|
|
|
|
パロディウスだ！
©Konami 1990
Release: 1990-11-30 (¥5800)
Cartdridge RC849
Shooter/Horizontal
|
Released in Europe as
PARODIUS
( NES-PV-XXX )
|
|
Parodius Da! is an horizontal shooter by Konami and
conversion of the arcade game of the same name originally released in
1990. This Japan and Europe exclusive port can be best described
as a parody (hence the name, "PAROdy graDIUS") of Konami's
classic shooter Gradius. Most of the very foundation and game
mechanic that made the shooter so popular are reunited here with a humorous
and imaginative twist. Interestingly, it isn't only their own franchises
that Konami makes fun of, but other classics such as R-Type
large mothership as well as myriad of creatures and legends borrowed from
Japanese folklore. The player is given a choice to control one of four fighter
ships - the trademark Vic Viper (from Gradius), a pink flying
octopus, Twin Bee (from Twinbee) and a penguin called
Pentarō (from Antarctic Adventure). The powerup system is
largely borrowed from Gradius - a power meter at the bottom of the
screen displays the current attainable upgrade which can then be activated
at the press of a button (speed ups, missiles, options,
shields and so forth). Power-capsules are left behind by red enemies
and allow the player to select other upgrades from the power meter. Power
bells, borrowed from Twinbee, are also here for the taking and
activate various effects such as extra life, laser walls or
invincibility which grows the ship to an enormous size for a short
amount of time. This Famicom port of Parodius Da! features
most stages from the original arcade game, an extra and exclusive
carnival/toy fair level and several hidden bonus stages.
|
This Famicom port has several differences with the arcade game
and some levels were omitted, such as the Volcano and the
Pinball stages.
However, it features an exclusive and extra 'amusement park' level
with penguins hurling at high speed down roller coasters and a giant duck/penguin
robot-boss (and another exclusive boss that I won't spoil here). Another notable
change is the giant girl at the end of the "Vegas stage" - she has a lot less
flesh on display and wears a totally different outfit (most certainly due to
Nintendo's strict content-control guidelines). On the same point, the
large Moai-head girl (the boss at the end of the Moai-mothership) doesn't blow
out disturbing Moai totems/missiles anymore but politically correct lines of
hearts. Finally, there are a couple of hidden levels in the Famicom
version - the most memorable one gets players to enter the Moai mothership (through
his mouth) and fight him from the inside ! (picture on the right)
|
Teaser text from the European version:
One day, our octopus friend gets into a fight to the death with his old
rival, the bug. Our octopus wins and people start to call him Mr.
Parodius. On his paid vacation he goes to the countryside to enjoy a
little farming. Returning to our readymade octopus pot, he reads the
"People of the Universe" newspaper and nearly falls off his chopping
board in surprise. There now is a picture of the mysterious Great
Octopus with the Earth in his arms.
"F... father ?," he stutters. It was his father, who had disappeared just
two years before never to return home.
So Octopus sets out on a search for the truth and with his companions
begins to travel the world.
|
Teaser text from the European version (translated from french):
Mr Parodius is here to free the World. Are you capable to help him ?
We are in 1992. The 20th century is nearly over and people,
all around the world, have lost their hopes and dreams. The government
people's only interest is to grow richer. Kids who used to love their mothers
not prefer to play with their computers. Although the young generation already
feels the impending doom of mankind, they put aside their anxieties and
immersed themselves in game centers. But this problem is just too horrible
to let it pass by. The culprit is the Great Octopus and his head, decorated
with a headband, makes him look like a marmot.
|
Game Staff (Copied from the end credits) :
|
-STAFF-
Program
Takemoto
Hori
Ozawa
|
|
Character
Shigemoto
Horie
Katakami
|
|
Sound
Takeyasu
Tomita
Presented By Konami
|
|
|
O
M
A
K
E
|
|
|
|
|
Click on picture to enlarge |
|
|
|
LK
|
|
Add your Pov here !
|
P
O
V
s
|
|
Parodius Da! works surprisingly well for a Famicom game and
the graphics do manage to hold up pretty well considering it was released
almost 20 years ago. I really wonder why it was never realized in the US
(it was in Europe though), maybe Konami through it was
'too cute' for the American market... Most of the arcade game's
elements are intact in this cartridge form and Konami even sprinkled
more challenge and exclusive content here and there. The only drawback ?
Parodius Da! sadly slows down to ridiculous levels throughout the
whole game, especially when your ship is fully equipped or when the
screen gets cramped with enemy bullets. This annoying flaw greatly
impacts the gameplay and leads to many cheap deaths. All in all,
Parodius Da! is a surprisingly good port of Konami's arcade
classic, one worth any shooter enthusiast's time, but there are better
conversions out there, such as the excellent PC Engine or
Super Famicom versions.
|
|
|
|
