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FAQ/Walkthrough
By: The Spelunker
Copyright - 2004 - 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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I. LEGAL INFO
II. INTRODUCTION
III. BASICS
IV. WALKTHROUGH
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Translation Patch available at:
http://donut.parodius.com/translations/nes/patches/tb3-vrc.zip
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I. LEGAL INFO
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This guide may not be used for any purpose other than personal use without
the written consent of the author, and the only e-mail address which may give
this consent is
[email protected]. Those who violate this should know
that they are breaking US copyright law. If you see this guide being hosted
on a site beside
http://www.gamefaqs.com/ it is being done so illegally. Please
contact me if this is the case.
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II. INTRODUCTION
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Another quirky Japanese-only game here. Most people probably won't get a lot of
the humor because it's apparently based on a TV show aired only Japan. But for
coherency's sake, there are three characters who pilot the crafts Winbee,
Gwinbee and Twinbee. They were created by a guy named Dr. Cinnamon -- or maybe
just their ships were. Anyhow, in some way, Gwinbee was captured by an Island
of Doom(perhaps this guy is really some well-known villain on the show?) and
now Twinbee and Winbee want to rescue him.
The game is downright silly. Each level has a weird theme like musical
instruments and magic tricks, and all of the enemies that appear in that
specific level are based on it. The boss music is priceless in such a silly
game, the stage music is o.k. but not spectacular, but probably the coolest
part is that there are actual digitized voice-overs at the start of each stage.
There's also the traditional Konami-style introduction music before each level
begins, which in this case annoyingly means no pausing during it.
Overall it's pretty fun, but definitely not one of Konami's best shoot 'em ups.
The levels aren't diverse, numerous or long enough to make that game truly
spectacular and even though the atmosphere is probably one of the weirdest in a
shooter, the game balance limits just how fun it can be -- easy difficulty is
too easy and hard seems needlessly insane. But it's worth a shot, and there is
a translation patch available at the link above Legal Info(ironic, huh?)
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III. BASICS
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DIFFICULTY=
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EASY - As the word implies, this is quite easy. Your average shoot 'em up has
many more enemies, much tougher bosses and far less room for error than Twinbee
3 on easy. Experienced shooter gamers can probably beat this difficulty level
within 10 game overs.
HARD - There's no medium in Twinbee 3. The difficulty soars from mostly
negligible to "holy **** this is hard!" with the click of a button. Hard feels
more like a standard shoot 'em up with more enemies, tougher bosses and highly
aggressive enemy patterns. Repair vehicles also move slower than in easy and
sometimes don't appear at all.
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Controls=
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D-Pad = Move
Start = Pause(won't always work)
Select = N/A
B = Air Weapon
A = Ground Weapon
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Health and Dying=
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If you so desire, you can adjust the # of lives handicap you have in the
options menu. Otherwise, you start with three. Twinbee(or Winbee, for that
matter) can take three hits before losing a life. Each hit taken is indicated
by a wing falling off of the ship in question. The last hit causes the ship to
turn into a ghost and float towards the top of the screen, while a new ship is
summoned at the bottom of the screen -- if any lives remain.
If the new ship catches the ghost ship before it floats off the screen, it will
become stocked with any previous power-ups the old ship had.
Two other miscellaneous things:
- Force-fields allow ships to take a lot more hits than three.
- After taking two hits without a force-field, a ship can no longer fire its
ground weapon.
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POWER-UPS-
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In Twinbee 3, most power-ups are gained from shooting clouds and the bells that
come out of them. But it's also possible to find some from killing ground-based
nemies. For accessibility's sake, they are divided in this section.
BELLS
-----
Continue shooting bells to acquire change their color. Flaming Bell is only
available after picking up a Torch.
