Thanks to Wolfman for helping with edits.
When I was a wee lad, I noticed that several popular television shows—Looney Tunes, The Muppets, Scooby-Doo—had spin-offs starring younger versions of their casts. Even the video game industry adopted this practice; Yoshi’s Island and its subpar sequels are prequels to the greater Mario canon. However, I also saw another, less common but far more compelling twist on familiar properties: setting a spin-off in the future. Watching a baby Bugs Bunny go on misadventures isn’t that exciting, but… well, okay, I never actually watched Loonatics Unleashed, nor do I intend to. Maybe it’s a poor example of this premise.
It’s important that I review games outside my wheelhouse sometimes. I’m not big on shooters and rarely touch the TurboGrafx-16 library, so here we are. (Image: Konami)
But that’s besides the point. Showing older versions of characters or settings we’re familiar with can be interesting, even rewarding! Although its rogues gallery was a little lacking, Batman Beyond was one of my favorite cartoons for giving us an aged, grumpier Bruce Wayne who’s passing on the Batman mantle (the episode starring Mr. Freeze was a standout, too). Its cyberpunk take on Gotham City was also fresh, cleanly distancing it from the “dark deco” style of its predecessor.
And I wanted to see more franchises tackle this premise. A few years later, I purchased the solid but forgettable Bonk’s Adventure on my Wii, hit the books to learn about the Hudson Soft series, and was pleasantly surprised when I discovered Air Zonk. Developed by Red Company, Air Zonk’s a Bonk offshoot set in the distant future starring Zonk, a robotic descendant of Bonk the caveman. Zonk’s nemesis is—surprise!—a descendant of King Drool, Bonk’s nemesis.
Air Zonk’s opening depicts the fledgling, primordial TurboGrafx-16 mascot getting zapped with lightning and transformed into Zonk (the original Japanese release has a different opening, among other differences). It swiftly establishes Zonk’s tone and connection to its forebear. (Image: Konami)
Zonk distances himself nicely from Bonk despite being made in his likeness. His sunglasses and the lightning bolt emblem engraved on his head are the cyborg’s biggest distinguishing features. He foregoes Bonk’s leotard for dark pants, armbands, and red boots. Losing a life even causes Zonk’s exoskeleton to violently erupt from his “flesh.” His energetic pose on the Japanese box art also evokes a more energetic aura than Bonk (Zonk’s confident pose on the North American one meshes a little better with Bonk’s bizarre, non-cutesy covers here while accurately resembling the character). This all suits Zonk’s more frantic, action-heavy gameplay: he trades his ancestor’s thick skull for firearms and rocket feet.
Yes, Air Zonk is a horizontal shooter. The screen scrolls forward (or, in one specific area, downward) automatically at a reasonable pace and you can move freely in any direction. Should Zonk’s boots make contact with an enemy or breakable object, they’ll suffer some damage. You shoot Zonk’s firearm by holding down the II button or charge an attack by holding and then releasing the I button. If you charge Zonk’s projectile fully, he releases a bomb that damages all on-screen baddies.
Everything of import to Zonk shares his goofy, round shades. It’s dumb and I love it. (Image: Konami)
An impressive arsenal is at Zonk’s disposal. Green and purple containers that flaunt his shades float through stages, and breaking one yields a power-up. There are seven different guns, all of which have unique standard and chargeable attacks. Similar to Super Mario, they also grant an extra hit point: sustaining damage costs a power-up (one weapon shrinks Zonk and is the exception to this rule). Cycling through guns as you march onward is also evocative of Gunstar Heroes, which hit the same year; Zonk’s auto-targeting rocket launcher even rivals one of its best weapons.
There’s another set of tools available, too: Zonk’s sidekicks. Upon starting a stage in “Manual Mode,” you select one of his ten buddies. If you’re playing “Auto Mode,” the game chooses for you instead, and you can forgo your friends entirely by choosing “Alone.” Summoning them requires collecting seven smiley face icons, which randomly appear after breaking enemies or things. The seventh one will be giant, your partner instantly teleports in after nabbing it, and they’ll open fire on enemies until they either sustain enough damage or the level ends. However, if you collect another seven smiley faces, Zonk will merge with them, upgrading his weapon and rendering him invincible for twenty seconds (which goes a lot further than it sounds). Afterwards, Zonk reverts back to normal, retaining whatever gun he had prior to the fusion, and loses his sidekick. This adds an understated element of strategy: when should you collect those smiley faces to get the most out of Zonk’s fusions?
