Apidya

The game is a horizontally scrolling shooter, with some elements similar to early, classic shoot 'em ups. The story revolves around Ikuro, whose wife Yuri has been poisoned by Hexaä, an evil lord of black magic. Ikuro uses magic to transform into a deadly bee and vows to find an antidote for Yuri and wreak revenge on Hexaä.

The player controls a bee (Ikuro) capable of launching a number of projectiles which can damage or destroy enemy targets. The game uses the power-up bar system pioneered by Gradius. Destroyed enemies sometimes leave a power-up in the form of a red-and-yellow flower. The player may collect these flowers and activate new weapons and enhancements.

Apidya began development in 1991, following the success of their previous game Gem'X. The game was produced by Thomas Hertzler and Lothar Schmitt, and designed by programmers Peter Thierolf, Kai Teuber and Matthias Enzmann, and graphics artists Frank Matzke, Rudolf Stember and Ralf Leonhardt. It was originally planned as a space shooter, with the codename Beyond the Planet, but was changed when Matzke came up with the idea for an insect theme, basing the first two levels on books about plants and insects. The name "Apidya" was derived from the Greek "Hexapoda", which refers to six-legged insects.

The intro and ending cutscenes and title screen use anime-style graphics and characters inspired by Matzke's interest in manga culture. Despite being labelled "II" in the title, Thierolf stated that Apidya was not a sequel to any game, but had the digits placed there simply as a joke. Kaiko had trouble completing the game due to financial problems, so they decided to make some covermount games, The Adventures of Quik & Silva, Metal Law and Super Gem'Z, for magazines in order to get the funds. S (Art Under Design, Imaginations Of Sound).

The game was largely praised as a fine example of the shoot 'em up genre. Amiga Power described the game as offering "more playability than any other shoot 'em up" and awarded the game 89% in 1992. Amiga Format awarded the game 90%.

An unofficial Windows remake of the first level of Apidya was released in 2002, followed by an unofficial technical demo for the Game Boy Advance in 2007 years later, but neither were ever completed.