Billy Hatcher is Very Cool

So Sonic Team makes Sonic games… or do they? Well judging by their output on the Sega Saturn it sure as heck seems a bit questionable. We’ve got pretty anime firemen acrobating in space, a genderless jester flying through trippy dream worlds, and then a Christmas version of that game because fuck you, get jolly B). And uhhh sure I guess we’ll release a compilation thing for the blue guy, it’s not like the Saturn’s success hinges on that spikey bum or anything -. Even when Sonic Team got back to regularly working on that hedgehog, they’d still put out original titles throughout the 2000’s in varying genres and styles. These games can be kinda rough and freakish, but they’re able to effortlessly express this wonder and charm that leaves me going “:)”.  And so I recently checked out Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, a bouncy Gamecube platformer with like, Katamari rolling and monster collecting. Yeah it’s clear this game makes some strange design choices, but they come together to make a memorable experience, which is pretty much Sonic Team in a nutshell. Didn’t mean it sold well though, might have something to do with it releasing a few months before a certain someone but it’s hard to say ¯\_('v')_/¯.

 

Anyway goddang is this game silly and colorful :0. Everything is egg, and thus the chicken gods bestow Billy a chicken suit so he can save the chicken world. And of course every mission begins with the divine light of god guiding Billy on the objective, ranging from beating up bad guys to saving your kidnapped friends from explosives (these crow guys aren't playing around). This wild cartooniness is paired perfectly with the playful sound design, you can’t even take one step without hearing pops, pings, and smacks from every direction.The overall art design is very fun with clear traits from Sonic Team’s previous efforts. All the enemies and creatures look straight out of Chu Chu Rocket, and many of the locales are reminiscent of Sonic Adventure’s cozy areas. It carries on that fun Dreamcastian energy and is such a joy to bask in these Sega sunny blue skies. 

When I first took control of Billy I could immediately feel the Nights into Dreams DNA, as similarly to the kids in Nights Billy is pretty limited on his own. Thus you must find an egg to unlock your full movement capabilities, to which it can be fed fruit and powerups to further enhance the really kinetic rolling and bouncing. There’s an immense satisfaction from chaining together dashes and bounces, especially when enemies get involved and the score attack elements come into full force You can even shoot your egg into foes and have them ricochet around like billiard balls and drop your egg like a massive boulder to create shockwaves, it’s a very playful way of engaging with fights :D. Despite this era of Sonic games being kinda infamous for having shoehorned combat that’s stupid and dumb and bad and pacebreaking and dumb and stupid, I think Billy Hatcher actually manages to make its combat really fun. It all comes down to how your offense organically extends from the movement and the various ways it feeds back into the score and egg raising systems. Really the only pervasive issue comes from the egg’s collision being very wonky and thus leading to a lot of unintended frustration. Though let’s be real this isn’t a unique issue within Sonic Team’s games, and the core gameplay is fun enough for me to look past the jank.

The way Billy Hatcher’s structured is similar to that of Mario 64, with each world having a set of missions that reward you with emblems used for progression. Though only the final level is actually gated off by the emblems, so there’s some freedom in which missions you choose to take on. Also I find it very cute that you collect emblems of courage while wearing a chicken suit, defying connotations to prove your bravery. And something else I noticed is that these missions often revolve around specific landmarks of each world. Fixing a giant clock tower in the circus, disarming generators in the snow tower, finding a sacred hideout near the village, turning the giant statues in the desert. It opens up that sense of childhood wonder by poking around parts of levels that one would imagine their own little adventures in.

