Light (Twinbee)

is a video game series composed primarily of cartoon-themed vertical-scrolling shoot-'em-up games produced by Konami that were released primarily in Japan. The series originated as a coin-operated video game simply titled ''TwinBee'' in 1985, which was followed by several home versions and sequels. The character designs of almost every game in the series since '' Detana!! TwinBee'' in 1991 were provided by Japanese animator Shuzilow HA (Jujiro Hamakawa), who also planned and supervised most of the subsequent installments in the ''TwinBee'' series. The series also inspired a radio drama adaptation that lasted three seasons in Japan, as well as an anime adaptation.

History

The series centers around a blue bee-shaped anthropomorphic spacecraft named TwinBee, who is usually accompanied by a pink "female" counterpart known as WinBee. In most games, the first player controls TwinBee while WinBee is controlled by the second player. A third ship also exists named GwinBee, a green counterpart to TwinBee and WinBee who in most games serves as a power-up, but in some instances also appear as a third playable spacecraft. In contrast to the serious sci-fi theme of Konami's ''Gradius'' series, the ''TwinBee'' series is set in a cartoon-like world featuring several kinds of anthropomorphic creatures in addition to regular human characters. The player controls their spacecraft in most games shooting or punching at airborne enemies while throwing bombs at enemies on the ground, similarly to Namco's ''Xevious''. The main power-ups in the ''TwinBee'' are yellow bells that the player can uncover by shooting at the floating clouds. The player must shoot these bells to keep them afloat and after shooting them a number of times, they will change colour, allowing the player to add new abilities to their spacecraft.

Despite being one of Konami's most prominent series in Japan during most of the 1990s, only a select few titles were localized for the foreign market, particularly the second console game ''Moero! TwinBee'' (which was released in America under the changed title ''Stinger''); the two SNES installments, ''Pop'n TwinBee'' and '' Pop'n TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventures'', in Europe and ''TwinBee Da!!'' for Game Boy, which was released in Europe as a standalone title with the name ''Pop'n TwinBee'' and later in compilations. The second arcade game, '' Detana!! TwinBee'', also had a limited international release under the name of ''Bells & Whistles''. The original arcade game was featured in the Nintendo DS compilation '' Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits'' under the name ''RainbowBell'' (the European compilation, however, uses the original ''TwinBee'' name).

