Line #70 VideoGame/TwinBee


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/detana_twinbee_cast.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[[GratuitousEnglish Speed up!]]]]
3
4	->''The motto is "-bee"!'' (''Aikotoba wa -bee!'')
5	-->--'''[=TwinBee=]'''[='=]s, and by extension the series' CatchPhrase
6
7	''[=TwinBee=]'' is a [[LongRunners long-running]] CuteEmUp series by {{Creator/Konami}}, makers of ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}''. It's a much more light-hearted top-down entry into the genre, with the main ships being sentient beings with arms and legs and fighting enemies like watermelon slices and ladybugs.
8
9	In its original format, only one of the games managed to be released in North America -- ''Moero [=TwinBee=]: Cinamon Hakasei wo Sukue'' became ''Stinger'' upon translation. Unfortunately, that one is widely considered to be the weakest in the series, which resulted in [[NoExportForYou none of the games getting exported for a long time]]. Much to the United States' detriment, of course, as later games managed to make some great improvements to the basic setup (including a LifeMeter and a plot).
10
11	However, the series is finally starting to see the light of day in the United States: {{Creator/Konami}} first released the original game as ''Rainbow Bell'' as a part of their ''Konami Arcade Classics'' collection for the Platform/NintendoDS and some of the games are starting to appear for purchase on download services for each console.
12
13	Here's a list of games in the series.
14	* ''[=TwinBee=]'' (Arcade/Famicom/MSX, included in ''Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits'' for the DS as ''Rainbow Bell'')
15	* ''Moero [=TwinBee=]'' (Famicom, released on the US NES as ''Stinger'')
16	* ''[=TwinBee=] 3'' (Famicom)
17	* ''[=TwinBee=] Da!!'' (Game Boy, released as ''Pop'n [=TwinBee=]'' in Europe)
18	* ''Detana!! [=TwinBee=]'' (Arcade/[=X68000=]/PC Engine, had an export arcade release titled ''Bells & Whistles'')
19	* ''Pop'n [=TwinBee=]'' (Super Famicom/European SNES)
20	* ''[=TwinBee=] Rainbow Bell Adventure'' (Super Famicom/European SNES)
21	* ''[=TwinBee=] Taisen Puzzle Dama'' ([=PlayStation=])
22	* ''[=TwinBee=] Yahho!'' (Arcade)
23	* ''Detana!! [=TwinBee=] Yahho! Deluxe Pack'' ([=PlayStation=]/Saturn)
24	* ''[=TwinBee=] RPG'' ([=PlayStation=])
25	* ''[=TwinBee=] Portable'' (PSP)
26	* ''[=TwinBee=]'' ([[Platform/Nintendo3DS 3D Classics; based on the Famicom version]])
27	* ''Arcade Archives: Bells & Whistles ''(Nintendo Switch)
28
29	There was also a radio drama version named ''[=TwinBee=] Paradise'' which aired following ''Pop'n [=TwinBee=]'', which was popular enough in Japan to last three seasons and a five-episode {{OVA}} series.
30
31	Has an [[AwesomeMusic/TwinBee Awesome Music]] page.
32
33	----
34	!!This series has examples of:
35
36	* AffablyEvil: Dr. Warumon. He's practically an {{expy}} of [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Dr. Eggman]].
37	* BadassAdorable: All the ships are adorable and they can kick some butt.
38	* BorderOccupyingDecorations: The ''3D Classics'' release fills leftover space thanks to the 3DS's larger screen ratio with a red curtain.
39	* BrainyBaby: Mint. He's not able to speak with anything other than blabbles yet, though, so [[TranslatorBuddy his ship Gwinbee has to translate for the other characters]] so they can understand the useful advice and comments he gives.
40	* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: Played with. The letters on Light and Pastel's shirts stand for the ships they pilot: '''T'''[=winBee=], and '''W'''[=inBee=]. Of course, since the pilots didn't have names originally, naturally people just called them [=TwinBee=] and [=WinBee=] after the ships.
41	* TheCameo: In the anime, various other Konami characters appear as judges in the beauty pageant.
42	* CardCarryingVillain: Dr. ''Waru''mon.
43	* CloudCuckooLander: Madoka, oh so much. Her grandfather Dr. Mardock/Murdoch counts too, but is a milder case.
44	* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The bells and which power-up they grant. Similarly, each of the Bees has their own color.