 

And that’s the other reason I’m so smitten with Billy Hatcher. As chaotic as the game can be it’s also such a vibe to hang out in. I mean the opening has Billy and his friends goofing off on some real after school hours energy, setting the precedent of loosening up and having a good time. I don’t need to get hung up on the game’s flaws, I just wanna soak up these crunchy skyboxes ^_^. And the levels themselves leave such an ethereal impression that only Sonic Team manages to do. The atmospheric lightshafts piercing through the tree thickets of the first world, the moody water caustics in the giant palace, the breezy boardwalks in the pirate world that literally launch you to each set piece. The carnival world in particular is a highlight with its impressive balloon crowds flowing through horizon as you swing across pendulums and rails. It even has a little fun house mirror section with the boss using said mirrors as its gimmick, it’s very cute :). You can see how this environmental design would be carried over into games from ex-Sonic Team devs like Rodea the Sky Soldier and  Balan Wonderworld, because as we all know Billy is a certified Balan Bro and you just gotta deal with it B). And these locales are elevated by the music, being a breezy mix of jazz, drum and bass, and goofy children’s music. Probably doesn’t sound that appealing on paper but it’s actually quite lovely, and all the more adds to this game’s charm.

Zucchini's Very Cool 2025 GOTY Awards

Yeah I'm doing this a bit late because I've got some larger projects at hand, but heck man I still wanna share my own GOTY list for 2025 because there were indeed cool games this year. If anything it's more appropriate to do this kind of retrospective after the year's already finished and everything's been released, though that's assuming I actually play everything that comes out which ain't the case lmao. Still, this extra time has allowed to me to further digest and reflect on the games I have played this year, so let's get this show on the roll!

First up are some honorable mentions that I don't have any particular rewards for about them, but I found notable enough a shout out:

Yume Nikki PS1

    It's Yume Nikki on da pee ess one but like actually for reals it runs on the PS1. Of course the PS1 style has become a bit of a trend in the indie sphere, and while most of these games are able to rock the style well and make it their own, nothing can quite capture the exact feeling of the real thing. This 3D remake of Yume Nikki, made by the wonderful Elias Daler, is created on real PS1 code and so has all the quirks and compromises of the system that modern pastiches tend to leave out, thusly feeling like an authentic old school experience. Also helps that Yume Nikki translates really well to a low-poly 3D style, with its surreal and haunting dreamscapes being just as alien in crusty foggy fashion. So far only a couple worlds from the original game have been recreated, but the project's nonetheless impressive and I'd love to see it go further in development. NET YAROZE IS BACK BABY!!!

Super Duper Amy Freaking Rose

    I didn't have much time to check out the vast catalogue of the 2025 Sage expo, opting instead to glance through all the entries to see what's interesting. Of course a title like "Super Duper Amy Freaking Rose" would immediately stand out to me with its shitposty nature, which made it all the more surprising when the game turned out to be quite delightful. It's a somewhat 3D sidescroller with a focus on score-attack gameplay, stuff like chaining together homing attacks and item capsules and so on. What makes this system really addictive are the hammer attacks that Amy can perform, which themselves reward a lot of points but can also break your chain if misused. This encouraged me to incorporate the spinning hammer move as much as possible in my runs, breaking bunches of item capsules and demolishing lines of enemies for the ultimate combo chains. Doing all of this while maintaining a speedy flow kept me going back to the handful of stages this game contains, really making the most of its small scale. Its got cute sprite art from the Advance games, and the music shockingly incredible! It's pretty rare for a fangame to resonate with me on a vibes level like this, but Super Duper Amy Freaking Rose does so wonderfully. Please go check out fractalcherries!

Mario Kart World

     Honestly I wasn't very interested in this game upon the build-up to its release, mainly because the idea of "Mario Kart but open world" didn't sound the most appealing to me. It was only when I decided to get it in the Switch 2 bundle and play it for myself that I realized that it kinda rules. The music and presentation are pretty excellent, with the breezy harmonicas emphasizing the free wheeling feeling of cruising down the road. They certainly turned up the chaoticness with the item spam and rubberbanding, which pairs well with the game's overall bouncy character, I vibe with this more than Mario Kart 8.

