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is a top-view shoot-'em-up game originally released in 1993 by
Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...
for the
Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...
in Japan. The game was also released for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...
in the
PAL region Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25& ...
. It is the sixth game in the ''
TwinBee is a vertically scrolling shooter released by Konami as an arcade video game in 1985 in Japan. Along with Sega's '' Fantasy Zone'', released a year later, ''TwinBee'' is credited as an early archetype of the " cute 'em up" type in its genre. I ...
'' series and a direct follow-up to the arcade game '' Detana!! TwinBee'' (''Bells & Whistles''). The European version was published by Konami's Palcom Software division and was the first of three ''TwinBee'' games localized for the European market, followed by a
Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...
version of ''Pop'n TwinBee'' (which was actually an earlier game titled '' TwinBee Da!!'' in Japan) and the side-scrolling platform game '' Pop'n TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventures''. It was released in North America 27 years after its Super Famicom launch through a February 2020 update to the
Nintendo Classics Nintendo Classics is a line of Video game console emulator, emulated retro games distributed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch family of systems and Nintendo Switch 2. Subscribers of the Nintendo Switch Online service have access to games for ...
service.


Plot

The game's opening sequence shows TwinBee and WinBee patrolling the skies of Donburi Island when they suddenly receive a distress signal from a young girl named Madoka, the granddaughter of Dr. Mardock, who was once a benevolent scientist until a bump in the head turned him insane. Dr. Mardock now seeks to conquer the world with an army of Acorn Men and only TwinBee and WinBee can stop him.


Gameplay

The gameplay is similar to '' Detana!! TwinBee'', the second coin-op game in the series, but with a few notable additions and changes. Like in previous ''TwinBee'', up to two players can play simultaneously, Player 1 controls TwinBee (the blue aircraft), while Player 2 controls WinBee (the pink aircraft). When the player begins the game, they'll be asked to enter their name and choose between three types of companion ships (whether their companions will follow their ship, engulf them, or surround them). The player's objective is to maneuver their spacecraft through a series of seven stages and defeat every enemy who gets in the way, facing a boss at the end of each stage. Unlike previous games, instead of extra lives, the player has a life meter that determines how much damage the player's ship can take before losing. When the player loses, they will be given a chance to restart at the stage where they left off, but only limited chances are given to continue. Like in previous ''
Twinbee is a vertically scrolling shooter released by Konami as an arcade video game in 1985 in Japan. Along with Sega's '' Fantasy Zone'', released a year later, ''TwinBee'' is credited as an early archetype of the " cute 'em up" type in its genre. I ...
'' games, the player shoots at airborne enemies with their gun and drops bombs to the land. The player can also attack airborne enemies with their ship's punches as well at close range. The player can shoot tiny-sized replicas of their ship that will fly and attack all on-screen enemies. The player can only perform this attack based on the number of stocks they have. During a 2-player game, one player can give the other player a bit of their life energy to replenish it or even use the other player's ship as a projectile against the enemy. As usual, the main power-up items are bells that can change colors by shooting them in the air, giving the player a different upgrade when one is retrieved depending on the bell's color. On the game's option settings, the player can adjust the game's difficulty, controls, and sound, as well as switch between "normal" and "couple" mode. During couple mode, the enemy attacks will aim primarily at Player 1 if two players are playing together. This feature is intended to allow less experienced players enjoy the game if they're playing with a more experience partner.


Soundtrack

The upbeat and light hearted soundtrack, composed by Kazuhiko Uehara among others, takes influence from
Japanese Idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese popular culture, Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in other performance skills such as acting, dancing, and modeling. Idol ...
songs.


Reception

According to ''
Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...
'', ''Pop'n TwinBee'' sold over 40,539 copies in its first week on the market and sold approximately 146,124 copies during its lifetime in Japan. The game received a 23.17/30 score in a 1993 readers' poll conducted by ''Super Famicom Magazine'', ranking among Super Famicom titles at the number 38 spot. It also received generally favorable reviews from critics.


References


External links


''TwinBee Portable''
a
Konami


(in Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pop'n Twinbee 1993 video games Cooperative video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo Classics games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games TwinBee games Video game sequels Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Michiru Yamane Virtual Console games for Wii U Virtual Console games