45. Mad City (Konami, Famicom, 1991)

Mad City (released in North America as The Adventures of Bayou Billy) is a multi-genre action game with a fairly generic action movie plot where a crime boss has kidnapped your girlfriend and you have to beat up and shoot a bunch of dudes to rescue her.

The only things I had heard about this game before playing it were: the first level music rules and it's not a very good game. Well I'm here to report that the first level music does indeed rule, and the game is...not bad.

The first level is very familiar to anyone who has played Double Dragon. The controls are basically identical: you move right beating up guys who happen to cross into your plane of existence, the B button punches, the A button kicks, and pressing both allows you to jump. "The Beat 'em Up Problem" is on full display here, though we have to learn to accept this is just how these games were made, and find other ways to enjoy them.

The gameplay itself feels a bit sloppier than Double Dragon, and while the animations are fluid, there isn't much personality to any of the art. I do like it when a cooked whole chicken falls off of a guy I'm punching and I just eat it. I also enjoy that items are persistent: when I throw a knife, it doesn't just disappear. The first level is actually pretty entertaining overall, and ends with a tense crocodile-dodging sequence.

Then the second level starts and the gameplay has shifted to a shooting gallery-style game, which can be played with a light gun, but I don't have the setup for that. That said, it's a very simple level with not a whole lot going on. I prefer something like Cabal or Wild Guns because you're also moving a character around and dodging. They could have made a worse shooting gallery level, though; there are at least some powerups and health pickups to keep track of, and it wasn't overly difficult.

There are also driving levels, which I found to be the most boring of the 3. The driving is similar to NES driving games like Rad Racer, with a behind-the-car view and not too much turning, though this control scheme has you pressing up to accelerate, which is not very comfortable. Thankfully the driving level was short and not too challenging.

3/5, I appreciate the variety, but it's all done better elsewhere. I said the same thing about Sonic Adventure 2, come to think of it.