The Adventures of Bayou Billy/Versions

Although based on the same basic principal with the same basic stage composition, the American release of The Adventures of Bayou Billy contains many substantial changes from the original Japanese release of Mad City. This page will attempt to catalog the majority of them.

Stage differences

Most of the stage differences are outlined in the walkthrough pages dedicated to each stage. The following is a more high-level outline.

• The brawling portions of the American release are considerably more difficult, with each of Billy's attacks doing less damage than in Mad City, as well as the enemy's attacks doing more damage.
• Portions of the first and third stage have been expanded, or in some small cases, shortened. In particular, the third stage contains many more fights before the boss appears in the American version, compared to the one fight in the Japanese version.
• The shooting portions of the game remain largely identical, with the exception of the number of bullets provided. The Japanese version starts the player out with 150 bullets, with ammo expansions providing 50 more bullets. The American version starts the player with only 100 bullets, and each ammo expansion only provides 40 bullets.
• The driving portions of the game have several changes.
  • The American version features no power-ups, one-hit-out player vehicle, sharper turns, narrower roads, and an indicator at the top of the screen showing the player how much distance to the goal remains.
  • On the other hand, the Japanese version keeps the health meter (of vehicle), the unique enemy vehicle (with Annabelle inside) being invincible all the time, and pick-up power-ups able to restore health. It is also possible to use up the "restore health" power-up from training in this mode.

Presentation

Vocal enhancements

The Japanese version of the game features no synthesized speech. It was added to the American version of the game. An announcer can be heard reciting the title of the game when it begins. At the end of every speech by Gordon between levels, synthesized laughter is heard while he animates.

Title screens

The title screens feature vastly different looks and effects. In Mad City, the title slides on to the screen from the right in slices. In Bayou Billy, the title of the game appears in wavy lines that eventually settle down and straighten out.

Stage changes

Prior to the start of each stage, Mad City merely indicates which stage is about to begin. However, in Bayou Billy, the game also indicates visually, as well as in text, which controller is intended to be used for that stage. Normally, it is just the control pad, but for Game A, the Zapper must be used on the second and seventh stages.

Bayou Billy

In the Japanese version (shown left), Billy's portrait from the introduction is not as colorful and contains many more shadows. More colors were added in the American version. Additionally, the hyphen was repositioned, as it is incorrect in the Japanese version (it's stuck behind the H).

You are presented with this illustration whenever Billy dies in either of the shooting stages. In the Japanese version (shown left), a lighter palette is used while the international versions features a darker palette. As a result, the international versions features a bit more detail when compared with the original image.

The Japanese version features a countdown timer when the game ends, giving the player the chance to continue from wherever he or she died. The international versions features this same counter. However, if the player fails to continue before time runs out, the player is presented with the scene shown to the right, in the international versions. In the Japanese version the scene only appears when you die during the driving levels.

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Annabelle

Annabelle is given quite a different look between the two versions of the game. In the Japanese version, Annabelle is wearing a red dress which covers her stomach. In the American version, she is instead wearing a mid-riff bearing bikini top, and Daisy Dukes for pants.

Even the sprite of Annabelle which appears at the end of the game after the final boss has been defeated reflects the changes mentioned above. She even sports a different hairstyle between the two versions of the game.

Endings

Most significantly, the number of endings were reduced from the Japanese version to the American version. To list them:

1. The American version feature just the one "happy" or true ending from the Japanese version.
2. Control over Billy is given to the player when Annabelle appears, allowing him to avoid making contact with Annabelle. If you do it long enough, it triggers the sad ending where Annabelle laments that it appears Billy no longer wishes to be with her, and she goes off by herself.
3. Alternatively, if you hold + while Billy and Annabelle are hugging, you will trigger the "goofy" ending, where Billy and Annabelle will talk in Kansai accents (a different style of Japanese in certain area). They also make jokes, and comment about how people might be watching them before they kiss.
4. The fourth ending will appear if you have started the game with any power-up from training mode. Does not happen in American version even if the game is completed with those power-ups.

The staff credits are shown after the first three of these endings.

Quiz

The Japanese version also contains a feature that was removed from the American version. The quiz contains ten questions which relate to the game. Three multiple choice answers are presented for each question. However, there is no real way to interact with the quiz, as each question and the answers are merely presented to the player. Pressing any input merely causes the question to advance, and the game does not provide a way to select an answer or grade your performance.