Pinobee: Wings of Adventure

"In a word--- WOW!"

When my import Game Boy Advance (GBA) arrived two weeks before US launch, I was itching to get a game for it. There were only 4 games available at Funcoland when I went shopping, so I figured the safest game I would get would be a platformer. It was either Earthworm Jim or Pinobee. I picked the less expensive of the two.... Pinobee.

The game follows a robot bee named Pinobee (like Pinocchio bee)who is searching for his creator, Grandpa. He explores good sized areas, picks up power ups and needs to defeat certain enemies to ''slow down the enemy's evolution''. The key is in finding these enemies so you can dash into them. They are not bosses or anything like that, just ''golden enemies''. The power-ups are not like in anyother game I've played. Sure, you get life bar refills and energy refills, but with the power ups, depending on what you get determines additional dash power you get. I can't really explain it, but if you meet a certain objective of power up items, you will be endowed only then with an additional dash. The dash lets you get to certain places. The more dash power you get, the further you can go where there are no platforms.

Another neat thing about the game feeds directly into it's replay value. Depending on what you do in the game, the outcome is affected. If you don't defeat all golden enemies in each level, the golden enemies in subsequent levels become stronger. If you throw a switch in level 3, something may change in level 8. You do get clues in Pinobee's diary and you can always go back to redo the level as often as you want. This fact warrants repeated plays. It kind of leads Pinobee on to alternate courses with reportedly various possible endings.

Audio and graphics are stunning. The music and sound effects are used to excellent effectiveness. Whimsical music that fits very well. Graphics are Playstation quality. It is a polygon based game and the small screen of the GBA really compresses everything beautifully. Backgrounds are very lush. I had to remind myself that this is a Game Boy system. I was very impressed.

All these factors, in my opinion, make Pinobee a game worth buying.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/04/01, Updated 08/04/01