The Adventures of Bayou Billy

The Adventures of Bayou Billy is one of those NES games that refuses to stick to just one style of gameplay. Developed and published by Konami, it first appeared in Japan as Mad City in 1988 before arriving in North America as The Adventures of Bayou Billy in 1989. The story follows Billy West, a tough swamp-dwelling hero whose girlfriend Annabelle has been kidnapped by the gangster known as Godfather Gordon. Billy has to fight his way from the bayou to the city and eventually confront Gordon.

The game is divided into three very different types of action. Most of the adventure is a side-scrolling beat 'em up, with Billy punching, kicking, and jump-kicking his way through gang members and creatures lurking around the swamps and city streets. Some sections switch to a first-person shooting perspective, where you can use the NES Zapper or a standard controller to aim at incoming enemies.

Then there are the driving stages. Billy gets behind the wheel of an armed Jeep and races toward his destination while dealing with enemy vehicles, road hazards, and aircraft. The Jeep comes equipped with a forward machine gun and grenades, turning what could have been a simple driving section into another action sequence.

There are nine stages in total, along with a practice mode that lets players try the three gameplay styles separately. The North American version is also famous for being considerably more difficult than the original Japanese Mad City, making Bayou Billy a notoriously demanding NES game.

Its difficulty can be frustrating, but the combination of fighting, shooting, and driving gives The Adventures of Bayou Billy a personality that few NES games can match. It is a fascinating example of Konami experimenting with multiple genres in a single cartridge.