The Adventures of Bayou Billy
Encyclopedia
The Adventures of Bayou Billy, released in Japan as , is an action game
by Konami
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
composed of fighting, driving
and shooting
segments. It was originally released in Japan in , and later in North America
in and in the PAL region
in .
In the street fighting stages, Billy has a basic repertoire of punching and kicking attacks, as well as a jump kick, and can pick up weapons from the enemies such as a throwing knife, a whip, and a wooden stick. The player can also use a gun after picking it up for the first time by pressing the select button. Other power-ups in these stages includes a bulletproof vest which reduces damage from enemies and a health-restoring chicken drumstick.
The shoot-em-up stages can be played with the regular controller in mode B or with a NES Zapper
light gun peripheral in mode A. Played from Billy's perspective, the objective of the shooting stages is to defend oneself from the other gunmen until reaching the stage boss, while conserving as much ammo as possible. The player can pick up bullets and a first-aid kit to restore their ammo and life energy respectively, as well as an hourglass which gives the player unlimited ammunition for a limited period.
The player takes control of Billy's jeep during the action driving segments, where they travel the road from the swamp to the city as they maneuver their way through enemy vehicles and other road hazards, before the time limit runs out. Billy's jeep is armed with a machine gun that can be used to take out other cars, as well as grenades that be thrown at enemy planes. Gasoline can be picked up to gain more time.
In addition to the main game, there's a practice mode where one can play through one of the three segments from the main game and familiarize themselves with the controls. When one of the practice stages is completed, the player will gain a power-up that can be used during the main game.
The international version also added DPCM
-coded voice samples, being one of the few NES games to do so. A male voice declares the title of the game during the game's opening screen and says "bye" to the player at the end of the game. Also, the villain of the game, Godfather Gordon, ends all his taunts to Billy with a smug laugh between stages.
published a comic book adaptation of The Adventures of Bayou Billy written by Rich Margopoulos and illustrated by Amanda Conner
. The comic lasted five bi-monthly issues, dated from September 1989 to June 1990. It featured some of characters from the game, as well as original ones. Billy was made a widower (as his first wife was murdered), and Annabelle's surname was changed from Lane to Lee.
, where Bayou Billy (modeled somewhat like Crocodile Dundee) appears in an episode titled "How's Bayou". Playing on the difficulty of its real world counterpart, Bayou Billy was said to be the one game even Captain N was unable to conquer.
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
composed of fighting, driving
Racing game
A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
and shooting
Light gun
A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games.Modern screen-based light guns work by building a sensor into the gun itself, and the on-screen target emit light rather than the gun...
segments. It was originally released in Japan in , and later in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in and in the PAL region
PAL region
The PAL region is a television publication territory which covers most of Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe...
in .
Gameplay
The player takes control of the title character, Billy West, who must fight to save his girlfriend Annabelle Lane from the gang of Godfather Gordon. There are a total of ten stages in all: six side-scrolling beat-em-up stages (or street fighting stages, as the game actually dubs them), two light gun shooting (shoot-'em-up) stages, and two action driving stages.In the street fighting stages, Billy has a basic repertoire of punching and kicking attacks, as well as a jump kick, and can pick up weapons from the enemies such as a throwing knife, a whip, and a wooden stick. The player can also use a gun after picking it up for the first time by pressing the select button. Other power-ups in these stages includes a bulletproof vest which reduces damage from enemies and a health-restoring chicken drumstick.
The shoot-em-up stages can be played with the regular controller in mode B or with a NES Zapper
NES Zapper
The NES Zapper, also known as the Beam Gun in Japan, is an electronic light gun accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Japanese Famicom. It was released in Japan for the Famicom on and alongside the launch of the NES in North America in October 1985...
light gun peripheral in mode A. Played from Billy's perspective, the objective of the shooting stages is to defend oneself from the other gunmen until reaching the stage boss, while conserving as much ammo as possible. The player can pick up bullets and a first-aid kit to restore their ammo and life energy respectively, as well as an hourglass which gives the player unlimited ammunition for a limited period.
The player takes control of Billy's jeep during the action driving segments, where they travel the road from the swamp to the city as they maneuver their way through enemy vehicles and other road hazards, before the time limit runs out. Billy's jeep is armed with a machine gun that can be used to take out other cars, as well as grenades that be thrown at enemy planes. Gasoline can be picked up to gain more time.
In addition to the main game, there's a practice mode where one can play through one of the three segments from the main game and familiarize themselves with the controls. When one of the practice stages is completed, the player will gain a power-up that can be used during the main game.
Regional differences
The game was released in Japan as Mad City and internationally as The Adventures of Bayou Billy. The international version, Bayou Billy, is notable for its increased difficulty in comparison to the Japanese Mad City. For example, the enemies in the street fighting segments are faster and have three times the energy in the international version, while the player has less bullets in the shoot-em-up stages. The game also received several graphical changes, such as the wardrobe worn by the heroine Annabelle, which was changed from a red dress in the Japanese version to denim shorts and red t-shirt in the international version. The Japanese version also features several alternate endings, one of which allows the player to end Billy's relationship with Annabelle after defeating the final boss.The international version also added DPCM
DPCM
Differential pulse-code modulation is a signal encoder that uses the baseline of pulse-code modulation but adds some functionalities based on the prediction of the samples of the signal...
-coded voice samples, being one of the few NES games to do so. A male voice declares the title of the game during the game's opening screen and says "bye" to the player at the end of the game. Also, the villain of the game, Godfather Gordon, ends all his taunts to Billy with a smug laugh between stages.
Comic
Archie ComicsArchie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
published a comic book adaptation of The Adventures of Bayou Billy written by Rich Margopoulos and illustrated by Amanda Conner
Amanda Conner
Amanda Conner is an Irish-American comic book artist and commercial art illustrator. She began her career in the late 1980s for Archie Comics and Marvel Comics, before moving on to contribute work for Claypool Comics' Soulsearchers and Company and Harris Comics' Vampirella in the 1990s...
. The comic lasted five bi-monthly issues, dated from September 1989 to June 1990. It featured some of characters from the game, as well as original ones. Billy was made a widower (as his first wife was murdered), and Annabelle's surname was changed from Lane to Lee.
Television
Bayou Billy also received some amount of exposure on the Nintendo-themed animated TV series, Captain N: The Game MasterCaptain N: The Game Master
Captain N: The Game Master was an American animated television series that aired on television from 1989 to 1991 as part of the Saturday morning cartoon lineup on NBC. The show incorporated elements from many of the most popular Nintendo games of the time...
, where Bayou Billy (modeled somewhat like Crocodile Dundee) appears in an episode titled "How's Bayou". Playing on the difficulty of its real world counterpart, Bayou Billy was said to be the one game even Captain N was unable to conquer.
External links
- Adventures of Bayou Billy located at World of Everything NES (Woen.Info)