Air Zonk’s backgrounds employ parallax scrolling, giving stages a dynamic, 3D look. Its music, though nothing outstanding, is energetic, encouraging you to keep rushing onward. Presentation is definitely a strength here. (Image: Konami)
Air Zonk has five stages, each of which hosts enemies and breakable objects tailored around its aesthetics. Toxy Land is an aquatic base that’s perfect for getting your feet wet with the mechanics. Cyber City is a pleasant, moonlit metropolis. Rock’in Stadium is a sports colosseum, an atypical setting for the genre. Deep Blue submerges you, particularly the section that whisks you downwards. And Land of Drool contains a litany of boss fights and a few cute Bonk’s Adventure homages. Gradually, each stage ramps up in difficulty and length, though Land of Drool is perhaps an unfair escalation—it’s the longest, toughest stage by a wide margin and even robs you of your accrued power-ups midway through. Splitting it into two stages would have been courteous.
Standard baddies in Air Zonk function like you’d expect: they might bobble up and down and usually come at you from the right side of the screen (some approach from the top, left, or bottom). You’ve probably seen their movement and projectile patterns elsewhere, which is fine. Generally, the game runs smoothly, but if there’s too much stuff happening on-screen, the frame rate will momentarily buckle under the pressure.
Air Zonk feels like Star Fox: you’ll weave through projectiles to get in your opponent’s face, fire at them, then move out of the way once they start retaliating. Rinse and repeat. (Image: Konami)
The first four stages throw a mini-boss at you midway through and close with a proper boss. They’re naturally demanding, requiring you to aim at weak points and dodge more complex attacks. Again, Land of Drool breaks this pattern: it’s broken up with no less than nine fights, five of which are fought consecutively, four of which are recycled from the previous stages, and one of which forces you to take on two Bonk knockoffs you already fought individually earlier in the level. Then there’s the duel against big bad Sandrovitch, which starts off as a nice and needed breather before you reach the brutal final phase—which is the one part of the game where power-ups don’t spawn. In fairness, you’re given infinite continues with which to finish Air Zonk (continuing resets your score and sends you back to the beginning of the stage, though), a luxury I needed to avail myself of here.
It’s also worth mentioning that very little differentiates Air Zonk‘s stages mechanically: you’re pretty much always flying forward, shooting your rapid fire gun. Still, that’s hardly a dealbreaker, especially since all of them are colorful, fun settings—this isn’t your typical, cold space shooter. And this speaks to one of Air Zonk’s greatest assets: its personality. Characters only have a few frames of animation, but they’re expressive and lovingly detailed. Red Company carefully ensured that everything on the foreground has thick outlines, keeping the game readable (well, keeping tabs on all the stray projectiles can get tough).
I rarely take advantage of save states, but the Land of Drool forced my hand. Sandrovitch’s tough! The tech-savvy tyrannosaurus and his goons came prepared! (Image: Konami)
Air Zonk is short; clearing it takes an hour or less. It’s a game you’re meant to replay, though: getting a new high score is part of the genre’s appeal. There are also three default difficulty modes: sweet, spicy, and bitter, which respectively start you with five, three, and one life (reaching certain score thresholds rewards additional lives). There’s also a hidden Extra Bitter mode for experts, which I’ll never beat. Another code grants access to a sound test, too. But… if, like me, you’re not huge on scrolling shooters, one run’s probably sufficient.
To be clear, though, Air Zonk‘s a charming way to kill fifty-ish minutes. Scrolling shooters are an exciting test of your reflexes, demanding you quickly dodge oncoming hazards. Air Zonk isn’t a must play, but if you’re eager to learn about an obscure part of Hudson Soft’s oeuvre, it’s worth digging up. And it was a palette cleanser I absolutely needed after the… fascinating Balan Wonderworld (whose power-up system also evokes Super Mario, though much more bluntly and worse).
You’ll finish Air Zonk before you know it. Still, it’s a fun, if not mechanically groundbreaking, rush while it lasts. (Image: Konami)
Unfortunately, Air Zonk—and Bonk as a whole—are a relic of the Nineties. Air Zonk scored one sequel, Super Air Zonk: Rockabilly-Paradise, in 1993 for the TurboDuo. However, another studio took over development duties and I hear it’s an overall weaker offering. Thankfully, the original Air Zonk did grace the Wii and Wii U Virtual Consoles; the latter’s how I played it. Bonk‘s fared better, but is by no means an industry staple: its final original release was a 2006 mobile title (a console revival, Bonk: Brink of Extinction, was planned for release in 2010 before its cancellation). Currently, the Bonk franchise is Konami’s property following their absorption and dissolving of Hudson Soft. Like most of Hudson Soft’s backlog, it remains dormant.
But hey, weirder, less deserving comebacks have happened. The day Bonk or Zonk reemerge will be a happy one. (Image: Konami)
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