- YELLOW BELL : Points
- BLUE BELL : Speed (up to a maximum of 7)
- WHITE BELL : Double Busters (original weapon x2)
- RED BELL : Laser Beam (super-fast, super-powerful weapon)
- BLUE/RED BELL : Clones (two silhouettes that follow and fire single busters)
- BLUE/WHITE BELL : Force-field (take more damage)
- BEE : Big Points (must kill it to receive)
- FLAMING BELL : Invincibility (only appears after finding Torch)
OTHER POWER-UPS
-----------------
- QUESTION MARK : Kills all air enemies or does nothing.
- BONUS SKULL : Unlocks Extra Stage.
- MONEY BAG : Points
- APPLE : Points
- TORCH : Causes Flaming Bell to pop out of next cloud struck.
- CANDY : Enables Spread-Shot
- BOTTLE: One-Up
- EMERGENCY REPAIR VEHICLE : Appears after taking two hits. Restores both wings
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SCORING-
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Extra lives are awarded at 100,000 points.
Yellow Bells give 500, 1000, 2500, 5000 and 10000 points, in that order. After
reaching 10000, you will continue getting that value with each subsequent
Yellow Bell.
Money Bags and Apples either give 200 or 500 points.
Bees give 15000 points when shot.
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EXTRA STAGES=
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Extra stages are accessed by collecting a Bonus Skull in a stage. Once you beat
the boss of that stage, you will be transported there. In these stages are
about a dozen clouds and no enemies. The object? There is none. It is suggested
that you either grab hard-to-get power-ups like Blue/White Bells or collect all
Yellow Bells for points though.
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IV. WALKTHROUGH
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GENERAL STRATEGY=
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I could list every single encounter in every single stage in every single
location, but what's the point? Knowing what's ahead isn't going to help you as
much as knowing how to plan for what may be ahead. So, I've decided to provide
a general outline of what you should always be trying to do up here, and below
list each enemy in every level, how dangerous they are, where the secrets are
and how to beat the end bosses. It just seems more efficient.
Now that we have that out of the way, know that mastery of Twinbee 3 is
achieved largely by having all power-ups at all times. You want to do this as
quickly as possible when you start a stage(assuming you need them to begin
with) because it gets much more difficult to juggle bells as stages progress.
The optimum power-ups are as follows, in order of importance: force-field,
laser, clones, speed. Remember this, but also don't forget that those are only
bell power-ups.
From killing certain monsters(the specific ones being listed in the
walkthrough) you can also gain invincibility and -- my personal idea of the
best weapon -- spread-shot. Spread-shot is preferable to lasers not because of
its damage(which is comparable to lasers) but because of its range. All but one
boss has multiple parts to it, and so it's crucial in those instances. But it
also comes in handy during stages. Creatures will be flying from all directions
here, and, especially with speed, being able to move back and forth, firing in
three different directions, is a huge help.
So, this is the stuff you want to get in Twinbee 3. With all of these, even
hard difficulty can turn into easy given enough practice. Just be cautious to
restore force-fields when they turn red(or even before) because a Twinbee
without a force-field is a dead Twinbee in hard difficulty. And extra lives
seem to go pretty quick if you're struggling to get your weapons back in the
middle of a hectic firing zone.
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WALKTHROUGH PROPER=
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=AIR ISLAND STAGE-
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SECRETS
-------
KILL-ALL-AIR QUESTION MARK: Found by killing an Island Cannon on the far right
of the screen near the beginning of the level. It'll probably be the third or
fourth cannon you see.
KILL-ALL-AIR QUESTION MARK: Found by killing an Island Cannon right before the
two "K" signs.
CANDY: Found by killing the second Island Cannon seen in the crystal area.
BONUS SKULL: Found by killing final Island Cannon before boss.
ENEMIES
-------
(IN ORDER OF DANGER, GREATEST TO LEAST)
CRYSTALS(INDESTRUCTABLE): Located near the end of Air Island Stage. Poke out
from the walls and cause instant death if they come in contact with Twinbee.
KICK DRUM(AIR): Solo unit that shoots balls in all directions and then
disappears.
SNARE DRUMS(AIR): Standard group of enemies that shoots balls.
