Bonk 4

[Joe Redifer]

Check out what I found in an EGM from 15 years ago (I read them because they are more interesting than anything EGM has printed in the last 5 years).



Yup, that's right!  It's coming out in the 4th quarter of '92 for the Turbo!!  I can't wait!  Oh, that was 15 years ago.  I must have missed the sale at Software Etc.  How many of you have this fine game ?

[Seldane]

I have it. We at Frozen Utopia made it last year, but decided to never release it to public due to fears of getting sued or something like that. Hudson are mean doods.

Did I just lie? I guess you can never be certain...

[nat]

Here's a better question.

Why did Seldane change his name and avatar?

[TurboXray]

Joe, do you have a high res scan of that I could get?

[Seldane]

Here's a better question. Why did Seldane change his name and avatar?

It involved guns, titanium pylons and white, barren landscapes. The rest is history.

[VestCunt]

Crap.  I'm no good at games with a "moderate" difficulty level.  Looks like I have to sit this one out and go play Mappy Land now.

[Joe Redifer]

Joe, do you have a high res scan of that I could get?

That's as big as I scanned it at.  How big do you need it?

[nat]

I've always thought the graphics in those screenshots looked incredibly crappy and have always been happy it never came out.

But maybe that has something to do with the 20% finished thing.

[ParanoiaDragon]

I thought I already posted that picture here?  Guess not

[esteban]

Joe, do you have a high res scan of that I could get?

Check your PM. It's 52+ MB. I have been working on a fun project for 2 years.

[Keranu]

Yeah they have this over on the Turbo List as well as some other interesting unfinished games. Thanks for the scans though because it seems the quality is better than the one's at the Turbo List. Would've been nice to see this game come out (as well as Dino Force!).

[Seldane]

I agree with Nat, the game doesn't exactly look... good. I have a feeling it would be sort of like Super Mario RPG had it ever gotten finished.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Yeah, I always thought it looked like crap, as compared to the old "fake" Genjin RPG screens that were in a magazine a couple years earlier, which looked wonderful!

[TurboXray]

Steve- something's wrong with the file or link you sent. The size is only about 1.7k.


Yeah, it doesn't look that great but I'd still want to play it. I remember thinking back then please don't let them bring out this game with these nes looking graphics. Now, I kinda wish they had (even if japan only release). Actually I'm kinda surprised TTi didn't sub out a Bonk PRG project to some american company ( WD? ) for a US release. That would have made sense. Who's up for making a Bonk PRG game for PCE? Here-here....

[Keranu]

Am I the only person who thinks this game looks awesome?

[Turbo D]

you're not the only one! I also think this game is awesome. I have ever since the first time i became aware of its existence. I really wish that someone with the prototype would translate it to engrish so that we could give it a spin.

[Seldane]

I don't think that whatever was made (if they really DID make anything, which I highly doubt) was even remotely playable. And why translate it to Engrish?

Was there any info about this in japanese magazines?

[ParanoiaDragon]

Am I the only person who thinks this game looks awesome?

Apparently you are   Which is making me rethink about you being a member of FU.......maybe your bad eye for things will bring us to ruin

[Keranu]

Ohhh yeah, up high! 

[CrackTiger]

The original mockups for a Bonk RPG looked cool, but I was disappointed when I saw this in EGM.

If I were to make a Bonk RPG, I'd set the battles up FF/Kabukiden style(side view) with three characters. But I'd probably do a dimension/world crossing Hudson RPG instead, with Bomberman and Bonk as the main characters, joined by lots of other playable Hudson characters.

Kinda like they did with Star Parodier.

[Keranu]

If I were to make a Bonk RPG, I'd set the battles up FF/Kabukiden style(side view) with three characters. But I'd probably do a dimension/world crossing Hudson RPG instead, with Bomberman and Bonk as the main characters, joined by lots of other playable Hudson characters.

That would be pretty rad.

[esteban]

Keranu, I'm with you: I would have loved to see Bonk RPG come out, even if it looked liked the pics (I'm sure it would have been slightly better).

Hey, I had a blast playing Final Lap Twin RPG -- Bonk RPG would certainly be an enjoyable experience.

Unlike black_tiger, I would want a "pure" Bonk RPG that focused squarely on the PC Genjin universe. Actually, I'd want an action RPG, which is surely what they had in mind.

[ParanoiaDragon]

I don't know, to me, it looks turn based.  You have one huge overworld in Bonk's Quest(the US name, which hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet), rather then a field like that of Neutopia or Ys.

[ccovell]

The original mockups for a Bonk RPG looked cool, but I was disappointed when I saw this in EGM.

Indeed.  Hudson did a lot of mock-ups around the time of PC-Genjin 2, for new Bonk concepts, like Genjin no Tetris, RPC Genjin, Genjin no Yabou (war sim), and most of them probably were just still images created in their paint programs.

This one shown in EGM is probably the real thing, a working proto of the RPG.  And it happens: sometimes real versions look a lot worse than their concept mock-ups.

