Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg
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| Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg | |
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| Developer(s) | Sonic Team |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Engine | N/A |
| Release date(s) |  September 23, 2003 |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (E) |
| Platform(s) | GameCube, PC |
| Media | 1 × GameCube Optical Disc |
| System requirements | GameCube: 8 blocks |
- This article is about the video game. For the baseball player and coach, see Billy Hatcher (baseball player).
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg is a video game for the Nintendo GameCube that was developed by Sonic Team. It was published by SEGA on September 23, 2003 in the US, and on October 31, 2003 in Europe. The game was released on PC on March 31, 2006 in Europe.
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[edit] Story
Prologue
In Morning Land, some chickens are playing cheerfully at a beach. However, one cries out as the sky turns black. A huge flock of crows are blocking the sun out and are covering the sky in darkness. One chicken gives out a cry of "cock-a-doodle-do" before the screen fades to black.
In the human world, Billy is late for a meeting with his friends. He catches up with them, only to see a wounded chick fall to ground nearby. Two crows are above and one dives down to attack the chick, only to be stopped by Billy, wielding a stick. The pair fly away and Billy and friends check the chick, only to be engulfed by a white light that it suddenly emits...
Forest Village
Billy finds himself in Morning Land, and is told by a Chicken God that he had been summoned there due to the courage he displayed while defending the chick. He is informed that the crows have somehow cast Morning Land into darkness and captured the Elders. The elderes have the ability to bring morning by giving a roosters cry. If morning isn't returned, then the darkness will spread to Billy's world too. By finding a legendary Chicken Suit, he can now control eggs and therefore bring justice to Morning Land by defeating the crows. He frees the first Elder, Oma-Oma, who was captured in a Golden Egg. Oma-Oma immediately summons Morning for Forest Village with his call and thanks Billy, before warning him that he must also defeat the Crow Boss before Forest Village can be peaceful again. He does so and the moves onto Pirates Island.
Pirates Island
Once at Pirates Island, Billy must free the Golden Egg that contains the Elder, Uri-Uri, by quickly defeating the nearby foes. After keeping the egg safe as he prepares to hatch it, Billy frees the elder who brings morning as Oma-Oma did. However, he gives Billy more information about the crows. It appears that they have gained a magical power recently and are exploiting it to take over Morning Land. After beating the Crow Boss aboard the pirate ship, Billy discovers that the crows have captured one of his friends, Rolly Roll, and placed a bomb nearby. He manages to save her in time and then goes onto Dino Mountain.
Dino Mountain
According to one of the local women, the area was named due to the dinosaurs that used to live there. Recently however, it has been overflowing with magma due to the crows' magical interference. Billy frees the next Elder, Ura-Ura, and discovers more about the crows. It appears that their mysterious source of power (and leader) is awoken every one hundred years, and now it appears that he has risen again (giving the crows their abilities). In order to face the Crow Boss of this land however, Billy must first overcome three resurrected dinosaur skeletons. He does this with the aide of an egg creature, Richie, who can control ice.
(To be completed)
[edit] Gameplay
"Billy Hatcher" has a unique style of gameplay revolving around rolling 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 more. Also, while holding an egg, Billy can travel on rails and fly through magical rings.
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.
[edit] Trivia
- In addition to normal eggs, there are special Sonic Team eggs that can be accessed after collecting a certain number of "chick coins". These eggs will hatch various Sonic Team characters, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, a Chao, NiGHTS from NiGHTS into Dreams..., a Rag Rappy (from Phantasy Star Online), a Kapu Kapu (from Chu Chu Rocket), and Amigo (from Samba De Amigo).
- The Circus Hat item is reminiscent of NiGHTS' cap.
- Billy has his own segment in the PS2 EyeToy game Sega SuperStars.
- Various references to Billy Hatcher are made in the "Sega Carnival" stage in Sonic Riders.
- The Vacuum Egg, one of the unlockable weapons in Shadow the Hedgehog, is highly reminiscent of this game. The vacuum head is a chicken head, with a collection bag that resembles the Basic Egg.
- There's an unlockable version of Nights into Dreams... that can be played on a Game Boy Advance through a [[GBA to GCN link cable.
