Bell Power-Up

“	An indispensable energy resource for Donburi Island, brought by Bell Clouds. The basis of bell power. It seems to have been around for hundreds of years, and the details are unknown. It was Dr. Cinnamon who made it possible to use it effectively as an energy resource on Donburi Island. Incidentally, the bells are also the source of power and food for TwinBee, WinBee and GwinBee.	„
	~ Translated description from TwinBee PARADISE in Donburi Shima

The Bell Power-Up (ベルパワーアップ, Beru Pawāappu^?) (also called Power-Up Bell or simply Bell in some games) is a characteristic and iconic power-up type in the TwinBee series.

Overview[]

Bell Power-Ups usually appear on the battlefield by shooting at Bell Clouds on the scenery that hide them or after destroying certain enemies or complete specific enemy formations. They steadily move forward –downward in the case of vertically oriented games, and to the left in the case of horizontally oriented games– until they leave the screen if not picked up in time. Each time a bell is shot by the player, it gets pushed back a little, giving the player a little breathing time to pick it up while fending off the rest of the enemies. A unique behavioral exception happens in Moero TwinBee/Stinger, a horizontal oriented game where bells and items are juggled upward when shot and that fall to the ground instead.

Each bell is initially yellow-colored, and if picked up in this state, it will yield a determined amount of bonus points. However, if the bell is repeatedly shot by the player, it will eventually start changing colors, with each color representing a special power-up that is instantly granted when picked up in that state, or a greater amount of bonus points. In most games, picking up many yellow-colored bells in a row will start a bonus chain counter, with each subsequent bell giving extra bonus points.

The Bell power-up system originated from the very first TwinBee game, becoming an instant staple in the series and giving it its very own characteristic personality, which was eventually even implemented in other Konami franchises, such as the Parodius and Wai Wai series. While the Parodius series is mainly based on Gradius by prominently parodying its aesthetics and mechanics, it also borrowed the Bells power-up system from TwinBee, combining it with the iconic Power Capsules and Power Meter from Gradius, where the latter two are mainly used to upgrade the player's ship on the battlefield, while the Bells are used for obtaining temporary special abilities and bonus points.

Interestingly enough, in Moero TwinBee (and its localized port, Stinger), Bell Power-Ups come in the form of rounded jingle bells instead of the standard upside-down hollow cup shape bells that appear in the rest of the games. These jingle bell-shaped versions were also reused as collectible items in Pop'n TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventures.

Bells also appear in TwinBee Taisen Puzzle-Dama. In this game, the usual balls proper to the Taisen Puzzle-Dama series were changed to colored bells instead in order to fit the TwinBee universe.

Types (by game)[]

TwinBee[]

- Gives the player bonus points. More points added if collected without missing one (500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 points).
- Upgrades the player's gun into a twin cannon.
- Increases the ship's speed by one level (for up to 5 speed levels).
- Gives the player's ship a mirror image for added firepower.
- Surrounds the player's ship with a barrier for extra protection from enemy fire.
- The black bell will kill the player upon touching it (MSX only).

Moero TwinBee[]

- Gives the player bonus points. More points added if collected without missing one (500, 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 points).
- Increases the ship's speed by one level (for up to 16 speed levels).
- Gives the player a laser beam cannon.
- Upgrades the player's gun into a twin cannon.
- Gives the player's ship a mirror image for added firepower.
- Surrounds the player's ship with a barrier for extra protection from enemy fire.

TwinBee 3[]

- Gives the player bonus points. The more yellow bells are picked up without missing one, the greater the points will be (500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000, and eventually 10,000 points).
- Increases the ship's speed by one level (for up to 7 speed levels).
- Upgrades the player's gun into a double shot.
- Causes the player's gun to shoot an enemy-piercing laser beam.
● - Gives the player's ship a mirror image for added firepower.
● - Surrounds the player's ship with a barrier for extra protection from enemy fire. It gradually becomes small as it takes damage until it eventually disappears. When two players are both equipped with a barrier and they unite their ships, the barrier takes the shape of an umbrella.

