The Adventures of Bayou Billy, released in Japan as Mad City (マッド・シティ?), is an action by Konami for the [[NES] composed of beat-em-up, racing and shooting segments. It was originally released in Japan in 1988, and later in North America in 1989 and in the PAL region in 1991.
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 nine stages in all: five side-scrolling beat-em-up stages (or street fighting stages, as the game 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 also saves him from being shot, 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.
Story
(American Version) Billy West is a Crocodile Dundee-esque survivalist who lives in the bayous of Louisiana and fights both gators and criminals in his spare time. He is dating Annabelle Lane, a popular journalist and model.
Godfather Gordon of Bourbon Street, tired of Billy constantly interfering with his various sundry crimes, kidnaps Annabelle in an attempt to get Billy out of the safety of his wild home and follow him to his fortress on Bourbon Street, leaving behind traps and henchmen along the way.
Billy manages to leave his Bayou just in time to see Gordon's armored truck carts Annabelle away after Billy is waylaid by one of Gordon's strongmen. Billy is forced to shoot his way to his Jeep and give chase all the way to Bourbon Street avoiding Gordon's wheel-men and bomb-dropping prop planes along the way.
Billy manages to finally arrive in Bourbon Street bringing him face to face with newer and tougher henchmen and hired thugs in the employ of Gordon. Once again, he is forced to resort to gunfighting his way into Gordon's mansion.
Billy overcomes Gordon's personal guards, his dog-keeper, and even Gordon himself but is blocked from finally getting Annabelle by Rocky and Rocco, giant twin brothers who were Gordon's heirs. After much trial and error at the hands of the twin giants, Billy is once again able to overcome and finally free Annabelle who he declares his loyalty and love to before kissing her.
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 midriff baring 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-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.
The main character in the Japanese version is addressed as being a veteran of the Vietnam War in the Japanese instruction manual while this is muted in the international version.