List of games

* ''TwinBee'', released on March 5, 1985: An original arcade vertical shooter, ''TwinBee'' plays similar to Namco's ''Xevious''. Players use TwinBee or WinBee in a short string of six levels that repeats indefinitely, with a boss at the end of each. A Family Computer (Famicom) and an MSX version were made in 1986. The Famicom version was re-released for the Game Boy Advance under Nintendo's Famicom Mini label in Japan only. It was released in North America as part of an arcade compilation for Nintendo DS in March 2007, where it was renamed ''RainbowBell''; when the compilation was released in Europe, the ''TwinBee'' name was restored.
** ''TwinBee Deluxe'', released on February 25, 2004: The mobile version just like a WinBee in a Deluxe game.
** ''Mini Famicom: TwinBee'', released on May 21, 2004: The Famicom version was re-released for Game Boy Advance as part of the Mini Famicom line.
** ''3D Classics: TwinBee'', released on August 10, 2011: The game was also redone in 3D and released on the Nintendo eShop under Nintendo's 3D Classics line.
* ''Stinger'', released on November 21, 1986 and in 1987 in America, is the first game in the ''TwinBee'' series that was released in North America. Some enemy force kidnaps Dr. Cinnamon (creator of the TwinBee ships) and TwinBee, WinBee and GwinBee must rescue him. The Japanese version for the Family Computer Disk System in 1986, this game allowed up to three players simultaneously. Unlike its predecessor, ''Stinger'' has horizontal shooter levels (like ''Gradius'') in addition to the vertical ones. Since the Disk System extension was not released in North America, the American version was released as a cartridge, but it lost the three-player mode (only allowing for up to two players), the story scenes were removed and the difficulty was altered. ''Moero! TwinBee'' was re-released in cartridge format in 1993 with a new easy mode added.
* '' TwinBee 3: Poko Poko Daimaō'', released on September 29, 1989, is the last game in the ''TwinBee'' series for the Famicom to be released and the third game in the series. It ditches ''Stinger''s horizontal levels, which makes this more in line with the first title.
* ''Pop'n TwinBee'', first released on October 12, 1990, in Japan and in autumn 1994 in Europe, the game is a sequel for the Game Boy to the original ''TwinBee''. In Japan, it is known as ''TwinBee Da!!''. Despite the European title, the Japanese version actually predates the release of the Super Famicom version of ''Pop'n TwinBee'' by three years. A colorized version of the game is featured in '' Konami GB Collection Vol. 2'' in Japan and ''Konami GB Collection Vol. 3'' in Europe. A full remake is featured in ''TwinBee Portable'' for PlayStation Portable.
* '' Detana!! TwinBee'' (also known as ''Bells & Whistles'' outside Japan), first released on February 21, 1991: An arcade release, also ported to the PC Engine (which was ported to Virtual Console), Sharp X68000, PlayStation and Sega Saturn (the latter two bundled with ''TwinBee Yahho!''). It has no relation to the original and Famicom games. While not too different from its predecessors, gameplay-wise, ''Detana!'' improves vastly on graphics and audio. It also introduces the current character cast, like TwinBee's and WinBee's characters (Light and Pastel, respectively) and other characters that would remain in the subsequent games. It was the most popular game in the series in Japan and paved the way for some merchandise products (including audio dramas and an original video animation). This also introduced cutscenes that played between stages, which usually showed Pastel and WinBee getting one up on Light and TwinBee.
* ''Pop'n TwinBee'', first released on March 26, 1993, and later in 1993 in Europe: A SNES game, it is one of ''Detana!''s sequels, though they play differently. ''Pop'' uses a large energy bar, which results in game over if it depletes. When playing with two players, it is also possible to share energy.
* '' Pop'n TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventures'' (''TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventure'' in Japan), released on January 7, 1994, in Japan and also in Europe during the same year. This SNES game meant the first real departure in the series. ''Rainbow Bell Adventures'' is a side-scrolling platformer. The game was also released in Europe, though the level order, some dialogue and the back-up system (the European version uses passwords, while the Japanese one uses battery) are different.
* '' TwinBee Taisen Puzzle-Dama'' published on December 9, 1994, in Japan. It is a puzzle video game for PlayStation; simple mechanics are part of a series of puzzle games ''Taisen Puzzle-Dama'' and takes its theme the world of ''TwinBee''. The game was also planned to be released on the Sega Saturn in 1995 before it was cancelled.
* '' TwinBee Yahho!'', released on April 19, 1995:, is another sequel for ''Detana!'', originally released in arcades, and later ported to the PlayStation and Saturn (along with ''Detana! TwinBee''). The game included a vocal theme song, among other vocals, with WinBee greeting the arcade owner each time it is booted, and various snatches of dialogue from most of the characters, all voiced by the cast of ''TwinBee Paradise''.
* '' Detana TwinBee Yahho! Deluxe Pack'', a compilation released on September 29, 1995, in Japan for the PlayStation and subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn, it contains ''Detana!! TwinBee'' and ''TwinBee Yahho!''.
* , released on February 26, 1998: More than a game, this is a CD-ROM with accessories inspired by the series (as a screensaver, etc.) for Windows 95.
* '' TwinBee RPG'', released on April 3, 1998: Featuring 3D graphics and made for the PlayStation, this simplistic role playing game, set in the complete universe of the series, was the last stand-alone retail release in the series.
* , released on 2002: A rock-paper-scissors video game for mobile phones.
* , released on May 6, 2003: A mobile title that is part of
* ''TwinBee Dungeon'', released on May 14, 2004, is a roguelike dungeon RPG for cell phones themed on ''TwinBee'' universe which is part of the ''Mystery Dungeon'' series.
* ''TwinBee Portable'', released on January 25, 2007 (Japan), is a PSP compilation featuring ''TwinBee'', ''Detana!! TwinBee'', ''Pop'n TwinBee'', ''TwinBee Yahho!'', and a remake of the Game Boy game ''TwinBee Da!''.
* ''TwinBee JG Pachisuro'', released in September 2007''TwinBee JG''
at ''P-World'' (Japan): A ''TwinBee'' themed pachislot machine released by KPE, it is based on ''TwinBee Yahho!'' world.
* ''TwinBee no Bell Migaki'', released on 2008 (Japan):
* ''Line GoGo! TwinBee'', released on May 20, 2013, is a classic ''TwinBee'' shooter for iOS and Android developed by NAVER JAPAN and distributed by LINE GAME (LINE Corporation).

