BONZE ADVENTURE: GAMING INFO AND STAGE DESCRIPTIONS:
Hi everybody, and welcome to this my first ever Games FAQ
contribution for the game Bonze Adventure.
A quirky 2D platform game released in 1988
and made by gamers Taito Inc.
It is a must for all old-school platform gamers (like myself)
to have a go at and enjoy.
This is not a comprehensive walkthrough guide;
rather it is more an informational guide
describing some of its in-game features and stages.
Story Synopsis
(taken from the games introduction and Wikipedia)
The King of the Underworld, Emma O, has gone insane
and his insanity has driven the realm of the underworld into chaos.
You assume the role of a Buddhist monk
who has been asked by the heavens to go and save the underworld
as well as exercise the demonic spirit force
that is responsible for the King’s insanity.
You will travel through many realms and encounter many hardships,
but you must prevail for the sake of all. With the power and blessings
of the heavens bestowed upon you
and armed with divinely blessed ‘ mala ‘ prayer beads,
all evil is no match for your might.
(A lose translation of the games opening scene).
The main protagonist/hero of this game is a blue robed
(red robed if your two player), bald headed Zen-Buddhist monk
who goes by the name of “Bonze Kackremboh”
(thanks to wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonze_Adventure for details).
As stated, his weapon of choice are blessed prayer beads
that enable him the power to cast
special magically colored ‘divine orbs ’ towards the enemy
(For those of you who have played Capcom’s Magic Sword,
think the wizard character and his special attacks, its very similar to that).
Furthermore, along the course of his adventure,
he gathers special items and objects that increases his orb power
(and not to mention there size),
items that will make him throw his orbs rapidly,
as well as grant him temporary invincibility.
IN GAME ITEMS AND OBJECTS:
(1) Trinkets/Beer Mug Things:
It’s hard to explain exactly what these things are,
but these are scattered everywhere throughout the game,
except in the final stage.
Most of them are easy to find, with some lying in wait to be collected,
while others are craftily hidden and require a few blasts
of ‘divine orb’ or divine orb magic’ to reveal themselves.
Most of these things come in blue and there points vary.
However, there are a few special colored ones
which weld greater points and also, depending on there color;
give Bonze special divine orb magic abilities
(explained in the later sections).
(2) ‘Mala’ prayer beads: By collecting these things
it will allow Bonze
to fire his magic orbs more rapidly,
which is a must against certain enemies and guardians.
(3) Curved Luck charm: In addition to the prayer beads,
there are also special curved objects that appear.
In all honestly, I have no idea what there purpose is,
but I deem them to be lucky charms
that increase Bonze’s movement and jumping abilities.
I may be wrong and I await someone to tell me otherwise.
(4) Magic Mirror: This object is a very rare one.
It grants Bonze temporary invincibility.
(5) Miniature Bonze Doll: Another very rare item.
By obtaining this, it grants Bonze an extra life (1up).
(6) Candles: Bonze will find these especially in stage six
(‘the lose your way maze’). This will allow him to extend his time.
Furthermore, at the bottom right hand corner of the game
are a set of candles which slowly burn away.
If Bonze fails to complete a stage before the last candle burns out,
he will lose one life (ouch!!)..
(7) Divine Angel/Saint Thing: Another very rare item,
if you find or see this be sure to jump up at it.
By doing so, it will allow Bonze to be surrounded by
a special aura/halo thing
which makes him invulnerable.
However, should an enemy touch this, it will disappear,
but he, in turn, will not lose a life.
Furthermore, if Bonze has died, when he re-starts again,
these angel/saint beings appear and give him useful items to help him out.
I think that is all the items,
if I have forgotten anything else please feel free to add more in.
DIVINE ORBS AND SPECIAL MAGIC ORB ABILLITIES:
To overcome such evil and odds, Bonze’s mala prayer beads
have been blessed with the power to fire out special divine orbs.
These orbs vary in color and are scattered throughout the realms
(except in the final stage). Also, by collecting more orbs/
special colored trinket/beer mug things,
increases there size and unleash potential
destructive powers (by pressing down and fire button together).
Below is a description of these colors and their magic properties.
(1) Blue Orb: This is the ‘default’ color which Bonze starts out with.
It has no real power and cannot increase in size.
Also this particular color has no magic properties or abilities.
(2) Green Orb: As it states, it lets Bonze fire out green colored orbs.
Also, by collecting more increases orb size and power.
When this color is equipped, by pressing down on
joystick/control pad and fire together,
unleashes a series of smaller green orbs that scatter outwards,
causing some damage to enemies on screen.
(3) Red Orb: Lets Bonze shoot out red colored orbs
and again by collecting more, increases its size and power.
When this color is equipped, by pressing down on control pad/joystick and
fire button together, unleashes six fireballs that travel
across the screen causing moderate damage to enemies
on screen. Slightly better and stronger than green orb.
(4) Purple Orb: Lets Bonze shoot out purple orbs.
My personal favorite because by pressing down and fire button
together unleashes a bolt of lightening from the heavens
that instantly wipes out all enemies and causes massive damage
to all enemies on screen. The ultimate equalizer.
STAGES:
In total, there are about nine realms/
stages for Bonze to get through:
(1) The Dilapidated Cemetery: This is where
Bonze’s adventure begins.
A rather lengthy stage filled with ghosts,
phantom flares and other monstrosities.
There is also a secret passageway which is accessed by firing at
a headstone that is resistant to Bonze’s orb magic.
Just keep attacking it, and it will eventually crumble
to reveal an underground passage.
The stage ends with Bonze going down a well into the Underworld
(2) The Underwater Caverns: Welcome to the Underworld!