On a semi-related note, on a video I have with an interview with 2 of the designers of the Momotarou series & Monbit, they said that Hudson made something like a dozen prototype concepts a month, and only a few make it through.  So, it's no surprise this Genjin RPG was cancelled.

[CrackTiger]

The original mockups for a Bonk RPG looked cool, but I was disappointed when I saw this in EGM.

Indeed.  Hudson did a lot of mock-ups around the time of PC-Genjin 2, for new Bonk concepts, like Genjin no Tetris, RPC Genjin, Genjin no Yabou (war sim), and most of them probably were just still images created in their paint programs.

This one shown in EGM is probably the real thing, a working proto of the RPG.  And it happens: sometimes real versions look a lot worse than their concept mock-ups.

On a semi-related note, on a video I have with an interview with 2 of the designers of the Momotarou series & Monbit, they said that Hudson made something like a dozen prototype concepts a month, and only a few make it through.  So, it's no surprise this Genjin RPG was cancelled.

They actually made a bunch of games like that with Bomberman: Panic Bomerman, Bomberman Wars, Bomberman Fight, Bomberman 64. 

[Keranu]

Unlike black_tiger, I would want a "pure" Bonk RPG that focused squarely on the PC Genjin universe. Actually, I'd want an action RPG, which is surely what they had in mind.

There are some screenshots of the game that show turn-based battles, so I'm assuming that's the direction they were heading in. There was a cool pic of Bonk fighting King Drool in battle!

[Turbo D]

Panic Bomberman came out on pc engine cd

[ParanoiaDragon]

Unlike black_tiger, I would want a "pure" Bonk RPG that focused squarely on the PC Genjin universe. Actually, I'd want an action RPG, which is surely what they had in mind.

There are some screenshots of the game that show turn-based battles, so I'm assuming that's the direction they were heading in. There was a cool pic of Bonk fighting King Drool in battle!

Actually, from memory, I recall those pictures you speak of, as being fake.  IIRC, some magazine posted it, maybe it was actually part of the Genjin comic, but EGM thought that it was pictures for an RPG Genjin game.  Kind of similar to how people thought the PC Genjin comic, was a game that was coming out.  Anyways, I seem to remember, somebody clarifying that those weren't pictures from any planned Genjin RPG.

[Turbo D]

Well, it wasn't called rpg genjin, it was called ＲＰＣ原人 or RPC Caveman. It was featured in many magazines in Japan.

[Keranu]

Actually, from memory, I recall those pictures you speak of, as being fake.  IIRC, some magazine posted it, maybe it was actually part of the Genjin comic, but EGM thought that it was pictures for an RPG Genjin game.  Kind of similar to how people thought the PC Genjin comic, was a game that was coming out.  Anyways, I seem to remember, somebody clarifying that those weren't pictures from any planned Genjin RPG.

Ahh, that could certainly be correct as the King Drool sprite seemed to be taken straight from the previous games and the battle background and menus were just simple black designs. I think there was a new sprite for Bonk though...

[ccovell]

Nope, the colourful 1st-person RPG screenshots were featured in Gekkan PC-Engine magazine, back when the guys at Hudson/Red were brainstorming new PC Genjin concepts.

I have a few blurry shots of the magazine here: https://www.chrismcovell.com/secrets4.html

more generally unreleased/alpha screenshots here: https://www.chrismcovell.com/secret.html

[esteban]

Nope, the colourful 1st-person RPG screenshots were featured in Gekkan PC-Engine magazine, back when the guys at Hudson/Red were brainstorming new PC Genjin concepts.

I have a few blurry shots of the magazine here: https://www.chrismcovell.com/secrets4.html

more generally unreleased/alpha screenshots here: https://www.chrismcovell.com/secret.html

We said it before, and we'll say it again: You have a treasure trove of info on PCE goodies. I especially like the table of unreleased games you compiled.

[CrackTiger]

Nope, the colourful 1st-person RPG screenshots were featured in Gekkan PC-Engine magazine, back when the guys at Hudson/Red were brainstorming new PC Genjin concepts.

I have a few blurry shots of the magazine here: https://www.chrismcovell.com/secrets4.html

more generally unreleased/alpha screenshots here: https://www.chrismcovell.com/secret.html

I don't know if those Ziria pics are part of the Idea Dungeon or an early build, but they look very cool. I've seen some early images of Ziria that looked more like Destiny of an Emperor, but those look like a full on street fighting game. Is that Manto they're fighting in one shot?

Those Bonk RPG screenshots look more like the nice ones from EGM. But in the EGM King Drool battle pic I remember there being hit point hearts.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Well, either way I still remember someone, in a magazine or something somewhere, stating that those were fakes or mockup's, & that EGM thought they were the real deal.  Wierd.

[CrackTiger]

Well, either way I still remember someone, in a magazine or something somewhere, stating that those were fakes or mockup's, & that EGM thought they were the real deal.  Wierd.

Even if they weren't fake, EGM's posted 'real', "exclusive(!)" screenshots that turned out to be bogus several times over the years.