Pinobee - Gameboy Advance Hidden Gems

'Pinobee Series'
 Hudsonsoft
 2001 GBA Launch Title

 Originally released exclusively on the GBA at launch in 2001, Pinobee is an action platformer from Bomberman creators 'Hudsonsoft'. The game follows the traditional run-and-jump formula we've grown to know, but its the robo-bumblebee charm and the original mechanics that shine. You play as Pinobee, an unfinished cyborg insect whose creator has been kidnapped just shy of your completion. Spanning across 9 vibrant pre-rendered worlds its up to you to charge through and save grandpa bee, your creator.

Boasting some of the glossiest pre-rendered animations on the GBA, Pinobee really stands out.

You begin the game being able to run, jump and most importantly - dash. The dash ability is the main attraction here as over the progression of the stages you increasingly level it up. Think of it as a double jump crossed with a self-projecting attack. A dash can be aimed in all 8 directions and used to reach high places or take down enemies. By the end of the game Pinobee can do more than 5 consecutive dashes, by then the challenge is quite large. As you hop across platforms and scale grassy walls you need to collect all the flowers in a level and different power ups such as boosts, shields and extra dashes.

Each world in Pinobee tests your hand eye with increasingly difficult dash-platforming level design.

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Pionbee and Phoebe (J)

In 2002 a Japanese exclusive sequel was released for the GBA. There were only minor changes to the structure of the previous game. There were now many more things       to collect and players gained control of a new ally: 'Phoebe'. The graphics were also bumped up and made more colorful. 

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Pinobee (PS1)

2003 also saw the release of Pinobee for the Playstation 1, this is a straight port of the original GBA version over to Sony's current home console platform.