Hungry for Turbo?

The life and times and trials of a Turbografx hero can at times be filled with cliffs, impossible jumps, endless mazes, droves of baddies trying to kill you at every step and even talking trees.  One question that always popped up in my head was: What do these guys and gals eat?  Where do they find this energy (Not Energy) to combat the forces of evil, or to stand toe to toe with the enemy!?  We’ve seen many cases of the monsters in Turbo classics take to filling their tummies with hero limbs without any real look of resentment on their part.  So when do our heroes take a moment to grab a bite to eat?  When do they recharge themselves for the next stage?

Are we to assume that when a stage ends the hero on screen goes off and relaxes for a few days?  Perhaps takes a week off to lick his wounds or bandage up?  How does the health bar get partially (Sometimes fully) regenerated?  Does Richter camp out for the night after vanquishing the evil skeleton monster at the end of the previous stage?  Also, what kind of food options do you think the inhabitants at Junker HQ in Snatcher?

Role Playing Games do a better job of explaining things like this.  They often have times where the hero is hungry or in need of rest/replenishment of HP.  So you feed them or take them to an Inn and the savior of the land gains HP and R&R from your generosity.

After grabbing a handful of HuCards I decided to go on a deeper quest than just saving the Coryoon Princess or beating up King Drool.  I was going to dive headfirst into the deeper meaning of our heroes stress levels.  Get as close to buying these player 1 characters that day at the spa and warm meal they so deservingly need.

Once I started to jaunt through games like Bonk’s Revenge, Coryoon, Rondo of Blood, Ys, Rainbow Islands, and a slew of others I noticed how the main character would continue onward without any hint of complaint or worry in their eyes regardless of how long I played.  The day was to be saved regardless of if they had a well-balanced breakfast or not.  What sets apart the Turbografx and its heroes from other consoles was the developers were kind enough to take care of their own. Mario ran around for ages collecting coins, Sonic ran in circles for hours on end searching for rings.  You know what Bonk had?  He had MEAT!!

This hit me like a brick wall!  These super heroes weren’t hungry!  They were very well fed!  The people behind the curtain made sure to leave a trail of energy filled foods placed periodically throughout every stage.  Bonk ate his meat, cute Coryoon Dragon ate pineapples, Kunio had sushi and other foods at local eateries to choose from, Son Son ate peaches, and Rainbow Islands had an assortment of candies and fruits and deserts and drinks and breakfast items that would keep any video game character’s tummy full for the length of the game!  Even our own Richter Belmont from the most amazing Castlevania adventure of all time was able to smash down walls for a plate of meat! While not the most hygienic option for places to get food from, he made do with what he had, and that’s something man.  That’s something.

 

All of our beloved OBEY cast had a slew of food options at their disposal and I hardly even noticed it.  Master Higgins isn’t just collecting fruit to extend the game clock, he’s stuffing his face in order to have all that energy to never… EVER.. stop running!  Bonk and his blue and red candy obsession aside, clearly we see how many of our Turbografx heroes are healthy and smart.  A lot of thought went into their wellbeing and I applaud the people that developed for PCE and Turbo to make sure that the main characters were eating right!

With these mysteries finally solved the only question remains: Where and when do they go to the restroom? Thanks for reading guys!  :)