Hello Everyone,
This is my second review for my Nostalgia series. Maybe I will review a more recent game in the future. Maybe not...we'll see how things go.
As another note, the images I got from other people's webpages. They are not my own.
This is my second review for my Nostalgia series. Maybe I will review a more recent game in the future. Maybe not...we'll see how things go.
As another note, the images I got from other people's webpages. They are not my own.
The Adventures of Bayou Billy Review
By: Konami
Released: 1989
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System
Totally awesome back in the day!
Bayou Billy is an example of the reference Nintendo Hard. This is one of those games that will make you pull your hair out and throw the controller at the screen in frustration. It is possible to lose all your lives in the very first stage or the first batch of enemies. Bayou Billy has three different gameplay mechanics with each portion consisting of a different stage: a side-scrolling beat em up, a shooter where you can utilize either the controller or the Nintendo Zapper and a driving section.
The making of Leatherhead?
The first stage is a beat em up sidescroller. Back in the Nintendo days, blocking an attack was not prevalent in many games due to the controller?s limited amount of buttons. You can punch, kick or jump kick, which was Billy's standard arsenal of attacks. However, the enemies are merciless in their attacks and continually whale on you from all directions. There is no way of blocking and all you can do is trade shots with the enemy. Occasionally enemies will drop weapons such as sticks or knives, but they don't last long enough for them to be effective. Fighting crocodiles was almost impossible due to their quick attack, high amount of energy and Billy's lack of mobility when fighting in knee high water.
The second stage is the shooter where you can use the Zapper or the controller. Since the NES came with the zapper you had no excuse in using the controller. At this point the game is still difficult, but much more fun. This is where the game starts to shine and I found myself enjoying this portion. Then came the helicopter boss at the end of the level. Remember in other shooter games, you can see the bullets coming so you have a chance at intercepting them or enemies have a delayed action before shooting? Not here! That helicopter relentlessly shoots you with the machine gun and you are unable to intercept any of the bullets. The zapper becomes useless and you will have to switch to a Turbo controller, which takes the fun out of this level.
Check the placement of Mr. Big's right hand. Hey-O!
Plot? Mario has the Princess to rescue from Bowser, Billy has his trailer park trash girlfriend to rescue from Mr. Big. Doesn't get much simpler than that. Controls are adequate aside from the driving portion, which I found annoying. Sound and music are nothing special. The voice work done at various points of the game is laughable with today?s technology, but they were awesome back then.
Now you may ask yourselves "What do you think of the stages after the driving section?" To which I reply, "Beats me!" I know this is not the fairest of review, but I could not get past that jeep level. Who knows, maybe the game gets better afterwards? However, I found the difficulty exasperating and the tedious nature of the driving section turned me off the game completely. So if you were able to get past the jeep level then "kudos to you"!
Final Verdict: If mild torture is your thing, then you are welcome to play this game.