Detana TwinBee

~ DETANA!! TWINBEE ~

Konami

HuCard

1992

I think of TwinBee as one of those games that make people like them a little more than they really deserve to be liked. Gameplay-wise, it reminds me quite a bit of Cyber Core, but CC has a faster pace and keeps the player much busier. TB's "pelt-a-bell" power-up system is inconvenient and yields weapons that are nothing special. The music is completely inoffensive but forgettable, and it's often drowned out by the sound effects anyway, which are decent but not noteworthy aside from some solid explosions. Personality is essential for a cute 'em up, and this game has it, but not nearly as much of it as Parodius. It's short and quite easy. And the bosses are nice, but don't expect any extraordinary confrontations.

All of that being said, the game looks very nice--not necessarily in a technically impressive way, but the color choices are impeccable, and some of the background concepts are quite neat. I particularly like the wavy light-green clouds and the pretty pink mountains overrun by streams and waterfalls.

Considering TwinBee's focus and merits, I'd recommend it more to the casual player than to the hard-core shooter fan looking for the best the PCE has to offer in the genre. Still, it's good enough to be worth the low cost for anyone. It's true that for most of the time I'm playing TB, my thoughts are elsewhere, with my attention only occasionally recaptured for moments when I think, "This is a nice-looking part." But it's also true that having a game like that to play every now and then isn't such a bad thing.