Penta

Penta
Japanese name	ペン太 Penta
Personal information
Species	Penguin
Gender	Male
Relatives	Penko (girlfriend) Pentaro (son)
Firstappearance	Nemesis 2 (1987)
Appearances	Nemesis 2 Parodius

Penta (ペン太, Penta) is the protagonist of the Antarctic Adventure series, appearing as a playable character in the original Parodius. On subsequent games he is replaced by his son Pentaro.

History

Penta originally had no occupation, as in Antarctic Adventure he was marooned on the southern most continent, and having lost contact with his family, was trying to return home. In Penguin Adventure, he was charged with the task of traveling through the "dream continent" to find the golden apple which would cure the disease that Penguin Princess Penguette (Penko in Japan), Penguin's girlfriend and Pentarou's mother, had come down with. On the original Parodius, Penta helps Tako on his journey to defeat Bug, wanting to impress Penko.

In Yume Penguin Monogatari, Penta has grown severely obese, to the point that his girlfriend Penko is dumping him for another penguin named Ginji. The game followed the struggle of Penta losing weight by finding various diet drinks and exercising. However Ginji was determined to keep Penko and so he sent enemies after Penta to force feed him. At the conclusion of the game Penko reveals herself to be overweight to the now-fit Penta. Penta slaps his own head in disbelief.

Penta is known to have had one girlfriend/mate, Penguette (Penko-Hime, ペン子姫) as a result of the journey he faced in Penguin Adventure, who is the mother of Pentarou. In the manual for Parodius on the MSX, it states that Penguin has earned many female fans from his appearances in PC games, causing Penko (here labeled as Penko-chan) to be jealous. In addition, his duties with the Space Fighters had made him uncomfortable in his relationship with Penko.

Appearances

• 1983 - Antarctic Adventure (MSX, ColecoVision, NES) – Protagonist
• 1985 - Konami's Ping Pong (arcade) – Protagonist
• 1986 - Penguin Adventure (MSX) – Protagonist
• 1986 - Konami Game Master (MSX)
• 1986 - Moero TwinBee: Cinnamon-hakase o Sukue! (NES) – Appears as secret item, worth 1,000 points.
• 1987 - Nemesis 2 (MSX) – If you put in Penguin Adventure into slot 2, you play as Penta.
• 1988 - Konami Wai Wai World (Famicom/Mobile Phone) - In a brief cameo, he operates a special transportation device that sends the main character to one of the game's six main levels. The mobile phone version of Wai Wai World (2006) replaces King Kong with Penta and an Antarctic stage.
• 1988 - Parodius (MSX) – One of the selectable characters
• 1988 - Game Master 2 (MSX)
• 1988 - Konami no Uranai Sensation (MSX2)
• 1989 - Ganbare Goemon 2 (Famicom) - It may appear as an enemy if you buy a game cartridge in level 5 at the Konami store.
• 1989 - Hai no Majutsushi (MSX2) – One of the selectable characters.
• 1989 - Ganbare Pennant Race (Famicom)
• 1991 - Wai Wai World 2: SOS!! Parsley Castle (Famicom) – He makes a brief cameo between stages.
• 1991 - Yume Penguin Monogatari (Famicom) – Obese protagonist
• 1991 - Tsurikko Penta (arcade)
• 1992 - Imo Hori Penta (arcade)
• 2019 - Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls (Mobile)
• 2019 - Frogger in Toy Town (Mobile) - Appears as a toy cameo.

Gallery

Penta in Antartic Adventure

Penta in Yume Penguin Monogatari

Penta in Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls

Penta in Frogger in Toy Town

Trivia

• In Konami's beat-'em-up Violent Storm, there's an arcade game under the name "Penta".
• Roald from the Animal Crossing series shares the same name as Penta in Japanese.

External links

• Penta at the Antarctic Adventure Wiki