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Company Hudson Soft ESRB Rating E for Everyone Release Date US - September 3, 2007 Controllers Wii Remote Classic Controller Gamecube Controller Wii Points 600 Review by: Corbie Dillard ©2008 Virtual-Turbo

Bonk III has several distinctions about it. For one thing, the game was released on both the Hucard and CD formats. Both formats feature the same game, but the CD release has a remixed CD-quality soundtrack to go along with it. The second distinction is that both games were released in limited numbers and were hard to come by even back during the time when the game was released. The US CD title goes for over $250 on eBay. Thankfully, Hudson has decided to give everyone a chance to play this wonderful third release in the Bonk series on the Virtual Console. Bonk III takes everything that made the first two games such solid platformers and adds a few new game play twists to breathe new life into the series. The result is yet another outstanding Bonk adventure. The developers didn't try to re-invent the wheel with Bonk III and decided to stick with the slightly sluggish play control that the series has become so well known for. In all honesty, that was probably the right thing to do considering most Bonk fans had already become accustomed to the play control style by this third release. Bonk can still jump, chew his way up ledges, and head bonk enemies, but now he can also eat specific types of candy that will make him grow or shrink in size depending on which color of candy he munches on. At times, Bonk will come into contact with areas in a level that will require him to use these various sizes in order to progress further into the level. For example, there are certain walls that can only be busted with the big Bonk, whereas there are also very narrow spaces that only tiny Bonk can fit into. The majority of the game plays much like previous Bonk releases and requires you to platform your way through each level until you reach the end of the area and have to square off against a boss. The developers did throw in a few new twists, but it's mainly just a slight change to mix things up a bit. The mini-games also make a return in Bonk III and there are even more new games to challenge you this time around. Needless to say, Bonk fans will feel right at home with Bonk III the moment they begin playing it. Bonk III is visually the best of the three TurboGrafx-16 Bonk releases. Huge amounts of colors present onscreen at once, not to mention how impressively the system handles Bonk even when he's a sprite half as tall as the screen itself. You'll rarely see a hiccup in the frame rate. The backgrounds also seem to be a little more detailed and just give the entire game a sharper look than the two previous games had. The bosses are another area where Bonk III shines, as this time around the bosses are generally larger and more animated than those found in the other two titles. It's clear from the moment you begin playing Bonk III that the developers have pushed the TurboGrafx-16 processor about as far as humanly possible. The soundtrack in Bonk III is outstanding. And although the CD release did feature a very creative musical score, it's still extremely impressive to see what the creators were able to accomplish using the TurboGrafx-16's built-in sound chip. I've played hundreds of TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine Hucards over the years, and Bonk III is easily one of, if not THE best Hucard musical efforts ever. Even the sound effects never fail to impress in this one. Pound for pound, this is probably the best overall musical effort on Hucard the system ever received and that's really saying something considering how many great Hucard soundtracks there are out there. Bonk III is the perfect ending to what was and still is one of the best platforming series available on the TurboGrafx-16 console. It's everything a Bonk fan could want and more. If you're a fan of the previous titles, this game is an absolute must-have for your Virtual Console collection. And if you've somehow not yet taken the opportunity to give the Bonk games a try, this is one that will make a believer out of you. Not quite as much fun as Bonk's Revenge, but probably a better overall game.