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 and 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
"Morning Land is a peaceful realm inhabited by chickens. One day, a terrible fate befell the land. Black Crows empowered by a mysterious magic appeared as ferocious monsters bent on keeping the world in eternal night. The Chicken Elders whose voices bring dawn each day were captured and sealed within golden eggs. Without their morning cries, the world will remain engulfed in darkness and human hearts will be consumed by evil. Now, only young Billy Hatcher and his friends can defeat the Crows, release the elders and return morning to the world."
[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. Remember, different animals can come out of the same eggs...
[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.