45	* CombinationAttack: In two-player mode, there are two different ones -- one if the players line up horizontally, and one if they line up vertically.
46	* CoolShip: [=TwinBee=], [=WinBee=], and [=GwinBee=]. They're sentient, and they regularly fight by punching things.
47	* CuteEmUp: May be the TropeMaker, along with Sega's ''VideoGame/FantasyZone''.
48	* DenserAndWackier: Upon the introduction of Light and Pastel as pilots, more comedic gags and sillier (than usual) plots were introduced along with their Dr. Wily Expy villain, Dr. Warumon.
49	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first game's main pilots are named Annamon and Donnamon, who pilot the [=TwinBee=] and [=WinBee=] respectively. The second game's, Moero [=TwinBee=], main pilots are Squash who pilots [=TwinBee=], Whip who pilots [=WinBee=], and Mellow who pilots [=GwinBee=]. The third game and the Platform/GameBoy game, [=TwinBee=] 3 and [=TwinBee=] Da!! respectively, have no names for the pilots.
50	* EverythingTryingToKillYou: [[NotHyperbole We're not kidding]] about the deadly watermelons.
51	* EvilCounterpart: [[BigBad Dr. Warumon]] is this to Dr. Cinnamon (Warumon being a portmanteau of ''warui'' and "cinnamon").
52	** And of course, there's "Nise" ([[BilingualBonus Fake]]) [=TwinBee=].
53	* {{Eyecatch}}: Starting with ''Detana! [=TwinBee=],'' and ''[=TwinBee=] Yahho!'' has some good ones. Only the PSP version of ''[=TwinBee=] Da!'' lacks it.
54	* FreakyFridayFlip: Happens to Pastel and an alley cat in one episode of the anime. It even happens to Light and [=TwinBee=] in the same episode.
55	* GenreShift: ''Rainbow Bell Adventure'' is a side-scrolling platformer, while ''[=TwinBee=] RPG'' is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin an RPG]].
56	* GhibliHills: All over the series, but the first stage of ''Detana!! Twinbee''[=/=]''Bells And Whistles'' takes it literally, going all the way to being a reference to ''Anime/CastleInTheSky'', meaning that at some points, the pastoral hills give way to mining cities deep within massive chasms.
57	* HelloInsertNameHere: Present in ''RPG'', since the protagonist is supposed to be the player.
58	* TheHero: Light usually fills this spot. In ''RPG'', the player takes this role.
59	* IdolSinger: Pastel aims to become one and be the best of them.
60	* InconsistentSpelling: On this very page, "[=TwinBee=]" can be spelled as "Twinbee" or even "Twin Bee" (but that one mostly refers to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Consultants_Twin_Bee plane]] [=TwinBee=] is based on).
61	* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Despite being the BigBad of most games of the series and being considered as Light and friends' ArchEnemy, Dr. Warumon falls square in this trope, as his [[EvilPlan Evil Plans]] and his [[ArtifactOfDoom Artifacts of Doom]] get invariably thwarted and destroyed by the heroes, and like [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Team Rocket]], needs to resort to part-time jobs to fund his next line of evil inventions. [[ButtMonkey He's also made fun of]] ''very'' [[RunningGag frequently]].
62	* KidAppealCharacter: Herb Mint.
63	* LifeMeter: In some of the later games in the series.
64	* LighterAndSofter: ''[=TwinBee=]'' is basically a [[CuteEmUp lighter and softer]] version of the dark and edgy ''VideoGame/{{Xevious}}'' with elements of ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'' thrown into the mix. Instead of dealing with an AlienInvasion, [=TwinBee=] instead faces off against a FantasyKitchenSink of dinner-themed or mundane-themed mascot-like enemies straight out of a [[Franchise/HelloKitty Sanrio]] greeting card.
65	* LethalChef: Madoka, regarding cookies. [[{{Determinator}} She never gives up at trying to make delicious ones]], but each attempt is a failure that either horribly food poisons the unfortunate people who taste them, or make ovens ''explode''. In any other kind of food than that one, however, she's a SupremeChef.
66	* MadScientist: Dr. Warumon for the evil version, Dr. Mardock for the heroic yet CloudCuckooLander version.
