Air Zonk

Air Zonk (also called PC Denjin Punkic Cyborg!/PC Denjin／Completion○／Clear× (PC電人／補完○／クリア×, PC denjin/ hokan ￮/ kuria ×)) is a video game, a side-scrolling shooter released for the TurboGrafx 16 console in 1992. It was developed by Red Company and published by Hudson Soft. Air Zonk was an attempt to update the company's image via a modern, punkish character called Zonk, who bears a purposeful resemblance to the TurboGrafx-16's caveman mascot, Bonk.

The game was developed by Red, better known for their Gate of Thunder series. Air Zonk features King Drool, antagonist of the Bonk series, along with many other enemies from the series. It was followed by a sequel in 1993 called Super Air Zonk: Rockabilly-Paradise for the Turbo Duo, and has been released on the Wii's Virtual Console.

Gameplay

Air Zonk is similar to other scrolling shooters, but includes companion characters. Artistically the game is lighthearted, featuring humorous bosses such as a sentient garbage heap and an anthropomorphic boat. The gameplay centers around the effective use of shooting and bombing to complete a stage. At the start, the player may pick a companion character to team up with to perform special attacks, limit themselves to using the designated companion characters for each level, or opt out of using companion characters altogether. Each companion character, or friend, can only be used once. Air Zonk takes on the distinct visual style that is sometimes called "cute 'em up". There are three difficulty levels: sweet, spicy, and bitter.