Parodius

This article is about the 1988 MSX game. For the 1990 game that was marketed outside of Japan as "Parodius", see Parodius Da!

Parodius
Japanesetitle	パロディウス ～タコは地球を救う～ Parodius ～Tako wa Chikyū o Sukū～
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Konami
Series	Parodius
Platform(s)	MSX, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, mobile phones, PSP, Virtual Console Wii
Release date(s)	1988

Parodius ～Tako wa Chikyū o Sukū～ (パロディウス ～タコは地球を救う～, lit. "Parodius: The Octopus Saves the Earth") or just Parodius, is a scrolling shooter video game developed by Konami for the MSX computer, released in Japan in 1988. The game is notable for being the first title in the Parodius series, although it is often confused with Parodius Da! in that regard. The name itself is a portmanteau of "Gradius" and "parody" and, eponymously, the game is a parody of the Gradius series of space-based horizontally-scrolling shooters. Many of the characters and enemies are derived from that famous shooter series, while other elements are extracted from other Konami titles, such as Antarctic Adventure and TwinBee. This game is of particular note in the series as being heavily infused with Japanese culture and folklore.

Gameplay

The gameplay is very similar to the Gradius games, with other aspects from games such as TwinBee. However, the characters are replaced with silly characters taken from either these or other Konami games as well as Japanese culture. The music is mostly taken from classical music pieces.

The player can play as either Tako (father of Takosuke), an octopus, the Penguin (father of Pentarou) from Antarctic Adventure and the exclusive MSX game Penguin Adventure, Goemon from the Ganbare Goemon series, the Popolon knight from the MSX game Knightmare or the Vic Viper spaceship from Gradius. The game is composed of six stages consisting of various obstacles and enemies such as penguins and bees, as well as more traditional Gradius enemies such as moai. As with Gradius, the game utilizes a similar selection-bar based power-up system.

However, when a random power-up is picked up then a feature called Bellpower/Roulette will automatically make the player's power bar skipping powers until the player presses the button used to stop the roulette. However, some players may be unlucky and getting their chances of landing on the OH! power instead of the ? and the options.

Ports

Parodius was later included in Konami Antiques MSX Collection Vol.3 for PlayStation, Konami Antiques MSX Collection Ultra Pack for Sega Saturn, Parodius Portable in PSP with enhanced graphics.

In addition, it was released for mobile phones in December 2006 and for Virtual Console in January 2010.

Cheats

Type these commands to access cheats:

• F1 Z E N B U Enter F1 - All Weapons
• F1 K O N A M I Enter F1 - Get Vector Laser
• F1 B U T A K O Enter F1 - Get Up Laser
• F1 T A K O 1 8 T H Enter F1 - Get Rotary Drill
• F1 P A R O Enter F1 - Get Wrap Around
• F1 K A T A I Enter F1 - Increase Shield Durability (Does not work with ZENBU)

There are bonus stages in stages 1, 4, and 5.

Stages

Stage	Name	Mid-Boss	Boss	Music	Remix of
1	Ur Star	Big Moai	Big Penguin	Crime of Century	Concerto for Piano No. 1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
2	Game Star	Laser Rush	Jan Ken Pon	Right of Octopus	Moonlight Sonata, 3rd Movement by Ludwig van Beethoven
3	Annoying Star	Dirt Rush	Tenuki Tenuki Buzz	Illusion of Octopus	Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, 4th Movement by Edvard Grieg Fantaisie-Impromptu Op. 66 by Frédéric Chopin
4	Stray Star	Cute Bills	Maids	Crazy World	9th Symphony, "New World Symphony" by Antonín Leopold Dvořák The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers by Leon Jessel
5	Mystic Star	None	Ge Ge Ge Aunt	The Walts of Octopus	Swan Lake Suite by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
6	The Star	Organ	Bug	Fate of Octopus	Ride of The Valkyries by Wilhelm Richard Wagner 5th Symphony, 1st Movement by Ludwig van Beethoven
B	Extra Stage		Bug-Misfit Bug-Mayhem Bug-Abaddon	Sweet Emotion	March of The Toreadors by Georges Bizet Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt

Enemies

Flying Moai Penkichi Penguin Ducker Fried Fish Parent & Child Bee Chewing Moai Twisted Moon Munching Mine Amida Nyala

Amida Cookie Fireball Hammer Meteor Pokpo Grave Post Mole Zizou Guillotine "Z" Zudon Pusher