You are greeted by this message
as your quest has now truly begun and thereis no turning back.
An array of enemies greets you. Watch out especially for
the ‘dodgy old gramps’ demons, as they can take quite a
pounding before they die.
Usually, I just do an orb-magic attack, and they are gone like that.
Be prepared to run, jump and paddle your way through this stage.
The end of the stage arrives when you successfully reach a Buddha effigy.
(3) The Fire Realm: This is one of the more trickery stages
as you carefully navigate your way through this inferno.
Again, more jumping and running and shooting is a must here.
Be careful of the flying fire fish and also keep a look out
for hidden areas that offer up a lot of goodies.
Towards the end of the stage, you encounter a
massive guardian. Be careful of his fireballs
and time your jumps accurately.
A few shots with your colored-orb magic (anything, but blue)
will see this joker bite the dust and reveal another Buddha effigy
for you to finish the stage.
(4) The Bloody Pond (Aka the Land of the Dammed):
A message of ‘Beware the lost people’
warns you at the start of this stage. This is a very short stage
and is very tricky, but it can be fun.
A lot of jumping and timing is needed here as one wrong mishap
can result in doom. Furthermore, to make it more interesting,
throughout the whole stage, you are pursed by a strange-fish
demon creature which is invincible so you cannot destroy it.
Make your way, hopefully alive, to the next Buddha effigy
to end the stage. (‘Dem bones, dem bones..sorry I couldn’t resist).
(5) Realm of Ice: This is probably one of the most difficult and
frustrating stages of the game. Timing and co-ordination are a
must in this stage as poor Bonze forgot his ice-skates,
which means his slipping and sliding all over the place.
Although fun, this can also be dangerous too,
as those ghost-eye ball things are now zooming across the screen
more rapidly leaving him open to slipping and sliding into one of them.
Also be careful of the pointy glaciers and icicles
that drop from the ceiling as well as the mirage phantoms
that appear/disappear, there tricky.
End the stage by reaching another Buddha effigy
(6) The ‘lose your way’ maze: …and you know what, it a’nt joking
one can seriously get stuck or lost in this stage,
if they are not to careful. This is probably one of the more lengthy
stages of the game. It took me ages to get used to /
through this labyrinth. Prepare for ALOT of exploring, climbing,
jumping, shooting, running, puzzle-solving and what not.
I can’t give you a full run down of this stage exactly.
But, lets just say that when you reach an area where you see mountains
and volcanoes in the background, your on the right track,
just keep going left
(while avoiding and destroying all enemies, mind you)
and your near the end of this lengthy and time-consuming stage.
A Buddha effigy signals the end of this stage.
(7) Lord Emma’s Domain: If you have managed to come this far,
then congratulations, you are almost to the end, if not, just keep trying,
and don’t give up and eventually you will get there.
Anyway, be prepared to feed in a few quarters
(where I am, its twenty cent pieces) into the machine,
as this is truly one of the most
difficult and frustrating stages in the game.
This stage throws everything at you, in terms of insane traps,
obstacles and hard to kill with one blast enemies,
like dodgy, old gramps demons
and club throwing sumo’s (what were the games designers on?)
Again, all I can suggest is timing and co-ordination is key here.
I also found that the Purple Orb and its orb magic abilities
(a thunder blast) worked effectively in this difficult and frantic stage.
And guess what’s waiting for you at the end of
this stage….another Buddha effigy.
(8) Lord Emma’s Lair: This is a fairly short stage and is a
precursor to the big battle(s) ahead.
Not much to do here except approach the sacred stone
with the large Shinto rope encasing it. But, before you do that,
keep going right and you will see another headstone.
Give that a few blasts with you prayer beads
and up will pop a divine angel/saint thing,
which you can use to grab an aura/halo thing off of them.
Once you’ve done that, return to the large scared stone
and give it a few blasts till it crumbles.
Be prepared, because you will be thrust straight
into a boss battle with...
(9) Boss Battle: Deranged Lord Emma:
I hope you have a color orb equipped
(remember anything, but blue) for this lengthy boss battle.
Emma will start off by firing fireballs from his mouth,
which you must avoid being hit by.
In addition, he will also drop bouncing spikes
which again, you must
skillfully dodge and avoid. Luckily, if you run out
of color orb, just keep firing at the ground and more
will pop up for you.
Personally, I find purple (again) orb to be the best type
for this encounter.
After enough hits, Lord Emma will start to explode
and reveal the evil and mischievous force that possessed him.
Get ready for the games final battle…with a twist.
(10) Final Boss Battle: The Evil within Lord Emma:
Without giving too much away, let’s just say the final battle
was not what I was expecting. All I can say is that at this point
in the game it turns into a shoot em up (?!) and Bonze undergoes a
startling and impressive transformation to
combat this evil within.
Furthermore, for this particular battle, you need a lot of patience
and keep your wits about yourself. Don’t give up and perceiver.
Once you successfully beat the game’s final boss, you are
treated to a nice ending
of the Buddha congratulating Bonze on saving the Underworld,
followed by the role of the credits…how nice.
Well, that’s it for now.
Not bad for a first timer.
Watch this space for more gaming facts and
information from yours truly,
Lordplatform007, in the near future.
My thanks to:
(1) Taito Inc for creating a great platform game
(2) Wikipedia for providing further info
about this little gem
(3) Gamesfaq: for posting this guide on there site…I hope>>
Legal Note: All Bonze Adventure character
names and associations
are the legal property of Taito Inc. Furthermore, this faqs
is for private use
only and not to be copied or distributed for
financial gain anywhere.
