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Summary

Bells & Whistles (known in Japan as Detana!! TwinBee) is a bright‑colored vertical shooter that lets you pilot the cute TwinBee and WinBee ships as Light and Pastel. The arcade version keeps the classic seven‑stage trek against the alien Iva, but the European cabinet swaps the dual‑button scheme for a single button that both fires and drops bombs, while holding it charges a powerful "Big Shot" at the bottom of the screen. Power‑ups come from shooting clouds to reveal bells; the familiar yellow, white, blue, green and red bells return, and two new ones add a protective tail shield (purple) and a speed‑reducer (black), plus the nostalgic mini‑bells and lucky star. A third ship, GwinBee, can merge with yours for wider beams, and two players can line up side‑by‑side for a broader spread or stack vertically for a five‑way blast; aligning with GwinBee even triggers a screen‑clearing spring attack. After the first loop you can tackle a tougher second loop, and inserting more credits grants a free power‑up to keep the buzz going.
The game was crafted by a veteran Konami team that also worked on Gradius, led by director Masato Ohsawa and programmer Toru Shimomura, with newcomer animator Shūjirō Hamakawa handling character art. The soundtrack, scored by Konami Kukeiha Club members including Michiru Yamane, leans into the series’ "cute bee world" with colorful, upbeat tunes. Upon release it topped Japanese arcade charts, earned praise for its candy‑colored visuals in European magazines, and swept several Gamest awards, most notably Best Shooting and a high placement in the Grand Prize rankings.

Storyline

Detana!! TwinBee takes place several years after the original TwinBee adventure. Players step into the shoes of Light and Pastel – the series’ first female protagonist – piloting TwinBee (player 1) and WinBee (player 2) through a vertically scrolling shooter. After receiving an SOS from Princess (or Queen) Melora on the distant planet Meru, the duo learns the world is under siege by the evil alien Iva. Determined to rescue Meru, they launch into space and battle across seven distinct levels, confronting Iva’s forces head‑on. The game blends classic TwinBee mechanics with the new heroes’ quest to save the planet.

Edited by Maya Carter