- Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg
Infobox VG| title = Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg
developer =Sonic Team
publisher =Sega
designer =
engine = Sonic Adventure 2
released = GameCube
vgrelease|NA=September 23 , 2003|JP=October 9 ,2003 |EU=October 31 ,2003
Microsoft Windows vgrelease|EU=March 31 , 2006
genre = Platform
modes =Single player , multiplayer
ratings = vgratings|CERO=All Ages|ESRB=E|PEGI=3+
platforms =GameCube ,Microsoft Windows
media = GameCube Optical Disc, CD
requirements =
input ="Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg" is a
video game for the Nintendo GameCube that was developed by Sonic Team. It was published bySega onSeptember 23 ,2003 in theNorth America , and onOctober 31 ,2003 inEurope . The game was released for Windows onMarch 31 ,2006 in Europe.Plot
The story begins with a fantasy world (called "Morning Land") becoming overthrown by evil crows. Normally inhabited by happy chicken-people, Morning Land is shrouded in darkness and under the rule of the sinister Dark Raven.
After defending a helpless chick from two attacking crows in the human world, Billy and his friends are transported to Morning Land and each endowed with their own
chicken suit , giving each the ability to move, use, and hatch giant eggs.Billy, being informed by a "chicken god" that he needed to save the six chicken elders in order to save Morning Land, and to prevent the darkness from spreading to the human world. The crow of each elder would bring morning back to the area they governed, but each of the elders has been trapped in golden eggs which Billy must hatch in order to free them. Through the game, Billy manages to defeat each area's Crow Boss and free the six chicken elders.
Billy defeats Dark Raven, which brings light and morning back to Morning Land. After celebrating the victory and honoring Billy for his accomplishments, Billy and his friends hand over their
chicken suits and return to their world, leaving Morning Land in peace.Characters
* Billy Hatcher - An inquisitive boy from the human world. With the courage bestowed upon him, he has been chosen by the Chicken God to save the Elders and return the Light to Morning Land. He's the main protagonist.
* Rolly Roll - A lighthearted and carefree girl. She always tries to help others who are in trouble, but can sometimes be a bit "scatterbrained".
* Chick Poacher - Chick may look small but his spirit is strong, giving him a misplaced air of superiority. He has a tendency to act before thinking, which always makes his friends a little nervous. He wears teal goggles on his head and seems to have the biggest of the chicken combs on his head.
* Bantam Scrambled - The heavy and powerful friend of Billy, Rolly, and Chick. He wears the largest and most distinctive clothing of the entire human crew. Bantam is a gentle giant and only uses his strength to look after his friends. Despite his rough outward appearance, he adores cuteness but hates injustice.
* Chicken Elders - Each of the regions of Morning Land is ruled by an elder, who brings morning to the world each day with a hearty "cock-a-doodle-do." The Crows however have captured the elders and sealed them within golden eggs.
* Crows - Through some strange power, the Crows have taken the form of monsters and plan to engulf the world in eternal night.
Gameplay
"Billy Hatcher" has a unique style of gameplay revolving around rolling large eggs. The player controls the hero, Billy, who cannot do much by himself aside from moving and jumping. However, he becomes a powerhouse once he finds an egg. While rolling an egg, Billy moves faster and is more agile. He can also dash, throw and return the egg along the ground, slam the egg down from the air, and Billy can travel on rails and fly through magical rings.
Eggs
The color-coded eggs themselves are another gameplay element. As Billy runs over fruit while holding an egg, the egg gets larger until it flashes and is ready to hatch. Then Billy can hatch the eggs, which can contain helper animals, character powerups, and extra lives. With variables such as egg size, helper animals, and personal powerups, "Billy Hatcher" can be played in many ways. Different animals can come out of the same eggs, and some creatures are vital to progressing through certain challenges.
Players should be wary of their handling of the eggs, as they take damage when attacked by enemies or impact certain obstacles. The egg gauge in the lower right-hand corner of the screen begins to crack, as does the egg Billy wields. When the egg takes enough damage, it is destroyed and no bonus comes from it. Eggs can also be 'lost', i.e. put into positions or situations that the player can not retrieve them from. In such cases, the egg will disappear from its position after several seconds of inactivity and will 'respawn' in its nest of origin. All work done to the egg, however, is lost.
