| Graphics: |   4 |
| SFX: | 4 |
| Music: | 4 |
| Gameplay: | 4 |
| Challenge: | 4 |
| Replay: | 4 |
| Overall: | 4 |
| Genre: | Shmup |
| Reading ability: | Not required |
| Company: | Konami |
Background:
I was first introduced to Twinbee through the Parodius series. The Twinbee series has a home on the Super Famicom in the form of Pop 'N Twinbee. Like Parodius, Pop 'N Twinbee is a colorful cute-em-up by Konami. This game was not released in North America, but it was released in PAL format for the European market. Perhaps that was Konami's way of making up for the fact that they did not release Gradius III in the UK.
The Game:
This is a vertically scrolling shooter in which you must focus on ground targets as well as arial enemies. Regular enemies are destroyed with your normal shot, but ground targets are destroyed by bombing them. Although unlike Namco's classic Xevious, a crosshair is not necessary for aiming at enemies on the ground, for you have an automatic lock-on capability that will select the target the nearest ground target in front of you.
Powerups come in the form of colorful bells, and are obtained by shooting cute, fluffy clouds. The basic yellow bell gives you bonus points, the blue bell gives you a speed up, pink gives you a shield, green gives you options, purple gives you a three-way shot, and silver gives you a big shot. You are given a health meter instead of lives, so the pink bell that grants you a shield can be very convenient for keeping you alive.
Secrets:
Taken from GameFaqs.com:
8 Continues: A, B, Y, X, R, L, Up, Down, Right, A, A, A
Extra difficulty level: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A
Full Energy: Select, A, Y, A, Y, X, B, X, B, R, R, Select
Invincibility: A, Y, A, Y, L, R, L, R, X, B, B
Level Select: Up, Left, Up, Left, Up, Left, Left, Left, Right, Right, Right, Down, Left, Down, Left, Down, B
The Good:
This game is very fun and very cute, with very imaginitive levels and enemies. It also features two player gameplay!
The Bad:
Aside from the fact that I lose an option each time I get hit, the biggest source of inconvenience in this game is in trying to juggle the bells in order to get the color I want, while trying not to get hit at the same time. When I do get the color I want, I am often afraid to shoot back at the enemy in fear of hitting the bell and changing it to a color I don't want.
Overall:
Shmup fans can't go wrong with Pop 'N Twinbee. Gamers who enjoy cute games will especially enjoy it. This game is also available on the PC Engine, and is included in the Twinbee Deluxe Pack for the Saturn. Go buy it!
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