Parodius Da!: Shinwa kara Owarai e (Japan) - MAME machine

Arcade Video game published 34 years ago:

Parodius Da! Shinwa kara Owarai e © 1990 Konami.

Parodius Da! is a horizontally-scrolling shoot-em-up in which the Great Octopus has threatened Earth. To help Parodius save the planet, the player and his friends must begin their search across the world to find the enemy and destroy him.

Parodius Da! was created as a parody of Konami's own "Gradius" series of shoot-em-ups but adopted a graphical style that was entirely its own; something that becomes evident at the very start of the game when players can chose to pilot either a penguin or an octopus rather that the traditional Gradius ship.

Parodius retains the selectable weapons system of "Gradius"; a 'power meter' at the bottom of the screen enables players to 'buy' weapons and upgrades using capsules left behind by certain destroyed enemies. Each collected capsule advances the power meter by one step. Players can activate the highlighted item at any point, after which the power meter resets. For this game, players can also choose to have weapons update automatically, with the game upgrading weapons simply by collecting the capsules.

Parodius Da! also allows players to pilot any one of four different characters: Vic Viper (from Gradius/Nemesis), Octopus, TwinBee and Pentarou. Another new addition is that of bell power-ups. These originally appeared in Konami's "TwinBee" series and act as one-time power-ups, allowing the player to destroy every enemy on screen, for example, or fire huge energy beams.

Enemies and environments from the Gradius games and TwinBee are mixed in along with a host of anime-style opponents, including scantily-clad women. Parodius' eccentricity and unique humour is further demonstrated soon after the game begins; as players face such enemies as a giant belly-dancing woman and a half-cat/half-boat creature.

TECHNICAL
Konami TMNT2 Hardware
Game ID: GX955

Main CPU: KONAMI
Sound CPU: Zilog Z80
Sound Chips: Yamaha YM2151, K053260

Players: 2
Control: 8-way joystick
Buttons: 3

TRIVIA
Released in April 1990.

The title of this game is a combination of two words: Parody + "Gradius" = Parodius. The subtitle of this game translates from Japanese as 'From Myth to Joke', which is a homage to the "Gradius III" subtitle: 'From Legend to Myth'.

During the game's attract mode, potential players are presented with a short history tour of the Nemesis series, as the title screen of each of Parodius's prequels are introduced'; watched, in typical Parodius style, by a crowd of blue and pink penguins.

Pentarou is from the MSX game "Antarctic Adventure".
The second boss (Patrotic Eagle) is similar to the first boss of "Gradius 2" (phoenix). This boss is often coined as a reason why Parodius was never released in the U.S.
The Vegas dancer near the end of the second stage is similar to the robot spider near the end of "Gradius 2". She appears in other Parodius games as well.

Stage 1 crucial part music is a remix of 'Symphony No.9 4th Movement', by Beethoven.
Stage 1 boss music is a remix of 'The Flight of the Bumble Bee', by R. Korsakov.
Stage 2-1 music is a remix of 'Op.71a the Nutcracker', by P. Tchaikovsky.
Stage 2-2 music is a remix of the music from "Gradius III".
Stage 2 boss music is a remix of the music from "Gradius II".
Stage 3 music is a megamix of 'Op.71a the Nutcracker', by P. Tchaikovsky. And 'Overture to William Tell', by G. Rossini.
Stage 3 boss music is a remix of 'Orphée aux enfers', by J. Offenbach.
Stage 4 music is a remix of 'Danse du sabre', by A.I. Khachaturyan.
Stage 5 music is a remix of 'L'Arisienne suite No.2', by G. Bizet.
Stage 6 music is a remix of 'from Gunkan March', by Japanese Martial Song.
Stage 6 boss music is a remix of the music from "Gradius".
Stage 7 music is a remix of 'Op.71a the Nutcracker Valse des Fleurs', by P. Tchaikovsky.
Stage 8 music is a megamix of 'Violine Konzert e moll', by F. Mendelssohn. And 'Unter dem Doppeladler', by J. F. Wagner.
Stage 9 music is a megamix of 'Peer Gynt Suite', by E. Grieg. And 'Swan Lake', by P. Tchaikovsky.
Stage 9 boss music is a remix of 'William Tell Overture', by G. Rossini.
Stage 10 and Stage 10 boss music are remix of music from "Gradius".

King Records released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Parodius Da! Original Game Soundtrack - KICA-1011) on 21/07/1990.

SERIES

• Parodius - Tako wa Chikyuu o Sukuu [Model RC759] (1988, MSX)
• Parodius Da! Shinwa kara Owarai e [Model GX955] (1990, ARC)
• Gokujyou Parodius! Kako no Eikou o Motomete [Model GX321] (1994, ARC)
• Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius [Model SHVC-AJOJ-JPN] (1995, SFC)
• Sexy Parodius (1996, ARC)

STAFF
Main programmers: Chichibinta, Tsukasa
Sub-programmer: Tyuken
Character designers: GaKincho, Touyou Syoutarou, Takemasa.M, Mory-Wandyu, Mikachan
Sound: -Cameo- Matano, -Dokuo- Umeno
Hard designer: Dendou Konishi
Tool designers: Au Toshimi, Kanton Ten

PORTS

• CONSOLES:

Nintendo Game Boy (1991)
NEC PC-Engine (1992)
[JP] Nintendo Famicom (1992)
[JP] Nintendo Super Famicom (1992) "Parodius Non-Sense Fantasy"
Sony PlayStation (1994) "Parodius Deluxe Pack"
Sega Saturn (1995) "Parodius Deluxe"
[JP] Sony PSP (Jan. 25, 2007) "Parodius Portable [Model ULJM-05220]"
[JP] Sony PSP (Mar. 13, 2008) "Parodius Portable [Konami the Best] [Model ULJM-05324]"

• COMPUTERS:

[JP] Sharp X68000 (1991)

CONTRIBUTE
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