HI-HATS(AIR): Standard group of enemies that shoots balls.
TRIANGLES(AIR): Standard group of enemies that shoots balls.
BLUE HEADS(AIR): Standard group of enemies that shoots balls.
SAXOPHONE(AIR): Standard group of enemies that shoots balls.
ISLAND CANNONS(GROUND): Standard stationary ground unit that shoots balls.
CYMBALS(AIR): Clap together in the middle of the screen and then float off of
it.
BOSS
----
BABY BOOMER
Baby Boomer starts out as one solid creature and jumps from right to
left(starting on the right). Every time he lands, a random number of shards
drop from the ceiling in similarly random locations. Obviously, these are
avoided by standing where there are none, but this can be difficult, especially
while trying to dodge Baby Boomer at the same time. It's not too difficult at
the beginning though. Just run under Baby every time he jumps and unload as
many lasers into him as possible.
Eventually, he'll split into two, and at this point it's still not very
difficult. Continue the same pattern, except only do it on the right Baby
Boomer. Stand in between the two when they jump. After a while, the right Baby
Boomer will split into four enemies. Things get trickier here. The pattern is
still the same, but the room you have to dodge their jumping in is
significantly decreased. I've found that just a bit to the right of the far
right crystal(visible on the top of the screen) usually puts me in between the
four babys and the bigger Baby Boomer. But it will take some practice.
These four guys will die one by one and then the left Baby Boomer will be the
only foe remaining. After he goes under, he, too, will leave four babies to
serve in his absence. The rule here is that if there are only babies on the
screen, they start shooting balls during their jumps. This is why we didn't
want eight babies on the screen at once. Four is manageable though.
Every time the babies jump, run under them and shoot as much as possible, and
you should be dodging the balls effortlessly as long as you stay moving. The
battle can be won this way after a time, especially since crystal shards are no
longer falling down.
RANDOM MUSINGS: Standard weird NES boss here... it seems like the boss music
was almost designed for this guy. Actually, he's just goofy enough to remind me
of the first boss in The Simpsons arcade game; you know, the guy whose pants
kept falling down on him.
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=WANANA BANAI STAGE-
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SECRETS
-------
KILL-ALL-AIR QUESTION MARK: Found near beginning of stage on a Starfish sitting
on the far left of the screen. Right at the end of an island.
CANDY: Not far past the first kill-air-air question mark, but on the right side
of the screen and in the middle of an island.
BONUS SKULL: Found by killing a Starfish on a very, very tiny island only fit
for two Starfish, between the first and second Banana tracks.
KILL-AIR-AIR QUESTION MARK: Found by killing Starfish on the right just past
the second Banana railroad tracks.
ENEMIES
-------
(IN ORDER OF DANGER, GREATEST TO LEAST)
WHALE(GROUND): Moves through water in odd patterns. After a time,
either scrolls off screen towards bottom or holds an umbrella and shoots balls
in all directions.
JELLYFISH(AIR): Standard group of enemies that shoots balls.
STARFISH(GROUND): Standard stationary ground unit that shoots balls.
BANANA TRAIN(GROUND): Moves along a track and unloads a Killer Banana half-way
across the screen.
MOTHS(AIR): Standard group of enemies that shoots balls.
MYSTERY FISH, RED(AIR): Appears from question mark and shoots balls.
MYSTERY FISH, YELLOW(AIR): Appears from question mark and shoots balls.
YELLOW FISH(GROUND): Standard stationary ground unit that shoots balls.
BOSS
----
GRATEFUL DEAD
Wow! For a change you're not going to have to fight a boss at the end of the
level but instead be treated to a concert! Or not.
The hardest part of this fight is at the beginning when there are three members
on stage. Stay to the left at this point and focus on hitting the far left band
member. Notes and flowers will be flying everywhere, so you will need to watch
both in front of you and on your flanks. If they start to come from the sides,
scoot up on the left edge and hook back to right at 90 degrees when you see an
opening. Continue the assault.