67	* MarketBasedTitle: The few games that were released internationally were sometimes retitled -- the second Famicom game was released in America as ''Stinger'', while Europe received ''[=TwinBee=] Da!!'' and ''Rainbow Bell Adventure'' under the ''Pop'n [=TwinBee=]'' moniker (since the SNES version was the first game in the series released there).
68	* NamedByTheAdaptation: Light and Pastel first got their names in the radio drama, which came out after they first appeared in "Detana!!..." .
69	* NintendoHard:
70	** Contact with an enemy, unlike contact with a bullet, is [[OneHitKill instant death]] for the player.
71	** In the arcade version of the game, if you're shot by a bullet you only lose one of your arms on the side where you were hit. In the Famicom and MSX versions, an enemy bullet can destroy both bomb-throwing arms at once. A special craft will then appear on the screen and if the player makes contact with it, the arms will be restored. This can only be done once per life.
72	** In the arcade version, you can shoot the bells indefinitely. However, in the home versions, after the bell is hit approximately 32 times, it turns into something deadly.
73	*** In the Famicom version, the bell turns into a Famicom bee you must also fire at like with an ordinary enemy to score points. If you receive them like you would the other bells, your ship will instead [[SchmuckBait explode]].
74	*** The MSX version of the game has a black bell that appears after the bell is hit approximately 32 times. It acts like a [[PoisonMushroom power-down]] instead of a powerup, with it killing you as well upon contact. In future games, the black bell only slows you down.
75	* ObviouslyEvil: Dr. Warumon is a textbook example. He has the [[BeardOfEvil villainous goatee]], the [[HighClassGlass evil monocle]], the OminousOperaCape, and the [[SmugSmiler smug smile]]. And of course, his ultimate goal is to [[TakeOverTheWorld Take Over The Whole Universe]].
76	* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Pastel and Light, and their respective ships.
77	* POVBoyPosterGirl: Light and Pastel are a non-romantic example.
78	* PrincessesRule: Princess Melora, who's actually the gentle Queen of Planet Mel (the world of ''[=TwinBee=]''), yet is called with the "Princess" title.
79	* TheProfessor: Dr. Cinnamon.
80	* PunnyName: The "Waru" in Dr. Warumon's name comes from the Japanese word for "bad". Similarly, the "Nise" in Nise [=TwinBee=] means "Fake".
81	* RetCanon: Much of the series' story was fleshed out in the ''[=TwinBee=] Paradise'' radio drama and then brought back to the game. For example, the pilots of [=TwinBee=] and [=WinBee=] were originally nameless and were given the names Light and Pastel in the radio drama.
82	* RoseHairedSweetie: Pastel.
83	* SapientShip: All three of the ships are sentient.
84	* SceneryPorn: The first three games did have little dull scrolling backgrounds, but starting from ''Bells & Whistles,'' the lands or the skies you fly over are extremely detailed and beautiful, constantly changing as you go on.
85	** The first level of ''Bells & Whistles'' really feels like flying over a small, but very wonderful land. You start flying above the forest, and then arrive into a small town: soon you're flying in mountain scapes which have train tracks on them, then you arrive into a large construction site... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Ce7ntAmy4 Just see it for yourself.]]
86	** ''[=TwinBee=] Yahho!'', being the pinnacle of the series and thus having the best backgrounds of the series, mixes this with awesome emotional parallax scrolling and voice acting, giving out the feeling that of an 90's action anime episodes. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUt9GSQs0JE A memorable moment is when [=TwinBee=] makes a somersault in the air at the first stage, background changing like if you were on the cockpit.(See at 2:54)]] It gets much better at the third stage.
87	* ShipTease: The ending of ''[=TwinBee=] Yahho!'' teases the possibility of Ace/Queen Melody.
88	* SpotlightStealingSquad: Pastel and [=WinBee=], ordinarily the second player, have proven much more popular than Light and [=TwinBee=] (the first player), and as such are used as the poster figures of the franchise.
89	* SuspendSave: ''3D Classics: [=TwinBee=]'' lets you Quick Save at any time, but your save is deleted upon loading, meaning you have to start from the beginning if you get a GameOver. However, this can easily be cheesed with the Platform/Nintendo3DS's built-in Save-Data Backup feature.
90	* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: Winbee, the female ship, has a cockpit in the shape of a heart (though it also goes into the theme design of the ships).
91	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Pastel and Madoka.

Context VideoGame / TwinBee