Moero TwinBee: Cinnamon-hakase o Sukue! (もえろツインビー シナモン博士を救え! Moero TsuinBī: Shinamon-hakase o Sukue! , lit. "Burn TwinBee: To the Rescue of Dr. Cinnamon!") is a vertical/side-scrolling hybrid shoot-'em-up game released by Konami for the Family Computer Disk System (FDS) in Japan in 1986. Like Konami's FDS titles, Akumajō Dracula and Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa, it was later re-released as a standard Famicom cartridge in 1993 with a new "Easy" option alongside the original "Normal" mode from the FDS game.
Moero TwinBee was the second game in the TwinBee series, as well as the first of two TwinBee sequels released for the Famicom, followed by TwinBee 3: Poko Poko Daimaō in 1989.
A North American version for the Nintendo Entertainment System was released in 1987 titled Stinger, making it one of the few games in the series to have an overseas release.
Plot[]
Moero TwinBee[]
The Japanese version of the game, Moero TwinBee, establishes its setting 100 years after the events of the original TwinBee, in 2901. The main characters are actually the grandchildren of the original TwinBee and WinBee pilots, Annamon and Donnamon, while the antagonist is named Gattlantis, who is the grandchild of King Spice (the antagonist of the previous game). The presence of Dr. Cinnamon a century after the original game is explained due to the fact that he was placed on cryogenic sleep after the events of the original game.
The Japanese version features more dialogue, as well as a scene at the opening and ending depicting the pilots of TwinBee, WinBee and GwinBee.
Stinger[]
According to the American version's backstory, a race of alien beings from the distant planet Attackon, located at the Ergo Galaxy, has kidnapped Professor Einstein J. Cinnamon, a brilliant scientist who has invented a bio-nuclear sweetener. The Attackons want to use the Professor's sweetener formula to turn the Earth into a giant ball of cotton candy.
The players take the role of pilots controlling the "Stingers" (TwinBee and GwinBee), spacecrafts built by Dr. Cinnamon, in order to rescue the scientist.
Gameplay[]
Moero TwinBee can be played by up to three players simultaneously: the first two players control TwinBee and WinBee (the ships from the previous game) using the standard Famicom controllers, whereas the third player controls GwinBee (a green ship) by connecting an additional controller into the console's expansion port. Unlike the original TwinBee, which only featured vertical-scrolling stages, Moero TwinBee adds side-scrolling stages to the mix as well. There are seven stages in the game. Stage 1, 3 and 7 are side-scrolling stages, while the rest are vertical-scrolling stages.
The controls remain mostly the same between the two styles of gameplay, with some minors exceptions. In the vertical-scrolling stages, similarly to the previous entry, the B button is used to shoot while the A button is used to drop bombs. In the side-scrolling stages, bombs are instead dropped automatically when the player shoots, while the A button is now used to shoot hearts over the ship. This exclusive feature is used to uncover bells from the clouds and also helps the player to prevent those bells from falling on the ground.
The player's primary power-up items are once again bells that are uncovered by shooting floating clouds throughout the stages. There are six types of bells in this installment:
- - 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.
Some power-ups are mutually exclusive, such as the white and pink bells. Other power-ups can be obtained by destroying ground enemies such as a moon item and star item which gives the player's ship a three-way shot and a five-way shot respectively. If two players are playing the game, they can align their ships together to turn their gun into a ripple laser.
Characters[]
- Squash (pilots TwinBee)
- Whip (pilots WinBee)
- Mellow (pilots GwinBee)
- Dr. Cinnamon
- Gattlantis
Stages and bosses[]
Stage | Name | Boss |
---|---|---|
1 | Donburi Island | Ultra Ark |
2 | Ramayadora Kingdom | Spooky |
3 | Oldorado Province | Water Piper |
4 | Urarufusuku Country | Robogaster |
5 | Zamabi Kingdom | Sounder |
6 | Ipu Empire | Apollonger |
7 | The Universe | Gattlantis |
Ports[]
The game was first released on Family Computer Disk System in Japan in 1986, it was then ported on the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in 1987 under the name Stinger and included a few changes. In 1993, the original FDS version was released on Famicom in Japan and included the three simultaneous players and Easy mode. The game was also released on iRevo in Japan on April 2006. Later, the Japanese Famicom version was made available on Wii Virtual Console on July 2010 in Japan exclusively. Finally, the Famicom version of the game was made available for WII U Virtual Console on October 2015 in Japan, while the original Stinger version (including its regional differences) was made available on November 2015 in North America.
Regional differences[]
Stinger, the NES version, only allows up to two players simultaneously, as it predated the release of multiplayer adapters such as the Four Score and Satellite. The second player controls GwinBee instead of WinBee, who is absent from this version. The NES version also lacks the opening and ending screens showing the three grandchildren of Dr. Cinnamon.
Another difference is a choice between two difficulty settings: Normal and Hard. In the American version, there is no difficulty option, but the player can replay the game on a harder difficulty in the second loop. In the Japanese cartridge version, a third easier setting was added as well.
Gallery[]
Miscellaneous[]
Related products[]
- Moero TwinBee: Cinnamon-hakase o Sukue! (Kanpeki Kouryaku)
- Moero TwinBee: Cinnamon-hakase o Sukue! (jigsaw puzzle)
- Moero TwinBee: Cinnamon-hakase o Sukue! (keshi)
- Konami Music Masterpiece Collection
- Konami Famicom Super Medley
- The Konamic Game Freaks
References[]
- ↑ Restored by Jefferson Taylor. @JTaylorPro at Twitter (March 1, 2023).