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Adventure Island (1986)

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"Aoi Blink" or "Blue Blink" is a video game developed by Westone (of Adventure Island / Wonder Boy fame) and published by Hudson Soft, which is based on the popular anime of the same name directed by Osamu Tezuka, which in turn was loosely based on the classic 1947 Russian film "Konjok-Gorbunok" (or "The Humpbacked Horse") by Ivan Ivanov-Vano, which, in turn, was based on the Russian poem of the same name by Pyotr Pavlovich Yershov which was written in the 1830s. Compared to Osamu Tezuka's other masterful works such as "Astro Boy", "Kimba the White Lion", "Princess Knight", and "Black Jack", Aoi Blink is quite obscure. The reason is because Osamu Tezuka died while the series was in production, with his studio completing the 39 Episodes according to his plans, making Aoi Blink one of the more memorable posthumous productions in Japanese animation as Osamu was huge in Japan and often considered one of the "Godfathers of Manga and Anime", even recieving posthumous awards for his works.

(*A Moment Of Silence*)

The video game is based on the general theme of the anime. The story is about a boy named Kakeru Shiki who one day saves a small blue pony-like horse who originally came from space during a thunderstorm. Capable of communicating with humans, the horse adresses itself as "Blink", thanking the boy for saving his life and telling him that if he is ever in trouble, Blink will help Kakeru whenever he calls his name. Kakeru would soon realize he is in trouble when his father, a beloved fairytale author, is kidnapped by a mysterious group (soon revealed to be led by Emperor Gurosu) near Summer's end. Crying and in desperate need of help, he calls on Blink, who helps him rescue his father. During his adventure, Kakeru meets many strange characters who help him while confronting Emperor Gurosu's henchmen and learns to be courageous and strong. Blink himself is based around Raijuu or Japanese "Thunder Beast" mythology.

The game has a general story intro on a black screen (after waiting through several title screens and demos) which basically summarizes the events up to the point where all the major characters have met and are accounted for, questioning if the player has what it takes to save Kakeru's father (omitted due to being slow and unnecessary). Graphically, the game is pretty reminiscent to many Westone productions, with plenty of vibrant bright colors and simple but effective level designs. The music is is also quite varied and the game possesses a good soundtrack. While not Westone's best work, the game clearly and effectively depicts Tezuka's characters and world.

While the game has your standard issue item pick-ups (health, clocks to stop time, bombs to defeat all foes on screen, etc.), the gameplay is a little different from your average 2D side-scroller, particularly because you have an overworld to travel on and the object of the game is to interact with characters and choose routes while looking for red keys in the game's five main stages to fight bosses and figure out the whereabouts of Kakeru's father. To do so, you travel in a bus from place to place to meet NPCs or find clues on where they might be, as each key is hidden within sub-levels.

Unusual to a side-scroller, Kakeru, with the exception of boss battles, is always accompanied by two other supporting characters from the anime, whether it be the Thief Duo (Nitch and Satch brothers), Tanba the Bus Driver, or Princess Kirara, and they each can be switched to on the fly and possess their own abilities and character traits. For example, the Princess is no fighter, but she can jump higher than anyone else, while little Satch can't jump very high but possesses great firepower. This semblance of on-the-fly character switching to defeat certain foes or reach hidden difficult areas makes the game feel a little closer to titles such as Taito's "Little Samson" (which Aoi Blink predates), though simplified.

Another interesting aspect is that most sub-levels have hidden invisible items and blue chests that can be opened with blue keys, as well as multiple routes which can take you to different areas on the map, and you're not required to play through every level, only to find the red key and open the boss door at a map's end. While admiteddly not much, this factor's into any "replayability" the game may have. You can also increase your max health by gaining 100 coins. Blink only appears to save your characters from death or to battle bosses. The game was fan-translated back in 2001.

The game isn't very challenging and is very short if you know where to go, but Aoi Blink is a nice PC Engine game overall. This is a video of it in action. Enjoy.

Basic Format: Turbo Chip / HuCard