Jigoku Meguri (1990). Play online

Summary

Bonze Adventure, known in Japan as Jigoku Meguri, is a haunting arcade‑style platformer that landed on the PC Engine (TurboGrafx‑16) only in Japan. You control a Buddhist monk armed with a string of mala beads, which you fling in a bouncy arc to vanquish the hordes of yokai and demonic apparitions populating each grim level.

The beads can be powered up until they loom as large as the monk himself, and occasional devas pop in to grant useful upgrades. Instead of a conventional countdown, the game uses melting candles to signal the dwindling time, adding a visual pulse that fits the infernal setting. Each stage is themed—cemetery, river of souls, flaming inferno, icy maze—offering a fresh visual twist without heavy narrative exposition.

Because the TurboGrafx‑16 version never saw a Western release, it’s a prized find among collectors and a quirky glimpse into Japan’s occult‑flavoured arcade design of the late‑80s.

Storyline

In Jigoku Meguri, the ruler of the Underworld—Emma the King—has lost his senses, causing chaos to spill across his domain. With order shattered, a host of yokai—snakes, giant eyeballs, ghosts, kitsune, spiders, and will‑o‑the‑wisp‑like hitodama—roam unchecked. The player assumes the role of Bonze Kackremboh, a Buddhist priest and son of the Divine Dragon, tasked with restoring balance. Kackremboh must trek through the haunted realms, battling relentless evils to locate the disoriented Emma. The ultimate goal is a confrontation that will either reclaim the king’s sanity or plunge the underworld deeper into darkness.