16th June 2022, 10:57 AM
The moment Sonic the Hedgehog released, Bonk looked like a fun but dated and slow game. Hudson responded by ... doing absolutely nothing and continuing to make platformers pretty much the same exact way they always did. When you're faced with one of the most important, genre-changing titles of its decade, that's not good. They never responded to Sonic or Mario World's speed at all. Bonks 2 and 3 on TG16 and the two Super Bonk games are fun but are just more Bonk. They continue doing what the TG16 was designed to do, taking NES-style gameplay design but with better graphics and hardware. The system branched out in terms of NEC getting huge into anime games on the PCECD, but as far as Hudson goes, not so much. And I do think that's part of why Hudson didn't keep up with the Nintendos, Capcoms, and Segas of the world in the '90s...
Again, Bonk is good. I'd give the best ones A- scores. But they're not anything truly special, not absolute must-play classics which redefined their genre. That's a high bar, but Super Mario World and the Genesis Sonic series both ARE that so the TG16 struggles a bit in comparison. I would put Sonics 1, 2, and 3&K above any of the Bonk games no question.
I like Hudson, don't get me wrong, but while they had some good later stuff later, the first two N64 Bomberman games, particularly, but overall I think Hudson peaked in the late '80s to early '90s. And the genre they were best at is shmups. It's too bad they didn't keep making many after the early '90s...
Again, Bonk is good. I'd give the best ones A- scores. But they're not anything truly special, not absolute must-play classics which redefined their genre. That's a high bar, but Super Mario World and the Genesis Sonic series both ARE that so the TG16 struggles a bit in comparison. I would put Sonics 1, 2, and 3&K above any of the Bonk games no question.
I like Hudson, don't get me wrong, but while they had some good later stuff later, the first two N64 Bomberman games, particularly, but overall I think Hudson peaked in the late '80s to early '90s. And the genre they were best at is shmups. It's too bad they didn't keep making many after the early '90s...
Quote:I'm well aware of the connector style and workarounds. Like I said, I have a plan for dealing with it. I'm probably going to get a Turbotap and mod it with a mini-din to allow all the US style controllers I might want. Did you mod your console yourself? It's a tricky bugger! I had a lot of help thanks to this: https://www.game-tech.us/product/turbo-d...n-mod-kit/I mean, you could do this, but again, why? There's no reason to actually use American controllers, the 3 and 6 button NEC Avenue pads are the best ones and are mini-DIN only. But sure if you do want to use US TG16 controllers an adapter's not hard.