The world of the PC-Engine is a fascinating one. While the North American equivalent, the Turbografx-16, had a limited number of middling releases in Japan the console was on fire. Most of the best games weren’t translated into English. Thankfully some of these are very import friendly. Aoi Blink is one of these such games. It’s based on a popular anime/manga series in Japan which is most likely why it was never localized. Aoi Blink is one of the best platformers on the console.
I can’t speak or read the Japanese language, and therefore I’m at a loss for what’s happening in this game. Again, the story is directly based on a popular like-named manga series, and from what I’ve been able to gather, it’s about a traveling family set out to rescue their father. Oh, and there’s a blue donkey, but I’ll elaborate on that later. For a platform game there’s a fair amount of dialogue. Anytime you encounter an NPC (in their homes located within the stages) they’ll speak a few lines at you, and give what I assume to be hints on how to progress.
On the surface Aoi Blink looks like a pretty basic platform game of its time. You control a character that can walk, jump, attack, and your life is determined by a row of hearts at the bottom of the screen. Whenever you’re hit you lose a specific amount of health, and when it all runs out, you lose a life. When your lives run out it’s a game over, and you have to start over from the beginning. Pretty basic stuff, right? Wrong! The most noticeable difference here is that you control three characters at once. The other two follow the leader around, and they don’t take any damage.
The two characters that follow you offer a few different bonuses. First off, every time you attack (by default your one offensive move is a projectile) they also strike. This means you have three characters attacking foes at once which is nice. Furthermore, you can switch who the leader is between them. Each character has a different attack which makes each character unique and helpful in different situations. All weapons are projectiles, but one functions as a boomerang, another a ninja star, a grenade with a trajectory, etc. I really liked this aspect of the game. There are more than three characters in the game, but the active three seem to switch out almost at random between each level. I couldn’t figure out why they did, but at least the main protagonist stays with you.
Like Super Mario Bros. 3 you choose which stage you want to play next via an overworld map. It sure makes the game feel a lot less linear which is a welcome feature. There are multiple routes, and most stages have more than one exit. These aren’t particularly hard to find; most of the time the secondary exit will be right in plain view. Often times you’ll just have to enter a building, or climb to the top of a hill in the background. You’ll often need to play through a stage more than once to unlock both paths on the map. It makes the game take more time considering Aoi Blink is not a particularly long romp. I really enjoyed how non-linear the multiple exits made the game feel.
Unlike most other platformers of this time your goal isn’t simply to reach the end of every stage. The final level in each of the five worlds (yes, there are only five) can only be accessed with a red key that’s hidden in one of the earlier stages. While the alternate routes allow you to skip some levels on the world map often times you’ll have to return to them in order to unlock the boss area. I imagine some of the in-game dialogue gives you hints as to where you can find the key, but for the most part, I didn’t really need any help. This aspect of the game was ahead of its time, and despite the fact that it encourages you to return to previous stages I really liked it.
What’s a little annoying however is that you need blue keys to open treasure chests. Blue keys are found in the environment but are also dropped by enemies. The treasure chests which they unlock contain health restoration and a few power-ups (such as one that makes your characters move faster). It’s not a particularly great idea, but these items can be passed up without much penalty. The most interesting part of the game is how the boss encounters are handled. Here Aoi Blink throws out the established conventions and tries something different. You play as the main character riding atop Blue the donkey. The platforming elements remain, but Blue can fire orbs at the foe.
If Aoi Blink suffers any one problem it’s that the game is too easy. Most enemies don’t drain a full heart, let alone half or even a quarter. It feels like you can take a ton of hits in this game before you’re in any real danger, and extra lives are plentiful. There really aren’t a lot of puzzles, and finding the hidden keys is hardly a lot of effort. Normally I would knock a game down a few points for being too easy, but I really enjoyed this ride while it lasted. What makes up for it is that the boss fights are a stark contrast and offer up plenty of challenge. It makes things feel a bit uneven, but in the end it’s not that big a deal. Aoi Blink is a fun and relaxing romp.
The first thing I liked about Aoi Blink is the graphics. This is far more colorful than your typical PC-Engine (or Turbografx-16, for that matter) game. It looks like something that’s beyond even the capabilities of the Sega Genesis in this regard. The backgrounds are highly detailed and very pleasant. The same goes for the characters, and Aoi Blink’s engine suffers almost no slowdown even with three protagonists moving in tandem. Something must be said for the game’s whimsical art style as well. Aoi Blink just looks amazing in motion by system standards.
Aoi Blink also sports a pretty catchy soundtrack. Each song is catchy and unique. It never feels like any track is a hit or miss because they’re all very good. I also really like how the game’s music has that standard PC-Engine atmosphere to it. I’m talking of course about the majority of each composition being filled with high pitched notes. It’s charming, and really shines through especially well in Aoi Blink. This is one of my favorite soundtracks for the base Hu-card system.
Despite being a licensed game Aoi Blink could have been the big killer app the Turbografx needed in North America. This was a far better platformer than anything else that we got on the platform. Even though it clearly falls below the Super Mario Bros. series Blue Blink could easily have challenged Sonic the Hedgehog. Alas, it was never meant to be. Aoi Blink is one of the PC-Engine games that you absolutely must import. It’s a system defining release.
