Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius is the fourth game in a series of parody shooters produced by Konami. The gameplay is stylistically very similar to the Gradius series, but the graphics and music are intentionally absurd. The game, as its name would suggest, contains a large amount of Japanese voice samples shouted out in a style similar to that of a game show host. Unlike the previous two titles, Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius was not created as an arcade game. It was first released on the Super Famicom in 1995 and then ported and updated for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn as Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius ~ forever with me ~ in 1996.
GAMEPLAY:
As stated above, gameplay is very similar to the Gradius series, with a few exceptions. For one, there is an impressive array of characters to choose from. Each one of these characters utilizes different weapons and abilities as you obtain power-ups. The second main difference is the addition of bell power-ups, from the Twinbee series. These bells act as one-time power-ups, allowing you to destroy every enemy on screen, fire huge beams of energy, etc.
PLAYABLE CHARACTERS:
- This time around there are 16 different characters to chose from and the power-ups and weapons that they use are more unique than ever. Several familiar "faces" return and they've brought along friends to share in the party: Vic Viper: The "gradius ship" appears once again in this gradius parody, equipped with it's traditional gradius weapons
- Lord British: The "other" Gradius ship and arguably the more famous of the two. Lord British has weapons similar to Vic but quite different also.Missiles and shields work differently for instance. And Lord British uses a Ripple gun instead of a double shot.
- Pentaro: It just wouldn't be a Parodius game if Pentaro wasn't involved. Originally from Konami's Penguin Adventure, Pentaro retains the same abilities from previous Parodius games... however his Potion weapon may now hit multiple enemies and his normal weapon shots explode against obstacles
- Hanako: Also from Penguin Adventure, Hanako the penguin is Pentaro's girlfriend. While Pentaro is blue, she is the red penguin. She plays nearly identical to Pentaro with the exception of her S. Bomb weapon
- Twinbee: Twinbee, from the Twinbee games is another returning Parodius star. Unfortunately he hasn't been upgraded since previous games, so his weapons are nearly identical; Punching Glove Rocket and all...
- Winbee: Winbee, also from Twinbee is red and has moves identical to Twinbee, except for one difference... when she has 3 Options available, she can power them up to harm enemies that touch them.
- Tako: Again, it just wouldn't be a parodius game without a flying octopus. And here he is, still wearing a baseball cap, but otherwise unchanged from previous Parodius games.
- Belial: A yellow female octopus with a bow in her hair, she is identical to Tako with the exception of her Missile and Double weapons... which are instead identical to the Vic Viper.
- Soitsu: A stickman (now green) surfing aboard a paper airplane, Soitsu plays similar to Koitsu from the previous game, aside from his colour. His laser weapon is able to charge up to deliver more power and he drops little stickmen onto the ground which occasionally dance around rather than attacking. Additionally he has an "upgrade power" (S. Power) that make all his other abilities stronger
- Doitsu: Similar to Soitsu but with a Double Laser ability. He is an orange stickman riding on a paper airplane and no "upgrade" power, using normal options instead
- Upa: Upa aka The Flying Baby is back from the previous Parodius game (as well as his original game, Bokutte Upa) and plays nearly the same. Instead of a shield, he has a Mega Crush power that damages all on-screen enemies... and also has an "Upgrade Power" in the form of Grade Up that makes his other abilities stronger.
- Rupa: Another flying baby (presumably also from Bokutte Upa), Rupa plays similar tot Upa but with a Multi Spread gun which fires missiles in multiple directions (with each upgrade) and a S.Vulcan gun which automatically aims towards enemies.
- Mike: A cute little kitten who happens to to have a very powerful wave weapon which can travel through obstacles and enemies. Additionally he has a multiple bomb ability which requires his "upgrade ability" (Grade Up) to get really powerful
- Rani: Another cute kitten (this one rolled onto his bottom facing forward) with very power weaponry. Some of the highlights include a Reflect weapon wherein the shots bounce off of obstacles. Another is the S laser which travels forward but then homes in Up or Down to hit the enemy. And finally, Rani's missile weapon is two homing bells. Rani also has an "upgrade ability" in the form of Grade Up, however it only upgrades the Reflect Shot.
- Memim: One of the fairy characters, Memim is a female flying girl with standard female bikini clothing. She carries some unique missile weapons however, whose direction is determined by Memim's current location on the screen when fired.
- Sue: The other fairy with tight clothing, Sue is unique in that her weapons are upgraded/displayed in a different order from everybody else's in the game. For instance her Option is the 4th weapon on the list rather than the 6th... requiring less power-ups to activate it. However aside from that... all of her weapons are the exact same as the Vic Viper's.
MUSIC:
The music in Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius is also unique. It ranges from a remix of the 70's disco song "That's the Way I Like It," to remixes of Bach, to sped-up versions of tunes from other Konami games. All of the songs are done in a unique style, with loud saw wave synths and fluctuating BPM. The music was produced by the Konami Kukeiha Club.
This game was ported for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1996 with the title, Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius: forever with me. This port not only added improved graphics and sound from the Super Famicom game, but some altered levels and bosses, including a cheat to replace 'Tokimeki People's Dance' with an enhanced version, 'Days Of The Dream's Memories'. Also added were several "Omake" stages and an unlockable Dracula-kun and Kid Dracula as a playable character. In a two-player game, both players can now choose to play simultaneously instead of just alternately in the Super Famicom game.
Manufacturer's description:
Nori popular music content and a good shooter into colorful comical SFC live audio chat live version of Parodius ?a? arrange transplants. Ekusutorasuteji additional characters and new operations, including the ability to save in the middle, all powered up significantly. The adventure starts with a large hammer laugh again reborn as a new toys!
Features:
- Third person perspective.
- 2D graphics
- Cartoon graphics
- Fantasy theme.
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