Levels
"Billy Hatcher" is divided into seven stages, six that are seen almost immediately and a seventh that is unlocked when the requirements of the previous six have been met. Each stage is divided into a series of 'Missions' that Billy can play through to collect 'Emblems of Courage'. The goal of each Mission is to fulfill the conditions required and collect the Emblem as a reward. The player is graded on their skill in completing the mission and given a rank letter, with S-Rank being the highest. There are eight (8) Missions per stage, and Billy can only play through the first five Missions. Upon rescuing his friends, Rolly, Chick and Bantam would each unlock their respective Missions in the stages and become playable for those Missions only.
Game Boy Advance connectivity
"Billy Hatcher" is one of a handful of GameCube games that supports linking between the GameCube and
Game Boy Advance handheld system. Using theNintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable , players can load games such as "Puyo Pop", "ChuChu Rocket! ", and "" on their Game Boy Advance systems after certain objectives are completed within the game.cite web | author=Craig Harris | date=February 26, 2004 | title=The Ultimate List: Cube Connection | url=http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/370/370145p2.html | work=IGN.com | accessdate=2008-05-26]Trivia
* One of the music themes "Odd March" from the Circus Park Level was composed by "Mariko Nanba". This theme was originally made for Sonic Team's "
Knuckles' Chaotix " game but the theme was never released.* In 2004, one of the game's unlockable minigames, "Billy Hatcher: Hyper Shoot", was released for mobile phones in Japan.cite web | author=Levi Buchanan | date=March 19, 2004 | title=Where Art Thou, SEGA Mobile? | url=http://wireless.ign.com/articles/500/500566p1.html | work=IGN.com | accessdate=2008-05-26]
* Billy is a playable character and has his own mini-game in the
PlayStation 2 game "Sega Superstars ".* Billy is an unlockable character in "".
* Various references to Billy Hatcher are made in the "Sega Carnival" stage in "
Sonic Riders ". Billy also makes a cameo appearance in the game.* In the video game "
Shadow The Hedgehog ", there is an unlockable weapon called "Vacuum Egg" that resembles an egg from Billy Hatcher, complete with the blue spots, with the tip of the gun having the beak of a chicken complete with the red comb.Reception
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg was viewed in a somewhat positive light, but overall, the game spawned mixed reactions from many resources as seen below:*Gaming Age - C+cite web | author=Brian Peterson | date=October 16, 2003 | title=Review: Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg | url=http://www.gaming-age.com/cgi-bin/reviews/review.pl?sys=gamecube&game=billyhatcher| work=Gaming-Age.com | accessdate=2008-05-26]
*IGN - 7.7/10cite web | author=Matt Casamassina| url=http://cube.ign.com/articles/450/450845p1.html | date=September 19, 2003 | title=Review: Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg | url=http://cube.ign.com/articles/450/450845p1.html| work=IGN.com | accessdate=2008-05-26]
*GameSpot - 6.7/10cite web | author=Ryan Davis | date=September 25, 2003 | title=Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg: Full Review | url=http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/billyhatcherandgiantegg/review.html?mode=gsreview | work=GameSpot.com | accessdate=2008-05-26]
*GameSpy - 3/5cite web | author=Benjamin Turner | date=September 23, 2003 | title=Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (GCN) | url=http://cube.gamespy.com/gamecube/billy-hatcher-and-the-giant-egg/6203p1.html | work=GameSpy.com | accessdate=2008-05-26]
*GamePro - 4/5cite web | author=FENNECFOX | date=September 22, 2003 | title=Review: Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg | url=http://www.gamepro.com/nintendo/gamecube/games/reviews/31148.shtml | work=GamePro.com | accessdate=2008-05-26]
*X-Play - 3/5cite web | author=X-Play staff | date=April 10, 2006 | title=Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (review) | url=http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/reviews/503/Billy_Hatcher__the_Giant_Egg.html | work=X-Play | accessdate=2008-05-26]
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