Kenji, Come In!

Back in the days of the Sega Genesis (Megadrive, outside the USA) there were some real oddball games. One such example was Bimini Run (often misread as "Bikini Run"), the only title released by Nuvision Software (the company apparently had a few other games in the works, but went belly-up after only three years in the business). Players take the role of "Kenji," a secret agent on a mission to rescue his sister, Kim, who has been kidnapped by the evil Dr. Orca. To help him on his quest, he has a blond-haired bazooka-packing partner named "Luka." Sounds like a cross between James Bond and Miami Vice.

Right after pushing the start button, players can see Kenji and Luka dashing down a pier and into a red-striped power boat as they launch in hot pursuit.  One of Dr. Orca's black and yellow speed boats (not black and white?) is trying to make an escape with Kim onboard.  In this first stage, players must weave around numerous sailboats to close in on their target.  Colliding at any speed results in the instantaneous destruction of Kenji's ride leaving him and his partner floundering in the water.  On the other hand, Dr. Orca's boat can (and does) plow through any vessel that gets in its way - destroying sailboats in fiery blasts while taking no damage in return.  I didn't think it was  possible to outfit a speed boat with a ram bow, but in the 16-bit era it apparently was.  Once players close in they can open fire by pressing either the "A," "B," or "C" button on the controller.  "C" fires up into the air (so, not useful...yet), while "B" sprays rapid fire at surface targets (what kind of bazooka is Luka using?).  "A" is a charged shot that goes farther than rapid fire provided the player holds the button down long enough before releasing.  Shooting up Dr. Orca's boat stops it dead in the water.  Sadly, the boat is a decoy.  Despite this scripted setback though, players advance to the next mission.

The complexity jumps up here somewhat in that the player must now consult maps marked to the brim with islands, reefs and sand bars.  Aside from an interlude around the midpoint (more on that later), gameplay consists almost entirely of motoring from island to island with the assigned goal of knocking out radio towers and lookout posts along the shorelines.  Charged shots are required because rapid fire doesn't go up onto land for some reason.  To complicate matters, lookout posts occasionally shoot back.  What's more, it's possible to run aground which (much like other forms of collision) results in Kenji's boat exploding.  Because of all this its best to line up attack runs using the maps as a guide.  Just in case all that wasn't enough to deal with, there are endlessly spawning Orca boats and helicopters that fire bursts or take potshots respectively.  One hit is all it takes to destroy anything, but thankfully for the player enemy boats are not especially accurate.  A somewhat bizarre feature tied to all this is the inability for the enemy to fire at the player when not on-screen.  In this way it's possible to employ a weird tactic of out-of-sight-out-of-mind to avoid threats even if they are lurking just outside the player's field of view.

This might come as a surprise, but Bimini Run can be played two player in the form of shared screen co-op using two controllers.  One player pilots the boat while the other shoots.  As I recall, the driver can still fire charged shots.  There's also some sort of auto-aiming for firing on airborne targets, but my memory is a bit fuzzy when it comes to the details.  It may have been associated with the difficulty settings...Overall, the gameplay gets repetitive after awhile (except for the aforementioned midgame interlude).

It involves a large number of sea monsters.  Kenji and Luke get lost and the map shows nothing but mist.  Luckily for them a friendly mermaid shows up to act as a guide.  Interfering with all this are various waves of sea monsters (some flying) that, when shot, disappear in puffs of air like punctured balloons.  Perhaps Kenji and Luka inhaled a lot of exhaust fumes coming from the onboard engine?  Whatever the reason for this big-lipped-alligator moment, it offers some unique challenges.  Aside from beating off the hordes of monsters, players must follow the mermaid without getting too close or accidently shooting her.  Doing either scares the mermaid; causing her to dive underwater.  If this happens the Kenji and Luka have to idle about until she re-emerges.

Personally, I feel like Bimini Run was a neat idea.  Essentially, it uses the graphics style of Space Harrier or Super Hang-on but without being constrained to a set track.  If I have one major criticism it's that the endless swarms of enemies and limited fuel do not allow for a more methodical approach.  One other minor quibble I have is that Dr. Orca's secret base looks like nothing more than a hut made of coconut tree trunks and palm fronds.  I guess he blew most of his budget on speed boats and helicopters...even so, the thing I will always remember most about Bimini Run is the dude on the radio that constantly yells "Kenji, come in!" anytime there is a mission update.