Nerdicus NES Review #18 : Adventures of Bayou Billy

Title : Adventures of Bayou Billy

Publisher : Konami

Release Date : 1989

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $1-$3

I have a lot of memories of The Adventures of Bayou Billy, and not a single one of them is good. My NES library was never that large the first few years I owned the system, and my parents would always tend to get me games that were discounted rather than the games I wanted. So, sure enough, Bayou Billy managed to be included in my collection. 

When I saw the box, I couldn't have been more excited. Just look at it. A guy trudging through the swamp, avoiding gators, driving jeeps, fighting villains a la double dragon style, and of course, rescuing your girlfriend. But when I was a kid, I don't think I ever made it past the second or third stage. This game was downright relentless in it's difficulty. Controls were stiff, and the villains were overpowered. Each fight, felt like a boss fight. And death came swiftly.

Just take her - who cares

Playing it again now - I realize again why I hated this game so much.

So many choices...

You have a few options with this game -

GAME A - your normal difficulty. Which is basically HARD.

Game B - your harder difficulty. Which induces tears

Practice Mode - try your hands at some of the levels (racing / shooting levels) - not much fun.

Sound Test - Never understood the point of these when I was younger, but I have to admit the music in this game isn't half bad. And who can get enough of the announcer saying "THE ADVENTURES OF BAYOU BILLY" in that robotic NES voice that tries to sound human.

Of course, the only thing I ever really tried was GAME MODE A -

You have to admit, Konami tried to go all out with its level design in this game. They wanted to include as much variation as possible, and concept wise it wasn't a bad idea. Too bad they couldn't pull it off. You've got three types of level designs in Bayou Billy. Side Scrolling fighter reminiscent of Double Dragon, arcade style shooters using your NES BLASTER GUN, and the racing game that looks like a bad RAD RACER. All of 'em horrible.

Weapon usage int he side scrolling stages are worthless - they get knocked out of your hand every time you get hit, and they're barely effective. Unless you get bullets for your gun, which is the only weapon worth your time. BUT, they go ahead and throw in enemies with bullet proof vests, so what the heck is the point? 

Enemies will drop these items. Sticks....yeah sticks. Great weapon. Giant turkey legs for health. Always thought it was funny when a gator dies and drops a giant turkey leg. It's like it regurgitated its meal. Whips are pretty good, as it lets you attack from a distance. As long as you just keep spamming that attack button. And like I said, there are guns. But have fun wasting your bullets. Save em for the bosses.

Very Indiana Jones-esque

And downright impossible. How impossible you may ask? You will be seeing these screens a lot.

Now I never beat this game, and I probably never will. It is so frustrating that you cant stand to play more than a couple of minutes of it. The fact that I've died so many times on the first level alone says something. Maybe I'm just horrible at these types of games. Maybe.....

So do yourself a favor. Instead of playing this game, go watch Crocodile Dundee. You'll get the same effect. In the meantime, feed this game to the gators.

Final Score (out of 5) :

Until next time. Keep on gaming!