Detana!! TwinBee[]

- Gives the player bonus points. More points added if collected without missing one (500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 points).
- Upgrades the player's gun into a double shot.
- Increases the ship's speed by one level.
- Gives the player's ship a mirror image for added firepower.
- Surrounds the player's ship with a barrier for extra protection from enemy fire.
- Generates three Tail Shields that trace you; these destroy aerial enemies or enemy bullets upon contact.
- Decreases the ship's speed by one level.

TwinBee Da!![]

- Gives the player bonus points. More points added if collected without missing one (500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 points). Colored yellow in the PSP version, and the "2,000 points" have been changed to 2,500 points instead.
- Increases the ship's speed by one level (for up to 3 speed levels). Colored blue in the PSP version.
- Upgrades the player's gun into a double shot.
Patterned bell: Creates two transparent duplicates of the ship that will duplicate the player's actions, increasing their firepower. It can be enhanced by using the Konami Code. In the PSP version, the power-up is colored green and creates four duplicates instead of just two and they can also mimic player's bomb drops.
Striped bell: Creates a barrier around the player that absorbs most enemy attacks. Colored red in the PSP version.

Pop'n TwinBee[]

- Gives the player bonus points. More points added if collected without missing one (500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 points).
- Increases the ship's speed by one level.
- Bigger shots are equipped, although they don't do any more damage than regular shots.
- A spread shot is equipped that can spread in three directions. This is the widest ranged out of the three shot types.
- Gives the player's ship a barrier that will protect the ship from a few shots.
- Gives the player drones that shoot bullets at the same time as the player. Up to four can be equipped at once, and three movement types can be chosen by the player at the beginning of the game.
Flashing bell: Gives the player an extra Chibi Blaster shot.

Pop'n TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventures[]

- Changes the character's punch attack to one of the three abilities; Hammer (TwinBee), Ribbon (WinBee) and Rattle (GwinBee).
- Increases the power of the character's jumping attacks.
- Gives the character the laser beam weapon.
- Gives the character an option-like drone that mimic the character's movements (for up to 3 drones).
- Gives the character a temporary invincibility for a short period of time.
- Surrounds the character with a barrier.

TwinBee Yahho![]

- Gives the player bonus points. More points added if collected without missing one (500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 points).
- Upgrades the player's gun into a double shot.
- Increases the ship's speed by one level (for up to 4 speed levels).
- Gives the player's ship option-styled drones that mimic the player's actions.
- Surrounds the player's ship with a barrier for extra protection from enemy fire.
- Repairs the player's ship broken arms.

LINE GoGo! TwinBee[]

- Gives the player bell bonus points. More points added if more are collected without missing one.
- Attack is increased for a certain period of time.
- Surrounds the player's ship with a barrier for extra protection from enemy fire.
- Creates a mirror image of the player's ship for added firepower.
- Coins are attracted toward the player's ship.

Other appearances[]

Castlevania[]

Yellow Bells can also be found in some Castlevania games, where they appear as collectible items. Although they don't have any special uses, their description stating they're worth 5,000 points matches the amount of points when the player picks up many of this type of bells in a row (generally four) in some of the TwinBee games.
In Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls, a Blue Bell can be picked up and shares similar effects as the same colored ones found in the TwinBee games, such as increasing the player's speed.

Parodius[]

“	When you destroy certain enemies, a bell appears. If you get it, you can get special attack abilities. Normally the bell is yellow, but each time you hit it, it changes color. When you get the bell, you power up according to its color.	„
	~ Power-Up Bell description from Parodius Da!

The Bells system from the TwinBee series was also implemented in the Parodius series, becoming a crucial element of its gameplay mechanics. In these games, Bells are used for obtaining temporary special abilities, as well bonus points.

Wai Wai series[]

Bells have also frequently appeared in Konami's Wai Wai series of mascot games, such as Konami Wai Wai World, Wai Wai World 2, Konami Krazy Racers and Krazy Kart Racing, where they have a similar use and where TwinBee and his friends are regular guest playable characters.

Other games[]

Busou Shinki: Battle Rondo: In this strategy game, Bells are used as a cameo special attack when using the guns based on TwinBee and WinBee.
Pixel Puzzle Collection: Other than appearing as puzzles, a puzzle completed in Expert Mode will have a Bell mark.