Detana! Twinbee
Encyclopedia
, originally released outside Japan as Bells & Whistles, is a vertical-scrolling shoot-'em-up game originally released by Konami
in as a coin-operated video game
. It is the fifth game in the TwinBee series and the second released for the arcades following the original TwinBee
(the previous sequels were released directly to home consoles). In Japan
, Detana!! TwinBee was ported to the X68000 computer in and to the PC Engine
in , as well as for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn
in the compilation Detana!! TwinBee Yahoo and for the PlayStation Portable
in TwinBee Portable. The PC Engine port of the game was released for the Wii
Virtual Console
in North America
and Europe
in as a "Hanabi Festival" release. The game was released for the PlayStation Network in Japan on June 16, 2010. The November 24 2010, the game was released on Xbox 360, it was included on the "Game Pack 012" of Game Room
gaming service.
Detana!! TwinBee marked the debut of Japanese animator Jujiro Hamakawa (credited under the pen name Shuzilow.HA) as the series' primary character designer for every subsequent installment. Detana!! TwinBee was awarded "Best Shooting Game of 1991" by the Japanese arcade game magazine Gamest.
signal from the distant planet of Meru. The signal contains a message sent by Queen Melora, who pleads for the salvation of her planet from the invading forces of the evil alien Iva. TwinBee and his friends decides to set off to outer space to defeat the forces of Iva and save Planet Meru. Detana!! marks the first appearance of TwinBee's and WinBee's respective pilots, Light and Pastel, who became prominent characters in many subsequent TwinBee video games and related media, although they were originally unnamed in this game (the characters were given their names in the audio drama TwinBee Paradise).
The power-ups consist of bells which can be uncovered by shooting the floating clouds, as well as items uncovered by destroying land enemies. Like in the original TwinBee, the player can shoot the floating bells to change their colors. In addition to the five different colors in the original TwinBee (yellow, white, blue, green, and red), there are two new additional bells as well: a purple bell that provides a "tail shield" that activates multiple barriers around the player's ship and black bell which decreases the player's speed.
The mini-bell and the lucky star from the original TwinBee return as well. GwinBee, a ship similar to TwinBee and WinBee, also appears in the game, allowing the player to combine its ship with GwinBee to fire wider fire beams. Two players can also align their ships side-by-side to achieve the same effect or align their ships vertically for a powerful five-way spread. If both players align their ships with GwinBee between them, he will spring out and destroy all on-screen enemies.
The game consists of seven stages. After the game is completed once, the player can play the game again for a harder second round. The game ends entirely after the second round is cleared. After a game over, the player can continue and receive a "free" power-up.
PCB
ID number: GX060
Main CPU: Motorola 68000
at 16 MHz
Audio CPU: Zilog Z80
at 3.58 MHz
FM Synthesizer: Yamaha YM2151
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
in as a coin-operated video game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
. It is the fifth game in the TwinBee series and the second released for the arcades following the original TwinBee
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 , which was followed by several home versions and sequels...
(the previous sequels were released directly to home consoles). In Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Detana!! TwinBee was ported to the X68000 computer in and to the PC Engine
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
in , as well as for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
in the compilation Detana!! TwinBee Yahoo and for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
in TwinBee Portable. The PC Engine port of the game was released for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in as a "Hanabi Festival" release. The game was released for the PlayStation Network in Japan on June 16, 2010. The November 24 2010, the game was released on Xbox 360, it was included on the "Game Pack 012" of Game Room
Game Room
Game Room is a gaming service for the Xbox 360 video game system, Microsoft Windows PCs, and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room lets players download classic video games and compete against each other for high scores...
gaming service.
Detana!! TwinBee marked the debut of Japanese animator Jujiro Hamakawa (credited under the pen name Shuzilow.HA) as the series' primary character designer for every subsequent installment. Detana!! TwinBee was awarded "Best Shooting Game of 1991" by the Japanese arcade game magazine Gamest.
Plot
Set several years after the events of the original TwinBee, TwinBee and WinBee are relaxing at their island when they receive an SOSSOS
SOS is the commonly used description for the international Morse code distress signal...
signal from the distant planet of Meru. The signal contains a message sent by Queen Melora, who pleads for the salvation of her planet from the invading forces of the evil alien Iva. TwinBee and his friends decides to set off to outer space to defeat the forces of Iva and save Planet Meru. Detana!! marks the first appearance of TwinBee's and WinBee's respective pilots, Light and Pastel, who became prominent characters in many subsequent TwinBee video games and related media, although they were originally unnamed in this game (the characters were given their names in the audio drama TwinBee Paradise).
Gameplay
Aside from the improve graphics and sounds compared to previous TwinBee installments, the gameplay in Detana follows the same conventions established in the arcade version of the original. As usual, the game can be played by up to two players, with player 1 piloting TwinBee, while player 2 pilots WinBee. Controls consist of an eight-way joystick for moving the ship and two buttons. In the Japanese version, one button is used to fire the gun at airborne enemies while the other is used to drop bombs to the ground. In the international arcade release (Bell & Whistles), both buttons are used to do shoot and drop bombs at the same time. This time, holding down the shooting button will cause power-meter at the bottom of the screen to fill up, allowing the player to fire a "Big Shot" attack when releasing the button.The power-ups consist of bells which can be uncovered by shooting the floating clouds, as well as items uncovered by destroying land enemies. Like in the original TwinBee, the player can shoot the floating bells to change their colors. In addition to the five different colors in the original TwinBee (yellow, white, blue, green, and red), there are two new additional bells as well: a purple bell that provides a "tail shield" that activates multiple barriers around the player's ship and black bell which decreases the player's speed.
The mini-bell and the lucky star from the original TwinBee return as well. GwinBee, a ship similar to TwinBee and WinBee, also appears in the game, allowing the player to combine its ship with GwinBee to fire wider fire beams. Two players can also align their ships side-by-side to achieve the same effect or align their ships vertically for a powerful five-way spread. If both players align their ships with GwinBee between them, he will spring out and destroy all on-screen enemies.
The game consists of seven stages. After the game is completed once, the player can play the game again for a harder second round. The game ends entirely after the second round is cleared. After a game over, the player can continue and receive a "free" power-up.
Arcade Hardware Specifications
KonamiKonami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
PCB
Printed circuit board
A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...
ID number: GX060
Main CPU: Motorola 68000
Motorola 68000
The Motorola 68000 is a 16/32-bit CISC microprocessor core designed and marketed by Freescale Semiconductor...
at 16 MHz
Audio CPU: Zilog Z80
Zilog Z80
The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog and sold from July 1976 onwards. It was widely used both in desktop and embedded computer designs as well as for military purposes...
at 3.58 MHz
FM Synthesizer: Yamaha YM2151