High on my list of characters I miss from the good old days of gaming is the cast of the Twinbee games. While I had a brief chance to play 'Stinger' in the late 80s it wasn't until 1993, when my best friend brought back Pop'N TwinBee from Hong Kong that my true love affair with the series began. I haven't seen a Twinbee character in a game myself since GBA's Konami Krazy Racers back in 2001. (It was the first game I got along with Super Mario Advance for my GBA.)
Anyway, with all that time passing I started to wonder what Light the cute young Pilot of the TwinBee would look like at this point. So I asked Adonix and FallenAngel to take their best stabs at aging the young hero. Here are their efforts along with a quick look at the series.
Here we have Adult Light by Adonix. He's dropped everything to pose for you guys. Everything except his whitle gloves, to make sure he provides a very gentle touch. ;) Adonix brings the heat, making Light look like the poster boy of a more lifelike Twinbee Series. He really does look like a super model ready to do the catwalk, or pose for Playgirl. :P He's so confident tilting his head as if to say 'You like what you see?' XD Perhaps this realistic look would be one Komami would do well in considering if they ever wish to expand on the RPG theme the series dabbled with during the late 90s. His Light is very debonair. I think he looks very Asian and enjoyed that sweet, realistic sized penis. I love how Adonix let the hair grow so tall. It's like Light hasn't really cut it as the years have flown by. Nice touch Adonix.
Whereas Adonix went with a realistic look, FallenAngel expanded on Lights cartoony heritage. FallenAngels art looks very much akin to the original character designs. Here he has built on on Lights costume, giving it a sorta armored football player look. This adds to the muscular body. I like how his jersey also reveals his abdomen. Sexy...Looks like he needs new shorts, those ones are just not long enough to conceal his manhood. Still, looks like TwinBee approves! Amazing take on the character FallenAngel, gotta dig that background. Makes it look like a cut scene from the game! (I WISH!)
This is the game that got me to love the series. With it's amazing soundtrack, funny animated characters, cut scenes and silly voices it was an instant hit with family and friends. Even my cold older sister played this. (Probably due to her love affair with the arcade game 1942.) We had a ton of fun laughing at the voices and trying to figure out what they were saying. One power up sounds a lot like the characters are saying 'Happy Birthday.' If you haven't played this you are missing out on one of the SNES best shooting games. I envy Europeans. North Americans really missed out.
I think this is from an album for Pop'n. I found some of the remixed tracks on Youtube.
Believe it or not, I got Twinbee Deluxe Pack for Christmas in 2006. Yeah, Santa was especially good to me, going to an import game store in the heart of China town to get this. Another huge hit around my place, (with those friends that hadn't yet gone on to university anyway.) :( The game features the final arcade game Twinbee Yahho, as well as Detana!!! Twinbee. Both games are not as long as Pop'n and because they have unlimited continues were both finished on Christmas day. :P Still, that didn't mean they didn't receive any less play. That probably just insured they got even more so then Pop'n by less experienced players. The deluxe set was on constant request till only a few short years ago at my place.
TwinBee Yahho! Arcade Poster.
Detana!! Twinbee's Arcade Poster and instruction sheet. This game has that look and feel of a title that was in production just before the SNES came out. (Despite it's coming out in early 1991.) In other words, it looks, plays and sounds awesome, but is lacking some of the sophistication of later 16 bit titles. Still a very highly recommended play.
If you don't have an SNES, or want to emulate the games on Mame, or however, you can pick up this awesome collection of Twinbee games for the PSP. I think it's still available for like $30 at Playasia.org. I have this compilation, but I have never actually opened up, opting to keep it sealed as a collectable instead.
Promotional material for the first Twinbee game.
In the early 2000's I picked up this side scrolling Twinbee game called Rainbow Bell Adventure. I got the Japanese version, even though it was ported to Europe in English. I remember it was really fast placed, much like Sonic The Hedgehog. It was really long and I can't recall if I completed it, or not. I did like it, it just took some getting used to the controls and set up. It often gets a lot of slack for making such a 'big' departure from the rest of series, but I felt it was a fun little action game. I don't think people realize that there's also a puzzle game and an RPG based on the series when they knock it. At least this game is still 'action' oriented.
There of course, was manga based on the games as well. In the ultimate sexiest move, Mint-Herb the pilot of Gwinbee is changed from baby boy to busty babe with a bazooka. Wait to go Konami. Boo....By the way, isn't that Master Roshi's house on the cover of book 2?
There was a radio show, two movies and a 3 part OVA series done as well. I watched the first episode of Twinbee Paradise, the OVA on Youtube. While it was funny and cute, it had very little to do with the games. I was expecting more epic space battles and there were none to be found. Instead the anime is filled with breast jokes and underage nudity. Typical.
That's what you get for making lewd comments about your cousins tits Light.
Looks like DPK isn't the first place Light has appeared nude. He attracted quite an audience."Oy! Pastel you're my cousin! Stop checking out my ass!"
So Light, what do you think of these renditions of you by Adonix and FallenAngel?
Thumbs up huh? Awesome! I hope Konami gives new titles in your series a thumbs up as well. We need some more light hearted shooting games these days.
Here's the first episode of the OVA.
In case you thought I was exaggerating about the breast thing. Notice no one hits Light with the ray. :(
The obligatory beach episode. I have no idea who half these characters are. XD