The band goes through many phases, including a relatively tame concert session,
a few breaks, a slightly sped-up session and then an all-out frenzy. You should
take out the first band member around the time the latter starts, but it might
be possible sooner; it's rather hard to tell considering that the band members
don't show damage inflicted too well. When there are only two guys left, it
becomes easier, but you still need to edge towards the left edge of the screen
every now and then.
Only when the right guy remains will things get super easy, and you be able to
simply stand in front of him and blast away, only adjusting your trajectory
slightly to avoid stray notes(your main shots + clone shots should kill most of
the notes bee-lining towards you) Killing him will bring out the final phase of
the battle, which involves the lead singer performing a "solo". This has
basically the same principle as fighting the lone guy, except there are more
projectiles to dodge.
Note: Band members don't seem to take any damage during the brief stops in the
music.
RANDOM MUSINGS: Thank God for video game illogic. This battle might actually be
very nasty if there were a drummer banging along with the band too. But then
Konami would have had to include percussion in their game, which they didn't
see fit to do at all. And what would his projectiles have been anyway?
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=CASTLE LAND STAGE=
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SECRETS
-------
KILL-ALL-AIR QUESTION MARK: Located just before the first Volcano Monster by
killing a Defense Tower.
BOTTLE: Located right after the first Volcano Monster by killing a Defense
Tower.
TORCH: Found right after crossing the brief spot of ocean with the two Yellow
Fish in it. Kill the Defense Tower there.
ENEMIES
-------
(IN ORDER OF DANGER, GREATEST TO LEAST)
VOLCANO MONSTER(INDESTRUCTABLE): Walks slowly across the screen, erupting and
spewing lava rocks occasionally.
BIG CLOUDKILL(INDESTRUCTABLE): Stationary targets that can't be killed.
Shoot immobilizing cloud bits in a line from where they lurk.
DRAGON(AIR): Takes several hits to kill, moves very fast and to boot
shoots balls.
BABY CLOUDKILL(AIR): Travel in groups and spit out puffs of cloud which
will immobilize you. Can be highly dangerous.
WITCH(AIR): Shoot a lightning bolt instead of a ball.
IFRIT(AIR): Standard group of enemies that shoots balls.
SABRES(AIR): Standard group of enemies that shoots balls.
DEFENSE TOWER(GROUND): Standard stationary ground unit that shoots balls.
YELLOW FISH(GROUND): Standard stationary ground unit that shoots balls.
BOSS
----
GAGGIN' DRAGON
Gaggin' Dragon's got moles in his molers!
Ha, dumb plays on words aside, this boss isn't especially tough even by Twinbee
3 standards. What he does is float around for a while and, at times, open his
mouth. When he does so, you'll notice both his pressing dental problems and a
swarm of hammers flying at your from the moles hiding inside his teeth. The
best way to damage these things is to try and focus on the teeth closest to the
sides. But sometimes that's not always possible due to hammers.
In these cases, a drive-by shooting on all of the moles is preferable. Either
way, ride up on the sides of the screen once the hammers get too overwhelming.
Stay up there until Gaggin' Dragon closes his trap and then jet back down to
the bottom of the screen through any openings in the hammer wave. Repeat the
process until all of the moles are gone.
RANDOM MUSINGS: Anyone's guess as to where the idea for these creatures came
from. Moles, popping up, shooting hammers... I suppose all that's missing is a
ridiculously over-sized airship.
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=DUNGEON STAGE=
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SECRETS
-------
KILL-ALL-AIR QUESTION MARK: Right before middle track ends just a little bit
into the stage. Found by killing a Red Blob.
TORCH: Found on a Red Blob at the dark sea area near the end of the stage.
ENEMIES
-------
(IN ORDER OF DANGER, GREATEST TO LEAST)
BLUE CRAB(AIR): Standard group of enemies that shoots balls.
TURTLES(AIR): Move around on screen until hit and then open up and fly
at you. Shoot balls.
MINE CART(GROUND): Moves along tracks, shooting balls.
