- This article is about the 1988 MSX game. For the 1990 game that was marketed outside of Japan as "Parodius", see Parodius Da!
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
Parodius | ||
Characters | Tako • Vic Viper • Penta • Goemon • Popolon | |
Stages | Ur Star • Game Star • Annoying Star • Stray Star • Mystic Star • The Star • Extra Stage | |
Bosses | Big Moai • Big Penguin • Bug-Misfit • Jan Ken Pon • Tenuki Tenuki Buzz • Cute Bills • Maids • Bug-Mayhem • Ge Ge Ge Aunt • Bug-Abaddon • Organ • Bug |
Gradius video games | ||
Gradius series | Gradius • Gradius II • Gradius III • Gradius Gaiden • Gradius IV: Fukkatsu • Gradius Galaxies • Gradius V • Gradius ReBirth • Gradius: The Interstellar Assault • Gradius NEO • Gradius NEO Imperial | |
Spin-offs | Salamander (Life Force) (MSX ver.)• Salamander 2 • Nemesis 2 (Nemesis '90 Kai) • Nemesis 3 • Nemesis (Game Boy) • Cosmic Wars • Solar Assault | |
Parody games | Parodius • Parodius Da! • Gokujō Parodius! • Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius • Sexy Parodius • Paro Wars • Otomedius (Otomedius Gorgeous) • Otomedius Excellent | |
Other games | Scramble • Thunder Cross • Thunder Cross II • Space Manbow • Force Gear | |
Pachislot | Gradius: The Slot • CR Parodius Da! EX • Gokuraku Parodius! | |
Cancelled | Vic Viper • Gradius Arc • Salamander HD Remaster |