- For other games that are also named "Pop'n TwinBee", see Pop'n TwinBee (disambiguation).
Pop'n TwinBee (Pop'n ツインビー Pop'n TsuinBī) is a top-view shoot 'em up game originally released by Konami for the Super Famicom on March 26, 1993 in Japan. It is a direct follow-up to the arcade game Detana!! TwinBee. The European Super NES 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 game (which was actually an earlier game titled TwinBee Da!! in Japan) and the side-scrolling platform game Pop'n TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventures.
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. Madoka reveals that she is 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 his Acorn Squad 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 games, up to two players can play simultaneously, Player 1 controls TwinBee and Player 2 controls WinBee. When the player begins the game, they'll be asked to enter their name and choose between three types of multiple formations; these are:
- The drones follow and imitate the player ship's movements.
- The drones constantly circle around the player's ship, protecting it from enemy fire.
- The drones move in a perpendicular formation in relation to the ship's movements.
The player's objective is to maneuver their ship through seven stages, defeating every enemy that gets in their way and 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. The health meter can be replenished by dropping bombs on specific grounded enemies, which will uncover a big Heart for the player to collect.
Like in previous TwinBee games, the player shoots at airborne enemies with their gun and drops bombs to the ground. In addition, the player can attack airborne enemies with their ship's punches at close range. The player also counts with a clear screen desperation attack where they shoot a plethora of tiny-sized replicas of their ship that will fly and attack all on-screen enemies. This attack can only be performed based on the stock number they have. These special attacks can be collected by grabbing flashing bells.
During a two player game, one player can give the other a bit of their life energy to replenish it, or even use the other player's ship as a projectile against enemies.
As usual, the main power-up items are Bells, obtained by shooting at Bell Clouds, 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.
- 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 a 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.
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 enemies' attacks will primarily aim 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.
Stages[]
| Stage | Name | Boss | Music |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dandelion Town | Bronco | Twin Memories |
| 2 | Aquapark | Ikachūdo | A Walk on the Bottom of the Ocean |
| 3 | Oolong Ruins | Furogga | A Rainbow Colored Wind |
| 4 | Aerial Battleship | Haipata Ketonbo | Bravely Advance |
| 5 | Dragonfly Lake | Donguri Besu | Sky Avenue |
| 6 | Magma Base | Mardock's Face | It's Hot! Magma Base |
| 7 | Mardock's Lab | Super TwinBee Devil | It's the End! Let's Go |
Regional differences[]
The Japanese version runs at a higher speed than the European (PAL) version.
Ports[]
Pop'n TwinBee was included in the compilation TwinBee Portable for PlayStation Portable in 2007 in Japan. The European version of Pop'n TwinBee was released for Wii U Virtual Console in Europe on July 10, 2014, the same version of Pop'n TwinBee was again released for the Nintendo Switch Online Super NES app on February 19, 2020, but this time across all regions, including North America.
Trivia[]
- In the manga Kimi to Pico-Pico, two girls can be seen playing the SNES version of Pop'n TwinBee in the chapter 9, titled "Pop'n TwinBee".
Related products[]
- Pop'n TwinBee (soundtrack) - The soundtrack for this game.
- TwinBee Portable - Compilation containing Pop'n TwinBee.
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
Character artworks[]
.png "Untitled (5).png (53 KB)")
.png "Untitled (1).png (33 KB)")
Promotional artworks[]
Miscellaneous[]
Videos[]
External links[]
- TwinBee Portable product page at Konami (archived: September 25, 2018 - Japanese)
- Region fix romhack