EGGS(AIR): Standard group of enemies that shoots balls. Crack into
birds when destroyed.
HELLO KITTY(AIR): Annoying float around the screen, following you,
until killed.
DEVIL(AIR): Standard group of enemies that shoots balls.
RED BLOBS(GROUND): Standard stationary ground unit that shoots balls.
FLYING ELEPHANT(AIR): Fly straight down screen.
BOSS
----
PRINCE OF TIDES
Pretty interesting boss here. His movement is actually affected by a sort of
tide that is either going in or out. If you see the tide coming in, you likely
won't want to fight him unless he starts off far away(where he's going to
appear is indicated by a purplish wave forming). If you see the tide going out,
you will want to fight him unless he is very close to the bottom edge of the
screen. Touching him means instant death, after all.
To tell where the tide is going, simply watch the direction the water is
flowing in. If the wave forming appears to be going up, the tide is moving out;
the opposite means it's coming in. Oh, and don't bother with his tail or body
that stick out from the water; you can't hurt those.
What you want to do when Prince of Tides actually does stick his head up is
start firing away at him. You should be able to easily side-step his big beam
weapon that he shoots out in a straight line(if not, it kills you in one hit).
Afterwards stand in front of him to avoid his diagonal lightning-shots,
assuming they come at all. Sometimes Prince of Tides doesn't fire any weapons
when he pops up.
The only time you should really get hit here at all is by the lightning, and
that's only if you absolutely have to move away from the front of Prince of
Tides. Otherwise, this should be one of the easier boss fights; although there
doesn't seem to be any real pattern to when this guy fires his shots.
RANDOM MUSINGS: When you see an actual serious boss in Twinbee 3, you know you
must be getting near the end. Not much is funny about this guy, but I do have
to wonder what those little things that pop up on the victory screen are. The
boss certainly wasn't two creatures, and they are awfully small....
Sooo... either it's a silly Japanese way of expressing defeat and shame, or
those are REALLY little sea serpent sperm :)
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=FINAL STAGE=
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SECRETS
-------
BOTTLE: Second group of two moles you see on the left side of the screen.
TORCH: Found by killing a mole in the big mess of fans and cannons in the
middle-to-end part of the stage.
ENEMIES
-------
(IN ORDER OF DANGER, GREATEST TO LEAST):
CANNONS(INDESTRUCTABLE): Fire cannonballs which bounce around the screen.
Very dangerous.
FANS(INDESTRUCTABLE): Shoot out air that paralyzes you on contact.
DOORS(INDESTRUCTABLE): Shoot pumpkins out of doorway when opened.
CARDS(AIR): Splits into three parts and fires balls.
SAWS(AIR): Standard group of enemies that shoots balls.
HATS(AIR): Split into two rabbits when shot.
WANDS(AIR): Standard group of enemies that shoots balls. Turns into
flower when shot.
MOLES(GROUND): This kind doesn't burrow in teeth, but instead lurks in
Final Stage and throws pickaxes at passing Twinbees and Winbees.
UMBRELLAS(AIR): Fly around annoyingly.
BOSS
----
ISLAND OF DOOM
Looks tough, weakness might not be immediately apparent, but still not
incredibly difficult.
To kill Island of Doom, you need to shoot away all of the foundation of the
island, which appears to be little piles of dirt. Trying to stop you will be a
tree, which shoots both missiles and baby trees at you, a spiked ball, which
fires a two ball spread-shot and an angry volcano, that erupts lava balls in a
fashion similar to Castle Stage's Volcano Monster.
All are easily avoided once you get in a rhythm except the heat-seeking
missile, and that never seems to come until later in the fight. Just edge
upwards to dodge the spiked ball's shots, shoot the baby tree that comes your
way and either stay to the right of the volcano or float in between its
shots(what you'll have to do when you need to destroy the dirt under it).
This is almost like trying to shoot a bell while monsters are firing at you, so
you should have enough practice to pull it off.
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END
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