Parodius Da! (パロディウスだ! －神話からお笑いへ－ Parodiusu Da! Shinwa kara Owarai e, lit. "It's Parodius! From Myth to Laughter"), released outside Japan simply as Parodius, is a horizontal scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game released on April 15, 1990, and is the second title in the Parodius series produced by Konami.
The European Super NES version is known as Parodius: Non-Sense Fantasy. The gameplay is stylistically very similar to the Gradius series, but the graphics and music are intentionally absurd.
This game is often mistaken as the original game of the series. The lesser known original game Parodius, released for the MSX computer in Japan.
TwinBee makes his first appearance in the Parodius series in this game as one of the selectable characters.
Gameplay[]
Gameplay is very similar to that present in games of the Gradius series, with a few differences. Parodius Da! retains the ability to select between different weapons configurations, but implements this via four different characters: Vic Viper, Octopus, TwinBee and Pentarō.
The second main difference is the addition of Bell Power-Ups from the TwinBee series. These bells act as one-time power-ups, allowing the player to perform special attacks such as destroying every enemy onscreen, fire huge beams of energy, etc.
Enemies and environments from the Gradius and TwinBee games are mixed in along, with a host of anime-style opponents, which include scantily-clad women. All of the Gradius elements are integrated in a very lighthearted fashion. For example, the Big Core, a regular boss within the Gradius series, is given a neon look and is called "Viva Core". Moreover, there is a moai (Easter Island head statues) level, but all of the statues are given a much more cartoonish look. The boss of that level, the Moai Head, fires other moai at the player by spewing them out of her mouth. The final boss, in typical Gradius fashion, is an unarmed enemy that once defeated, results in a destruction/escape sequence.
Releases and ports[]
Parodius Da! has been ported to a number of platforms, most notably the Super Famicom (released on the SNES in Europe) and the PC Engine. The game was also ported to the Family Computer (released on the NES in Europe) with several stages omitted but with a new amusement park stage, as well as several hidden bonus stages. Most recently, the game –along with several other Gradius titles– has been ported to Java-based cell phones in Japan.
The Game Boy version (which was also released in Europe) shows the ages of the playable characters and only has 8 stages, which include stages 1–6, and 10 from the arcade game. Stage 3 was moved to Stage 4. The Game Boy version of stage 3 also has a hidden stage. This version was also re-released in color as part of the Konami GB Collection Vol. 2.
There was also a Japan-exclusive port for the Sharp X68000.
The PC Engine version does not have the arcade Stages 5 and 8, but features a stage titled SPECIAL and a new introduction that features several strange-looking Japanese characters. This is in contrast to the arcade intro, which chronicles the Gradius legacy up until the time of release.
The SFC/SNES version added the bath house and "Omake" stages over the arcade version. In the "Omake" stage, the player immediately continues after dying, instead of at a checkpoint. The PAL version of the SNES port was titled Parodius: Non-Sense Fantasy and the "Omake" stage was retitled "Lollipop".
The mobile phone version, titled Parodius! Deluxe Edition (パロディウスだ! 豪華版 Parodiusu da! Gōka-ban), was released on February 19, 2003 in Japan. It features 3D graphics and doesn't have the arcade stages 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9. It was also released for Vodafone on February 18, 2004 and EZ! Brew on 2006 with 2D graphics.
Parodius was also ported along with its sequel Fantastic Parodius - Pursue the Glory of the Past on the compilation also simply titled Gokujō Parodius Da! Deluxe Pack in Japan and Parodius in Europe for PlayStation in 1994 and Sega Saturn in 1995, and in Parodius Portable for PlayStation Portable in 2007.
Cameos in other media[]
- Chichibin Tarika makes cameo as toy in Tokimeki Memorial.
- Pastel wears a Chichibinta Rika-like outfit in the interactive game TwinBee PARADISE in Donburi Shima.
- Pentarō and Cat Battleship make a cameo as fishing baits in the video game TwinBee RPG.
- Chichibinta Rika, Hot Lips and Captain Penguinovski the 3rd appear in the puzzle game Pixel Puzzle Collection that commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Parodius series.
Other media[]
- Parodius Da! is one of the video games featured in the Rock'n Game Boy manga, specifically in chapter 18 of issue #4.
- In Fushigi Shoujo Nile na Thutmose episode 20 "The Phantom of Game Center" (1991), Nile Tuthmose is playing Parodius Da!.
- TwinBee from Parodius Da! makes a cameo in the issue Brilliant Bomberman! of the Hudson Makyou manga.
- A Snatcher parody comic titled Snatcher Da! was released in the 1992 issue of Monthly Magazine PC Engine.
- Chichibinta Rika makes a cameo appearance in the Japanese video games themed High Score Girl manga.