"Twinbee" (Famicom Disk System)

I was looking up Japanese games that don't require much knowledge of its language to understand playing—games mostly, or completely, in English I meant to say. According to the forums I've read, some pointed to this game, and while it has a release for the Famicom itself, the Disk System copy was being sold a little bit cheaper and decided to go for that copy.

Compared to shoot 'em up games like 1943 and Galaga, this Konami game is as humble as you can get. There isn't much story to it, other than go and shoot anything that moves. From enemies such as strawberries and even butcher knives, it's as cute as it is fun. Why is that? From what I know, Nintendo and third-party companies neutralized its game releases to entice and cater female video gamers (Pac-Man is a perfect example). Since the characters featured on this game look like they came from a spin-off of the popular Hello Kitty franchise (except the bosses at the final stages), Konami produced a game that's not only a fit for all genders, but all ages as well.

If your spouse is a video gamer, they'll get a kick out of this. My girlfriend is more of a casual video gamer, but games like this make a great gift for your significant other. This game has a two-player option so you both can play. Why spend $50 on a 3-star restaurant when you can cozy up with a homecooked/home-delivered meal and play a nice game like this?

The music is fun and gets you going; The graphics are simple but represent the beauty of classic 8-bit goodness. The A button shoots while the B button drops bombs at specific targets, unveiling prizes like apples—100 points each. If you have a turbo controller, it will be handy for this game.

Now, like any other shoot 'em up game, the difficulty gets intense and...I did a poor job at keeping up. With all the bright-colored sprites flying over each other, my advice is never take your eyes off the screen because there's a lot being thrown at you. Here's my gameplay, if you so please:

Being a huge fan of shoot 'em ups, I still have yet to beat a game entirely; I'm sure some people have but I haven't...yet. If I did, it will be posted on here for everyone to see.

Anyway, a classic yet underrated game that fellow retro video gamers should play. Check it out!

Kris Caballero

Founder of KCU Network and KCU Plus, Kris has been writing since he started blogging in late 2005. Officially back to doing computer programming, Kris enjoys reading books on Mathematics, Quantum Computing, Philosophy, plus playing old video/MS-DOS games, digital video archiving, listening to sports, public radio and classical music.

• About me • Contact me