While I was a bit sour on the concept of an open world, the way it's actually implemented with the karting structure is kinda genius. Each track has a place in a large map, and thus the open world fills in the gaps between these ares to make them all interconnected. It essentially creates a bajillion permutations of these in-between tracks, and the way the grand prix makes you drive towards each of the main tracks keeps up this sense of forward momentum. The free roam is also pretty nice to dink around and take in the atmosphere of these lovingly crafted areas, which contributes all the more to this game's charm. Like as much nostalgia I have for say Mario Kart Wii, I can't lie this is probably my favorite Mario Kart now and will become a staple of couch multiplayer for time to come.

 

With the honorable mentions out of the way, it's time for the main awards...

 

Best Woah Realism Game - Silent Hill f

    I was already impressed with the visual design of last year's Silent Hill: The Short Message, boasting densely littered urban spaces with graffiti and knick-knacks that make the building feel like a real space with it's own history. Silent Hill f then takes this approach to environmental design and applies it to a rural 60's Japanese town, which while being a well explored setting in horror games is sure done wonderfully here. Every surface has this palpable layer of condensation, and combined with the intricate fog effects it makes the act of walking through this world cold and depressing. And like the design of the town itself is probably the most dense and compact the towns have been in the series, as exploration becomes tense and claustrophobic due to how enemies can emerge from any crevice and corridor. And it's in these closed in pockets of townage that you can admire the oppressive concrete water channels and metal sheets patchworking the buildings, even in an old country town like this the series industrial visual elements still make their way. 

Though my favorite area of the game's gotta be the foresty mountain area later on, with the trailing tree roots and lush gloomy fauna framing every view of this trail. It's almost like the opening of Silent Hill 2 but made into a whole level and shit owns. I especially love the little pond area with the wee bridges and fishing spot, fleshing out what would be just a random bit of wilderness into a cute little vignette. I will say the otherworld portions got kinda underwhelming and repetitive by the end, but overall the environmental design of Silent Hill f is a real treat. 

Best Artstyle - Dear Me, I was 

This isn't much of a game as it is an interactive experience, but god damn is it a pretty little experience. The lead artist of Hotel Dusk worked on this game, and seeing that sketchy rotoscoped style in HD is frankly breathtaking. Especially with this game's use of watercolor and the different moods and tones they create throughout the story, it's very nice. And the game being driven by its beautiful art correlates well with the significance that art and creativity have to the characters. I don't have much else to say, it's just an amazing looking game with a sweet story, and of course there's a cat.

Best OST - Lost in Transit 

    Wow, ThorHighHeels made a game and it's pretty cool! I've already written a little review of this game on Backloggd, so you can check that out for my general thoughts on it. 

This entry will mainly focus on the music cuz it's definitely award worthy. It's done by Thor and girls@computers, with the soundtrack in the files denoting who worked on what. Their various tracks perfectly capture the atmosphere of this traincentric city, the coziness, mystique, and sleeziness that all dwell within it, And the music's able to hit all these moods while fitting comfortably in the ambient electronic trip-hoppy canvas of sound. Never would've expected Thor to sample Alex's Theme from Silent Hill Homecoming but dang is it rad, transforming what was originally a cold yet assertive track into an oddly relaxing mood that only hints at the seedy underbelly of the story.

 

And now for the moment of truth, the Zucchini certified Game of the Year winner...

 

GOTY - Stray Children 

Not really a surprise if you've watched my Youtube video on this game, but yeah it really is incredible all around. Fun characters, an emotional story, satisfyingly frustrating gameplay, gorgeous visuals, and great music. Actually I didn't really talk about the music in my video, but it's a lot of varied playful stuff. I especially love the tracks for the boss fights, taking cues from Onion Games' previous operatic Black Bird to make for dramatic and weighty character moments. Actually there's a plenty of other nods to past Love-de-Lic/Onion Games games beyond the obvious parallels to Moon. It has a lot of social commentary in-line with Chulip along with some subtle psychological elements similar to Rule of Rose, as well as straight up name checking that game in the rose kingdom. If this is the last game Yoshiro Kimura ever directs then it sure fits as a send off, beautifully encapsulating his life's work while leaving on an uplifting yet melancholic note.