The Wonder Years 6.26.08: Week 61 - Pop'n Twinbee
Posted by Owain J. Brimfield on 06.26.2008
Time to ring those rainbow bells.
Welcome to the column where all gamers of a certain age come to wallow in 16-bit nostalgia. I'm your host, Owain J. Brimfield, and I'll be discussing some of the hidden gems and instant classics of gaming's golden era. Some of these games may crop up in downloadable form at some point, some may be consigned to the annals of history. Either way, they're worth tracking down if you missed them first time round, or replaying if you were lucky enough to catch them. Let's take a trip to:
POP'N TWINBEE
(Konami, Super NES, 1993)
I should probably explain the "rainbow bells" reference from the teaser a little. Y'see, when the original NES Twinbee was ported to the DS last year, it was released under the name RainbowBell, and the franchise also saw a side-on platformer named Rainbow Bell Adventures released during the mid-90s. But I'm getting ahead of myself here, as I'm sure a lot of US gamers may be unfamiliar with the franchise, due to the fact that it's mostly the preserve of Japanese arcades and European importers. I confess I can't say for certain how many of the series' eight or so titles have seen release in the States, but I'm willing to bet it's not too many. Anyway, after that slightly incohesive introduction, Pop'n Twinbee is the peculiarly-named 16-bit debut of a predominantly vertical-scrolling shooter of a game. The original Twinbee did its best business on the NES, and with arcade-style scrolling shooters being much more of a big thing back in the early 1990s than they are today (a shame, some might say - brilliantly, one of my local pubs has a playable coin-op of WWII vertical shooter 1942, which is a gimmick more pubs should take on), it was only a matter of time before a sequel found itself being released on that console's big brother. Although the game only saw limited release here in Europe, it received pretty favorable reviews and opened the gates for more sequels to fly away from their native homeland.
The plot of Pop'n Twinbee is yer typical Japanese fluffy fare - unhinged genius goes mad and decides to conquer the world with an army of robot pineapples and hordes of flying grapes. You know, the sort of thing that happens on a daily basis in the Orient. Anyway, it's perhaps no surprise to learn that the game's protagonists, Light and Pastel (amusing monikers, non?) feel they're the only ones capable of defeating the mad scientist - really, is there any other kind? - and set off in their little spacecraft-esque vehicles (with arms) from which the game derives its name, Twinbee and Winbee. Whether or not they look like bees isn't really relevant to the game, so it's probably best just to leave it. As far as the game itself goes, well, at first glance it's a typical genre title. Stuff flies at you, and you shoot it dead. Hell, Baby's First Videogame couldn't be more complex than that right? However, thankfully, there are one or two factors about the game that lend it an air of... well, I won't see "uniqueness", partly because I'm not sure that's a real world, but mostly because I'm not knowledgeable enough about the genre to say whether or not they're rip-offs.
Perhaps most noticeably, while you'll have to contend with the usual swarms of bad guys that float through the skies bringing airborne death your way, there's also the twist of having to deal with enemies patrolling the ground below, attempting to murderize you from underneath. It's a neat trick, one I haven't seen in too many 2D shooters, and while the game admittedly doesn't seem to know what to do with this concept until the final levels, when the ground-based enemies stop being pussies and actually attack with some vigor, full points for bringing something different to the table. The real twist though, and I suppose Twinbee's gimmick, is the bell-based power-up system. At many points throughout a level you'll find yourself in the vicinity of clouds, which in good old Nintendo tradition are adorned with some cheeky smiling faces. Blasting laser death at said clouds relinquishes a horde of bells, which fall towards the bottom of the screen. However, shooting them again causes them to change color, and the color of the bell at the point of collection by your Bee determines what power-up you'll get, from the obligatory weapon upgrade to various shields and the like. Needless to say, with the screen being full of baddies dealing death from above and below, as well as hordes of chromographic percussion devices, it can get a little tricky to nab the necessary goodies. Of course, therein lies the challenge.
Although Pop'n Twinbee isn't as hard as many of it's genre stablemates, should the difficulty get too much for you not only are there a generous seven difficulties to choose from, but you can also let a friend pilot the other Bee and embark on a co-op quest. This results in all the shenanigans you'd expect, with the addition of being able to grab your buddy and hurl him at enemies, and is a pretty fun addition to the game. On the downside, having two players on screen can get confusing as the graphics, while certainly vivid and lovingly drawn, have a tendency to cross the line into the lurid and at times the painful. But hey, I guess Japanese gamers are probably used to the odd epileptic fit from time to time, we should embrace their way of things. As visual, so aural, with tunes so twee it'll make your ears bleed liquid sugar. I'm still undecided as to whether or not that's a good thing. At least the game plays relatively smoothly while you're being overwhelmed by flying crabs and the occasional gargantuan end-of-level boss.
Chances are, if you're reading this in the US the only way you'll ever be able to track the game down is via nefarious emulation means, although given the game's obscurity in your country I sincerely doubt any hardship would come your way as a result of not deleting the ROM after 24 hours. Not that I condone that sort of behavior, of course. For those of us living in middle Earth, the game is slightly more accessible in its original form, but by golly don't count on it - despite the game receiving some great reviews in UK magazines it went pretty much undetected by the general gaming populace. Perhaps the only place you're likely to track down an original copy as in its native Japan, where I believe the franchise could well still be going strong. The game is certainly worth a punt, and although the difficulty in obtaining a copy may be off-putting for some it remains a highly enjoyable shooter, with an admittedly sweet sugar coating. If you've got a sweet tooth for games like this then go ahead and have a blast, and if not, well, you might just find you like it anyway. Ring the bell, this one is done.
