Welcome to another edition of Playing With Power. The review article that looks at all things Nintendo Entertainment System. When coming up wit what game to talk about this week, I had a conundrum. Should I review a beat-em-up? Maybe a Zapper game? Or how about a driving game? Haven’t done one of those yet. But then I remembered that there was one game that I could play that has all three of those elements. And that game is “The Adventures of Bayou Billy”
Year of Release: 1989
Developer: Konami
Genre: Beat-em-up/Shooter/Driving
There really wasn’t too much backstory when it comes to the development of Bayou Billy. The original name of the game was “Mad City” in Japan, and was surprisingly a much easier game there. Kind of a polar opposite to the situation that Nintendo had with the real Super Mario Bros. 2. While I don’t know the true inspiration for the character, I believe that the late 80’s had a bigger emphasis on the rugged wildman-type heroes at the time. Especially following the surprising box office success of Crocodile Dundee back in 1986. Now, that’s all just an assumption from me, but I do see mild inspiration. Granted, we’re comparing an Australian badass who’s socially awkward to American big city life to what appears to be a hunter in the Louisiana swamp, but I do see some similarities in the character. Or, I could be pulling it out of my ass because he kinda sorta looks like him on the cover. Eh, I should be granted a few out there theories.
Story
Billy is your average good old boy from the bayou, living happily with his girlfriend Annabelle. However, this sweet romance is cut short, when a gang of crooks led by Godfather Gordon arrive. Gordon kidnaps Annabelle, and takes her to his estate in New Orleans. Now it’s up to Billy to rescue Annabelle, and put a stop to the crooked kingpin once and for all.
Gameplay
The Adventures of Bayou Billy is broken into three distinct gameplay styles. There is the meat of the game, a beat-em-up, zapper style shooting levels, and action driving levels.
The Beat-em-up levels are similar to others of the genre. You control Billy, who has to go from one end of the level to the other, beating down enemies as you progress. Pretty standard stuff. You’d think with a tough hombre character like Billy, that he’d be a master of hand-to-hand combat, right? Well, no. First off, Billy feels awkward and slow to control, and his punches and kicks feel slow in execution. A kicks, B punches, and the two together does your jump kick, which may be the move you end up spamming the most when it comes to using hand-to-hand combat on your foes. With AI that will easily get plenty of quick shots on you, it’ll always be a case of move, get a shot in, move, and try again. Pretty standard stuff considering the nature of the game, but still doesn’t come close to ever feeling fun.
But there is a plus side. You aren’t limited to your fists and feet. You do get plenty of weapons to use throughout your quest. Mainly melee weapons like sticks, knives, boulders, and the ever-useful whip, which can strike enemies from a farther distance. You will also be able to use guns in these levels. However, you get very limited ammo, so use wisely. You can also pick up bullet-proof vests that will keep you from taking damage from guns in the game, but it can be knocked off, so watch your back. So, despite lacking in the physical attack department, Billy does have a good hand for weapons.
As you traverse through, you’ll face plenty of enemies. Most will be standard thugs, but you will face off with animals as well. Birds and dogs will be foes in your quest, along with alligators. And these gators are a pain in the butt. Facing off with them hand to gaping gator jaw will prove fruitless, but if you have a weapon like the stick, you can strike them from the land before entering the murky waters. Some will even drop health meatballs (that really just look like turkey legs), so this tedium is worth it. But if you don’t want to bother, you can try your best to avoid them altogether.
I’d say when it comes to the game in general, I find these to be my least favorite. The difficulty can be annoying. Plus, the whole experience feels shallow in comparison to far superior beat-em-ups at the time like Double Dragon. It just doesn’t hold a candle. Or, in this case, a wooden stick.
Next we have the shooting levels. It’s your standard first person, shooting range style levels. Enemies will pop out of everywhere to shoot at you. Simply aim and shoot at them first. However, you get limited ammo. But you do get more. You can get first aid to heal you, and stars that will wipe all enemies off the screen.
