Software:The Adventures of Bayou Billy

From HandWiki
Short description: 1988 video game
The Adventures of Bayou Billy
North American box art
Developer(s)Konami
Publisher(s)Konami
Designer(s)Nakamoto Ichigou
Moon Nakamoto
Susumu Kusaka
Azusa Fujimoto
Programmer(s)Kazuhiro Aoyama
Mitsuaki Ogawa
Tsukasa Hiyoshi
Etsunobu Ebisu
Composer(s)Jun Funahashi
Kiyohiro Sada
Hidenori Maezawa
Atsushi Fujio
Tsutomu Ogura
Platform(s)Nintendo Entertainment System
Release
Genre(s)Beat 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player

The Adventures of Bayou Billy, known in Japan as Mad City (マッド・シティ), is a 1988 beat 'em up video game developed and published by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Plot

Billy West, otherwise named Bayou Billy, is a vigilante from the bayous of Louisiana, who has fought against a local crime boss, known as Godfather Gordon. In retaliation for interfering with his smuggling operations, Gordon kidnaps Billy's girlfriend Annabelle Lane in order to lure Billy into one final battle. Billy's quest to save Annabelle consists of nine stages that takes him from the swamplands to Bourbon Street, as he battles Gordon's henchmen and eventually arrives at his estate to face him.

Gameplay

Screenshot of the first level

Most of the game follows a side-scrolling beat-'em-up format where the player character must engage in hand-to-hand combat against every enemy he encounters to proceed from one area to the next until reaching the end of each stage before his health runs out. Billy's basic attacks consists of a punch, a kick and a jump kick performed by pressing the A and B buttons simultaneously. The player can also arm Billy with one of three melee weapons dropped by certain enemies: a throwing knife, a club and a whip. Picking up a new weapon while in possession of one will replace it. Billy can also pick up guns, which the player can draw or withdraw at any time by pressing the Select button (when Billy is using a gun, the number next to the "bullet" indicator at the top of the screen will start flashing). Other power-ups in these stages include a chicken drumstick that refills Billy's health and body armor which protects Billy from enemy bullets and reduces the damage he takes from different attacks. While most the enemies in the beat-'em-up stages are human, the player will occasionally fight animals as well such as crocodiles, eagles and guard dogs.

In Stages 2 and 7, the game adopts a rail shooting format viewed from a first-person perspective, which can be played with a standard controller or with an NES Zapper, depending on the mode chosen by the player at the start. In these stages, the player must shoot as many gunmen as possible and then destroy the boss at the end without running out of health or ammunition. Certain enemies will drop additional ammo and health kits, as well as other power-ups such as an hourglass that gives Billy unlimited ammo for a brief moment, a bulletproof vest that leaves him invulnerable for a while, and a star that destroys all on-screen enemies.

In Stages 4 and 5, the player must drive Billy's jeep through the freeway from the grasslands to the suburbs before time runs out. In these two stages, the player steers and accelerates the jeep with the d-pad, while the A and B buttons are used to launch grenades at airborne enemy vehicles and shoot at other cars in front of the jeep. These are the only stages where the player does not have a health gauge and as a result, a single collision with an enemy vehicle, bomb explosion or any other road hazard will cause a life to be lost. The player can pick up gasoline cans along the way to extend the time limit.

In addition to the main mode, there is also a practice mode featuring shorter versions of select stages in order to help players familiarize themselves with the controls for each gameplay style. Completing a practice stage will award the player with a power-up that can be used in the main game.

Regional differences

The game was originally released for the Famicom in Japan under the title of Mad City and was retitled The Adventures of Bayou Billy when it was converted to the NES for the international market, undergoing many extensive changes during the localization process. The NES version is more difficult than the Famicom version. Enemies in the beat-'em-up stages are more aggressive and have more health, the player starts the shooting stages with less ammunition, and the driving stages have narrower roads. The driving stages in the Famicom version also give Billy's jeep a health gauge, allowing it to withstand collision from enemy vehicles and road hazards, a benefit not available in the NES version.[3] The Famicom version has four possible endings, whereas the NES version only has one.

The NES version also features many audio and visual changes. Enemy characters and backgrounds are colored differently and the game's heroine, Annabelle, wears more revealing clothing in the NES version (having been changed from a v-neck dress to denim shorts and a midriff T-shirt). DPCM-coded voice samples were added, such as an announcer declaring the title when the player starts the game and Gordon laughing between stages. In the Japanese version, four different endings can be achieved by using certain operations. If played in Easy mode, Billy will save Annabelle, but also comments on "something lost". The game then proceeds with a notice of playing in a harder mode. Beating the game normally results in the usual ending. Beating the game, but not coming to Annabelle after rescuing her will result in a "bad ending" where Annabelle leaves Billy. A fourth ending can be achieved by certain operations and in this ending, Billy and Annabelle will speak in Kansai dialect.

Release

The Adventures of Bayou Billy was re-released for the Wii U via Virtual Console in 2016.[4][5]

Reception

Reception
Review score
PublicationScore
Nintendo Life5/10[6]

Nintendo Life rated the game 5 out of 10.[6]

Comic

Archie Comics published a comic book series based on The Adventures of Bayou Billy written by Rich Margopoulos and illustrated by Amanda Conner, which lasted five bi-monthly issues dated from September 1989 to June 1990.[7] The comic takes liberties with the plot and characterizations of the game and introduces an additional cast of supporting characters. Bayou Billy (whose full name is William Jackson West in the comic) is a bounty hunter assisted by his former military companions of Broadside, Sureshot and Tracker, as they protect the innocent from a local mob led by Giles Gordon and his two sons Rocky and Rocco (who were originally Gordon's bodyguards in the game). Annabelle Lane (who is renamed Annabel Lee) also appears in the comic as an assistant district attorney who becomes romantically involved with Billy after being rescued from Gordon's lackeys. The fourth issue reveals that Billy is a widower whose first wife was killed in an ordered hit by Gordon meant for him.

Television

Bayou Billy appears in the Captain N: The Game Master episode "How's Bayou", voiced by Garry Chalk.

See also

  • New Orleans in fiction

References

  1. ↑ Nintendo staff. "NES Games". Nintendo. https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/manuals/nes_games.pdf. 
  2. ↑ "マッド・シティ [ファミコン / ファミ通.com"]. http://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=20252. 
  3. ↑ "マッド・シティ" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 18 June 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040618101322/http://ww3.tiki.ne.jp/~nagayasu/html/fcmanual/madcity.html. 
  4. ↑ Theriault, Donald (7 January 2016). "Nintendo Downloads - January 7, 2016". https://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/41737/nintendo-downloads-january-7-2016. 
  5. ↑ Whitehead, Thomas (7 January 2016). "Get Ready for Light Gun Action in This Week's North American Nintendo Download Update". https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/01/get_ready_for_light_gun_action_in_this_weeks_north_american_nintendo_download_update. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Frear, Dave (30 November 2015). "The Adventures of Bayou Billy Review (Wii U eShop / NES)". https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/wiiu-eshop/adventures_of_bayou_billy_nes. 
  7. ↑ "Did You Know? January". Archived from the original on 13 October 1999. https://web.archive.org/web/19991013014840/http://archiecomics.com/classic/diduknow9901.html. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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