, NES, Game Boy, Amiga, PS2, GameCube, PSN, iOS, Virtual Console, Mobile |
Platform of origin | Turbo-Grafx 16 |
First release |
Bonk's Adventure December 15, 1989 |
Latest release |
Bonk's Return Q4 2006 |
PC Genjin-kun | |
PC原人くん | |
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Manga | |
Written by | HIKAWA Hirokazu |
Published by | Shogakukan |
Original run | February 1992 – April 1994 |
Volumes | 1 |
Bonk is a video game character from NEC's TurboGrafx-16 console. Known in Japan as "PC-Genjin" (PC原人, PC-Primitive man, a pun on "PC Engine") and as "BC Kid" in PAL territories, Bonk was a mascot for NEC's console. Three games featured the character appeared on the TurboGrafx-16, as well as two spin-offs featuring Airzonk. The protagonist is a bald caveman named Bonk who attacks using his comically large head. The "PC" part of his Japanese name stands for "Pithecanthropus Computerurus", a fictitious species name for Bonk.
Konami now owns the rights to the Bonk series as a result of its absorption of the series' publisher Hudson Soft in 2012.
As stated on Hudson Soft's website, in their "The Definitive Bonk" article, Bonk was originally created as a comic character, PC Caveman (Genjin), in a magazine for the PC Engine. So many people liked the character that there were talks held on giving him a game of his own. In addition to this, many people even mistook him for an upcoming game character even before his game was in development, because the magazine frequently featured comics of upcoming games.
Bonk's Adventure (PC Genjin) was the first game starring Bonk and was released for the TurboGrafx-16 in 1990. A variation of the TG-16 original eventually appeared on the NES with fewer colors and reduced graphic quality. Another variation was released for the Amiga under the name BC Kid. A completely new game, with 2 player co-op, was released for the arcades, while another new game utilizing the same name was released for the Game Boy. A remake of the original was released in Japan many years later on the PlayStation 2 and the GameCube.