The Adventures of Bayou Billy

Developer: Konami
Year: 1989

So, this guy named Gordon steals your girlfriend Annabelle, and then you have to chase him through a swamp and fight a bunch of guys with a stick and also there's a shooting level and some driving.

In short, tAoBB is everything that's great about the NES.

From start to finish, this game is excellent. It's got your Bad Dudes punching and kicking, there's some weapons you can pick up, ugly guys throw rocks at you, and there's alligators that barf turkeys that replenish your health. Then, there's the shooting at guys in the jungle part, using the Zapper, complete with guy who throws dynamite you have to shoot before it hits you. And the driving, well, it sucks, but whatever.

The music's great -- sort of a New Orleans / Nintendo version of 'Kung Fu Fighting'. And there are training levels for everything, so you can just pick up and play whatever piece of the game you feel like. Infinite continues give you that sense of, "Well, if i don't finish this, it's because I lack commitment". And like I said, the bad guy's name is Gordon, and he stole your girlfriend. What -- are you not interested in seeing if you can get her back?

So overall, tAoBB is top quality. It's a nice balance of difficulty and reward, it plays well, and it's completely ridiculous. Highly recommended.

Rating: 9/10 Only the crappy driving level keeps this from a 10/10.
Advice: The crocodiles look tough, but if you just jump in and start bashing them with a stick, they're no problem. Just like real life.
Best Moment: After beating the gun practice level, I was told that I had nothing to fear from Gordon. I found this very reassuring.