In 2022, during the ''Konami Action & Shooting Contest'' hosted by the Shueisha Game Creator's Camp and Tokyo Game Show, Ken Niimura won the rights from Konami to develop the game through the competition, and a game titled ''TwinBee Loop!: The Mystery of the Planet of Light and Darkness!!'' is in development.

Cancelled games

* ''TwinBee Miracle'' (PlayStation), 1996.

Related media

Radio drama

A radio drama version of the series was produced following the release of ''Pop'n TwinBee'' for the Super Famicom titled , which began airing on the radio station NCB on October 10, 1993. The series lasted three seasons, with the third and final series concluding on March 30, 1997, comprising a total of 96 episodes, which were later released in drama CD collections.

''TwinBee Paradise'' features the same cast of characters previously introduced in ''Detana!! TwinBee'' and ''Pop'n TwinBee''. ''TwinBee Paradise'' further developed the fictional universe of the ''TwinBee'' and many story elements introduced in the series, including the names of TwinBee's and WinBee's pilots, Light and Pastel (who were originally nameless characters in the games), who were canonized in later video games such as '' TwinBee Yahho!'' and '' TwinBee RPG''.

Anime

Two short anime films and an OVA mini-series based on the ''TwinBee'' were produced:

# The first was , a short film released in 1994 released as a promotional tie-in to the Super Famicom game ''Rainbow Bell Adventure''. It is sometimes shortened to ''Winbee's Panic''.
# The second anime short, , was released in 1998 alongside the first short in a promotional tie-in to the subsequent OVA series. It is also alternatively titled ''Tulip Beach Stories''.

The OVA series is titled ''TwinBee Paradise'' and is based on the radio drama of the same name. The OVA comprises three episodes, which were released individually on VHS and Laserdisc in 1999:

# "Venus' Smile" ( "")
# "Midsummer Mirage" (（）"")
# "Evil Revival" ( "")

Manga

* Four 1993 ''Comic Gamest'' supplements (volumes 85, 89, 93, and 97) contained manga of ''Detana! TwinBee'' drawn and written by Mine Yoshizaki. Between 1994 and 1996, an official manga, also by Yoshizaki, was published in three volumes in the collection Gamest Comics (numbers 011, 039 and 076).

Other manga

* In the ''Famicom Rocky'' manga, the first two games are based on the said chapter such as ''TwinBee'' in chapter 16 and ''Moero! TwinBee: Cinnamon Hakushi wo Sukue!'' in chapter 29.
* ''Famicom Ryu'' and ''Nekketsu! Famicom Shounendan'' were released in 1986 by Comic CoroCoro, as were these video games based on each chapter of the manga, including TwinBee's Famicom version.
* In the manga ''Warera Hobby's Famicom Seminar'', ''TwinBee'' and ''TwinBee 3: Poko Poko Daimaō'' were adapted in each chapter, as this TwinBee character or enemies make a cameo in chapter 2, and Demon King Poko Poko appears in chapter 46.
* ''Moero! TwinBee: Cinnamon-hakase o Sukue!'', the second game in the series, was based on chapter 16 of the manga ''Famitsu Comix: Shape of Happiness'' by Tamakichi Sakura

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