The Bee Game

The Bee Game Nintendo DS is a single-player 2D platform adventure from Independent Arts, published by Midway. Released in North America in October 2007 after a 2006 European release, it is a licensed Maya the Bee game rather than the separate Bee Movie Game. The European edition is known as Die Biene Maja: Klatschmohnwiese in Gefahr, placing Maya and her companion Willie in the familiar insect world associated with the Maya the Bee stories.

The adventure begins after a severe storm sweeps through Corn Poppy Meadow and leaves members of the hive missing. Maya and Willie set out to find them, following clues through a route of meadow, forest, pond, caves, and garden areas. That search gives the game a simple episode-by-episode objective: complete the hazards in the current environment, continue onward, and work toward bringing the lost bees back home.

On Nintendo DS, The Bee Game is built around side-scrolling stages of platforms, tunnels, and obstacles. Players direct the bee with the system controls, negotiating environmental gaps and enemies while looking for flowers. Nectar or pollen collected from flowers supports Maya's ability to fly or hover, so movement is not only about reaching the next ledge; gathering the resource helps make aerial routes possible. Enemies include hostile insects and poison snails, and repeated contact can send the player back to the start of a level.

The game keeps its action accessible in concept while combining walking, jumping, enemy avoidance, and resource-based flight. Its flower-filled environments make the bee perspective central to both navigation and progression, and the varied locations give each leg of the rescue journey a different backdrop. The campaign is designed for one player, with automatic save support for multiple game files.

The Nintendo DS version also makes room for activities outside the main platforming adventure. It includes three arcade-style mini-games that use the touch screen, plus a stylus-based coloring activity. Those additions distinguish the DS release from the companion Game Boy Advance version while keeping the focus on Maya, Willie, and their storm-disrupted search through Corn Poppy Meadow.