Can’t get the twin out of TwinBee

I remember playing this classic on the Nintendo Family Computer with my sister Pepper, and we spent countless hours trying to master it. TwinBee, as most of you may recall, is a 1985 side-scrolling shooter released by Konami for the arcade. Fortunately for those who don’t have the funds and the time to spend at the arcades, TwinBee was ported to the Famicom the following year.

Since I had been playing TwinBee with Pepper, I remember having the power to wipe out enemy units—mostly flying fruits and vegetables like eggplants and strawberries and dinnerware such as forks, plates and knives—with twin blasters. So when I finally got the chance to play TwinBee again, I was continuously trying to make the little bee fire two shots.

My bad. It turns out you can’t make the twin come out unless you play in two-player mode. Duh.

Here’s a short guide on how to make the most of your TwinBee playing experience:

Like most side-scrolling shooters of its time, TwinBee’s gameplay is very simple. Players use TwinBee in a short string of six levels that repeats infinitely. Of course, the game isn’t complete without the requisite boss monsters at the end. Both characters, or bees, start out with a single shot for aerial enemies, and the ability to launch bombs to destroy targets on the ground. When a bee is hit in the wings, the wings drop off and the bee will lose the ability to drop bombs. Fortunately, an ambulance bee appears to repair the damage. The trick, however, is in catching the ambulance with the ailing bee.

One of the more important features of TwinBee is its power-up system. When a bee shoots its weapon into a cloud, a bell will pop out and drop to the bottom of the screen. Depending on the color of the bell when the bee touches it, a specific power-up or points will be obtained. The color of the bell can be changed by shooting at it continuously until the desired color comes out. Beware, though, as shooting the bell too many times may cause it to turn into a color that can kill the bee that touches it.

Here’s the more exciting part for two-player mode. You can go co-op by combining the two bees side by side. The upside is you get double the firepower, especially if you manage to obtain the double-shot power-up from a bell. The downside, though, is two bees joined at the hip presents a much bigger target for enemies.