There are two ways to play this mode. One with the NES Zapper when playing mode A. And with the standard NES controller with mode B. While this is a matter of pereference (or TV styles should you have a television that can’t use a Zapper gun), I kinda prefer the NES controller. The crosshair works really well, and I just find it easier than to have to alternate between peripherals in the game. But I’m a lazy sort, so blame that on me.
There are two levels for this style of gameplay. One after level one,, and one right before the last level, right at the entrance of Gordon’s estate. I find these levels to be the most fun in the game. They have the best control, and kinda remind me of games like “Gotcha! The Sport” or “Operation Wolf”. Not to mention, I just love most of the Zapper games.
And now we enter the driving levels. I’m also not very fond of these levels. In them, you drive a jeep through what feels like an endless highway, trying to dodge other vehicles, and planes from above that drop grenades. And other road hazards like rocks, puddles, and twisty curves. You have a timer on top, which will run out quick, so you have to haul butt as fast as possible. Up speeds up the vehicle. A will lob grenades from the top of the jeep onto oncoming aircrafts, and B will fire your machine gun. You can’t shoot both at the same time, and the grenade can be a tad slow, so you may end up in some sticky conundrums if you’re not careful with what weapons to use.
You don’t have a health bar in this stage, so take one hit, and it’s a lost life. And sometimes the hit detection can be wonky with this. You’ll seem like you’ve completely missed a rock in the road, but if you’re just a quarter-inch near it, sometimes you’ll still blow up. It’s borderline tedium.
The gripe aside, the levels are still pretty basic for driving shooter games. However, they’re some of the longer levels to deal with, and will probably lead to a lot of lost lives, and even some game overs if you don’t make it in time. But the bigger issue, is you have to do two of them in a row. If the driving levels were spaced out better like the shooting stages, this wouldn’t be so much of an issue. But be it as it is, it still irks me.
This game is hard. Not Ghosts and Goblins, or Battletoads hard, but still an extreme test of patience and skill. You get a very limited amount of lives and continues. Again, the game is much harder than it’s Japanese counterpart. Whether that was to ensure that the game would be rented more by gamers who couldn’t beat it on the first rental, or not, it’s still interesting to note. Another huge difference between Bayou Billy and Mad City is that Mad City actually had multiple endings, where Bayou Billy only has one. So, that doesn’t truly bode well for replayablilty with this game.
Now it’s time to introduce a new section of this articles, called the Power Tip. This will supply a quick tip to help you progress through this challenging game.
POWER TIP
This game will administer a beatdown on you like no other, but the game does give you at least some fighting chance in items you can get before starting your adventure.
At the title screen, you’ll see a practice option. By going there, you’ll have the ability to choose between one of the three game modes. Now, these of course can help you get the hang of game mechanics, but there’s more you can gain from these stages. By beating each of the stages, you’ll earn an extra item that will help you on your quest. By beating the beat-em-up stage, you’ll get a full health meatball. Beating either of the shooter stages will give you extra ammo for the first shooter stage. And completing the driving portion grants you one extra life.
Practice makes perfect, and in the world of Bayou Billy, it also makes for great rewards.
Music/Sound
This is another great soundtrack for Konami. The music is very funky. Perhaps a bit too funky. I swear some of these tracks could double for 70’s porno music. There are a few voice samples in the game. From the game’s title, to Gordon’s laugh. It’s a nice little touch that was apparently not even in the original Mad City version.
Graphics
The graphics are decent. The levels are well detailed, and give the feeling of both being in the bayou, as well as trekking through New Orleans. And plenty of decent use of the NES color palette. The cutscenes are well detailed, even though most are the same pic of Gordon gloating with Annabelle behind him. The character spries are a bit lackluster. Most are just faceless and bland in design, lacking a lot of personality.
Overall Thoughts
This is one of those games I try to like, and in the end, just can’t. Mainly suffering from two very annoying game modes, as well as annoying difficulty. There is an interesting story within, and the graphics and music are solid. However, it just feels like the gameplay styles are low-rent in comparison to far superior ones on the console. There are things that work, and really do quite well, but the bad far outweighs the good, and hurts the overall fun factor. It just boils down to a very bland and forgettable experience. This trip to New Orleans is certainly no Mardi Gras, and you won’t want to come back any time soon.
Rating: Thumbs Down