BC Kid
| Developer: Factor 5 | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Ubi Soft | Sound: |
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| Year: 1992 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Platformer | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
7/10 | |
BC Kid, also known as PC Kid, is the poster child of the PC Engine, a Japanese 8-bit console that’s hardly a household name in France. This game is a conversion of one of its signature titles, a sort of hybrid between Baby Jo and Chuck Rock (both of which, incidentally, were released later).
The title is the result of a string of groan-worthy puns (brace yourselves): in Japan, the original instalment was called PC-Genjin (“prehistoric man”), launched in 1989. The name was a clever play on the console’s name and the scientific term Pithecanthropus Erectus (Homo Erectus), reimagined as “Pithecanthropus Computerurus”. Hilarious, isn’t it?
This delightful acronym was tweaked for other platforms (FC Genjin on the Famicom (NES), GB Genjin on Game Boy). In Europe, the game was translated as PC Kid on PC Engine and arcade, but rebranded as BC Kid (Before Christ Kid, to keep the prehistoric theme) for other consoles and the Amiga.
As for the Americans? They didn’t bother racking their brains and called it Bonk’s Adventure from the get-go.
The hero, whom we’ll refer to as Bonk, is a Cro-Magnon toddler who must put his oversized head to good use, taking down hordes of dinosaurs to rescue Princess Whatshername, abducted by what appears to be Bowser’s long-lost cousin.
Don’t worry, it’s mostly about headbutting anything that moves.
The levels are reasonably varied, the atmosphere cheerful, and there’s a good dose of humour. I particularly enjoyed the detail where, if you misjudge a jump and fall short of clearing a chasm, the little guy clings to the cliff edge with his teeth.
Make the most of the gentle difficulty curve early on to stockpile extra lives, because the final worlds are much tougher (they reminded me a bit of Mega Man, with enemies popping out from all directions).
The game supports two-button controllers, which is a blessing. On the downside, there’s no save feature or passwords, and only the arcade version lets you play with a friend.
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