Pop'n Twinbee trivia
The game was the first in the series to see release in Europe, although I have to confess I don't ever remember seeing it in the shops.
An arcade sequel to the game was entitled, in its native Japan, Twinbee Yoohoo! Uproar in a Wonderland!. Man, the Japs are crazy crazy people, and I love them for it.
The original NES TwinBee was relatively unique in that gamers started the game with no lives, and had to earn them. Making gamers work for their rewards is a good thing, says I.
The Videosphere
Let's take a look at this week's video highlight of Pop'n Twinbee in action. The game's first level highlights quite a lot that's loveable about the game, from the cutesy enemies to the lovingly drawn Japanese backdrops, and the slightly overbearing tinkly music. You love it really.
Reactions and interactions
Quite a varied and sizeable response to last week's look at the best multiplayer games of the 16-bit generation. Aside from the usual comments from people who don't read the introduction to the column and were asking for the whereabouts of games like GoldenEye and Double Dragon, there were a few good suggestions on games I missed out:
Posted by: King Tuttut
"No 16-bit port versions of NBA JAM = No credibility"
Posted by: Mark Salmela
"The lack of Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam makes my soul hurt."
Well, I did mention Jam in passing, and to be fair that would very definitely have been 11th on my list if I had included any more games. In all honesty though, for me it doesn't compare to ISS Deluxe due to the variety of league, cup and other multiplayer modes as opposed to Jam's straightforward games. As for Kombat, well, it was certainly a smoother fighter than SF2, but for me SF2 Turbo will always be a more memorable game.
Posted by: PJ
"Noteworthy Mentions:
Sonic Spinball - Turn based, but it's good because you could try to beat everyone's scores.
Final Fight 2 and 3 - Same class and enjoyment as SoR.
Kirby's Avalanche/Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine - Loads of puzzle fun Puyo Puyo Style.
Kirby's Dream Course - as good as Golf gets. You're not going to be disappointed.
I can go on and on since there are so many classic 16 bit games with outstanding multiplayer.
Glad you avoided the first Final Fight, which was nowhere near as good as its two sequels. I still think the franchise is a notch below Streets of Rage though. Spinball, meh, I guess that one is down to personal preference, I was never a big fan, and I get bored very easily with Puyo Puyo-style puzzlers too. Dream Course though was certainly a great golf game, and probably the finest of that sub-genre on the SNES.
Posted by: Armitage Shanks
"...I am a bit gutted that the original Toe Jam & Earl isn't on the list! I played so many times in my youth and it was great fun on co-op!
Great co-op mode, certainly. However, there're few strictly co-op games that can compete when it comes to all-round multiplayer titles, and I wouldn't class TJ&E as one of them myself.
Posted by: king boo
"where is the TMNT games? I played a lot of TMNT 4: turtles in time back on the snes."
You know, I actually replayed a good few of the Turtles games a little while back, and despite having enjoyed them back in the day, they just didn't grab me at all this time around. Unfortunately that's the problem with games like that, and I had the same experience with the N64's 1080 Snowboarding after tracking down a copy on eBay a few months back - sometimes games just aren't as good as you remember.
Posted by: Ty Huston
"#1 multiplayer game of the 8-bit generation? Ikari Warriors."
I see your Ikari Warriors, Ty, and I raise you both RC Pro-Am II and River City Ransom. Your move!
Oh, and one gaffe too:
Posted by: T-roy
"You mentions saving the girl in Streets of Rage 2? I don't remember rescuing a girl in the end, I thought it was some guy in a yellow shirt?"
Posted by: pat
"t-roy, you're right, there was no girl to save. you saved skate's
older brother (forgot his name) from streets of rage 1."
Yeah, my bad. Good call folks. I'll keep testing you like this occasionally...
General indulgences
Every week in this section I'll endeavor to provide you, the faithful readers, with a fascinating insight into the various forms of entertainment currently dominating my spare time.
This week, I have been mostly enjoying:
Spore Creature Creator. Oh, wait. You mean I have DirectX 10, the game requires DirectX 9, but the installer tells me my DirectX isn't up to date so I can't proceed with setup? Yeah, this is why I rarely game on PCs any more.
The Music by, you guessed it, The Music. I've no idea if these guys ever recorded anything else, although they're still playing festivals so I guess so. A perfect fusion of dance music and classic rock, if such a thing were possible.
Heroes, which is finally coming to the end of its season two run here in the UK. Apart from the obvious shortcuts and shortcomings that were presumably necessitated by the writers' strike (although I suppose they could just be using that as an excuse), the season has been a pretty enjoyable half-length one, despite the unwarranted criticism thrown its way by TV "experts".
and installing some new DiMarzio pickups in my guitar. I'm not usually one to turn my hand to DIY projects like this, but stone me if stripping wires and soldering tiny components isn't quite tricky for sausage-fingered hamfists like myself. Ah well, they're in and working, which is more than I expected.
And finally…
Thanks for reading folks; as always, reader feedback and suggestions are welcome. Next week in "The Wonder Years" - anyone fancy a trip to the nth dimension?. Until then - keep it real, keep it retro.
