Pinobee: Wings of Adventure

The basic plot of Pinobee boils down to the clichéd: inventor creates being then a plot twist prevents the creator from completing his project. Platform jumping ensues and every one live happily ever after. (Well almost – there are 8 possible endings.) You assume control of Pinobee, a mechanical bee, who must find his creator if he hopes to attain a "perfect" heart.

Gameplay is to the point. There’s only one button plus the directional pad to use during play. (Note: If Pinobee feels slightly Sonic-ish, it’s because some of the same people worked on both titles.) You can perform all the basics like crouching, jumping, hovering – everything a mechanical bee should be able to do. There isn’t a lot of originality in terms of a platform jumper: you’ve got a diary to save your progress, there are power-ups to collect, you jump on enemies, etc. And you can replay completed levels and uncover areas previously inaccessible. It’s all done in that happy go lucky style that earned it its "E" rating. In short, it’s all familiar territory and there’s nothing to indicate the development team set out to reinvent platform jumping.

The graphics are bright (considering the GBA screen) and colorful, which is great but on occasion you’ll have to take a few seconds to figure out where you are because there’s so much color. I’ve got mixed feelings about the music. It fits right in with the game’s style but there isn’t much variety in the musical score. I didn’t feel I missed anything playing without the sound.

The challenge of Pinobee is dictated by how badly you want to get the ultimate happy, "right," ending. Some of the levels can be frustrating to finish perfectly, even when you’ve powered Pinobee up to Vision-like proportions. Some of the secret areas are very hard to find. (I suppose that’s why they call them "secret areas." – Mr. Nash) There is a problem with the diary (read: save) function that will become apparent after you’ve played a few levels, but it’s nothing that affects the overall score of Pinobee. But something that does bring down the score a bit is the inclusion of the "BINGO" portion. I had a really horrible experience playing Bingo once. Now, whenever someone says that dreaded phrase, I feel like hiding under my desk and wetting my pants. You don’t actually play Bingo but it’s the method used to power-up Pinobee. (e.g. Collect all pink clubs and your energy – battery power – will go down slower, or collect the pink spade 3, heart 3, diamond 3, and club 3 and you’ll gain the ability to recognize capsule types.)

Pinobee also allows players to swap items between players via the Game Link Cable. It really is a gimmick – one that I didn’t need since finding the items isn’t too difficult. But if your neighbor has a cartridge, it’s pretty easy to do.

At the end of the day, Pinobee is a solid platform game for the GBA. It’s got some good-looking graphics, is easily accessible since it relies on convention, and enough challenge for young and old.

- Omni

(September 9, 2001)