N-Philes

The GameCube, when in comparison to the library of its older brother, the Nintendo 64, is a huge step down in the platformer department. That's not saying there are none to play, since there are quite a few out there. But even though the GameCube has one of the more respectable number of games for this genre among the current batch of consoles, the list of platform titles that are actually fun to play are few and far between. Of course we have the absolutely dominant Super Mario Sunshine, but from there, when you ask someone to name another, the person's voice drifts off and he or she stares into space. Fortunately for me (and I think for all of us), Sega came along and released a true piece of platformer art. I have had some of the most fun this generation from Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg.


A very low-key title that went unnoticed to the mainstream, Billy Hatcher was actually one of my most anticipated titles of 2003. Ever since I had heard about it the whole concept intrigued me, and the day it came out I laid my $50 down at my local Game Shop, which left me with an awkward stare from the employee working there. A game that features a cover of a little boy dressed up in a chicken suit is not one of those must-buy titles. My obvious fervor when I picked it up certainly didn't help me. Nevertheless to me it was a must-buy, as the colorful environment and the cute little critters you could hatch to use at your disposal won me over.


What I loved about Billy Hatcher was that it shared the task objectives that Super Mario has had since his N64 debut, but added a bold twist onto the genre by gathering eggs and attacking enemies with them. By collecting fruit you could hatch the eggs into items or creatures, which were used to defeat your opponents, or to solve puzzles in your surrounding environment. Sonic Team came up with some very unique situations to overcome, making Billy Hatcher a rare experience. Honestly, the style and themes don't look to be an immediate hit, but Sega took a gamble that paid off, well at least for me. If you're looking for originality and can live without photo-realistic graphics, then you'll probably like Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg as much as I did. It wasn't the same ol' stuff we had been playing for years. It felt new, looked new, was new, and I loved every minute of it.