Parodius
Parodius | |
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| |
Genres | Scrolling shooter, Turn-based strategy |
Developer(s) | Konami |
Publisher(s) | Konami |
Platforms | Arcade, MSX, X68000, PC Engine, Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Super Famicom, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Mobile Phone, PlayStation Portable, Virtual Console (Wii and Wii U), EGG Project (from Windows Store) |
First release |
Parodius: The Octopus that Saves the Earth April 28, 1988 |
Latest release |
Gokuraku Parodius A November 2010 |
Spin-offs | Otomedius |
The Parodius (パロディウス Parodiusu) series is a series of horizontally scrolling shooters developed by Konami. The games are tongue-in-cheek parodies of Gradius, hence the name (Parodius is a portmanteau of Parody and Gradius). It also parodies many other Konami franchises, including Antarctic Adventure, Castlevania, Xexex, Axelay, Thunder Cross, Taisen Puzzle-Dama, Space Manbow, Ganbare Goemon, Lethal Enforcers, Tokimeki Memorial and TwinBee.
Games
There are six games in the Parodius series (arranged by title, year of debut and original platform) In addition, three Pachislot games based on the characters were released in 1988 and 2010.:
- Parodius: The Octopus Saves the Earth (1988, MSX)
- Parodius! From Myth to Laughter (1990, arcade)
- Parodius! Deluxe Edition (2004, Mobile Phone, for Konami Net DX)
- Fantastic Parodius - Pursue the Glory of the Past (1994, arcade)
- Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius (1995, Super Famicom)
- Sexy Parodius (1996, arcade)
- Paro Wars (1997, PlayStation)
- Little Pirates (1998, Pachislot)
- CR Parodius Da! EX (2000, Pachinko)
- CR Parodius Da! ZE (2000, Pachinko)
- CR Parodius Da! 2 (2000, Pachinko)
- CR Saikoro Tin Douty (2004, Pachinko)
- CR Gokujō Parodius! (2006, Pachinko)
- Gokuraku Parodius (2010, Pachislot)
- Gokuraku Parodius A (2010, Pachislot)
Numerous ports have been created. The Octopus Saves the Earth was converted to mobile phones, to Virtual Console of the Wii and Wii U and to EGG Project from Windows Store. Parodius Da! -Shinwa kara Owarai e- was ported to the Game Boy, Famicom (NES), Super Famicom (SNES), PC Engine, PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Gokujō Parodius! was ported to the Super Famicom, PlayStation and Saturn. The PlayStation and Saturn versions were a combined release of Parodius Da! -Shinwa kara Owarai e- and Gokujō Parodius! called Gokujō Parodius Da! Deluxe Pack. The last two titles were also released on both the PlayStation and Sega Saturn.
A compilation of all Parodius games (with the exception of Paro Wars) titled Parodius Portable have been released for the Sony PSP as a UMD release on January 2007 in Japan.
The first three episodes of the series were released in Japan for cell phones.
Only a few of the games were released outside Japan: Parodius Da! -Shinwa kara Owarai e- and Gokujō Parodius! were released in Europe (as Parodius and Fantastic Journey respectively), but none of the games were released in the United States. Konami general manager Nagata Akihiki stated that the Parodius games are too specific to the Japanese market to be released worldwide.[1]
There is also a spin-off named Paro Wars. This game is a turn-based strategy game based on Cosmic Wars, which plays similar to the Nintendo Wars series. Aside from Pentarou, only some of the Parodius-native characters (Octopus and the like) appear in this game.
In July 1998, it was released a Parodius themed pachislot machine named Little Pirates (リトルパイレーツ ritorupairētsu).
Finally, two pachislot machines, Gokuraku Parodius and Gokuraku Parodius A, were released in September 2010.
In addition, several pachinko machines based on Parodius universe were released in Japan, such as CR Parodius Da in 2000, CR Saikoro Tin Douty in 2004 and CR Gokujō Parodius in 2006.
References
- ↑ "Konami". Next Generation. No. 19. Imagine Media. July 1996. p. 70.
External links
- (in French) 1UP, illustrated comparison between Parodius and Gradius on Nintendo consoles.
- Hardcore Gaming 101 - Parodius
- Konami homepage for PSP Compilation