3/24/2023 0 Comments Gradius 2 saturn has slowdownOne of my most satisfying gaming accomplishments in recent years has been getting to grips with the once feared Gradius saga. ![]() Author twentiethcenturygamer Posted on FebruFebruCategories Review, Super Famicom Tags 1994, arcade port, Castlevania, crossover, cute-'em-up, Ganbare Goemon, Gradius, Japan exclusive, Konami, Parodius, penguin, shooter, TwinBee, Upa, weird Leave a comment on Gokujō Parodius – Kako no Eikō o Motomete (Super Famicom) Gradius III (Super Nintendo) If you’ve ever wanted to fly through a colossal claw machine blowing up penguins to the tune of Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood” (and who hasn’t?), it’s got what you need. Simply put, Gokujō Parodius is another worthy entry in the series. Similarly, it shares their Achilles’ heel in the form of significant slowdown when the action gets intense, which is often. It has all the strengths of its brethren: Excellent graphics, a lively soundtrack based around various classical and public domain standards, the brilliant gameplay of Gradius, and an irrepressible sense of whimsy. With that, I’m actually running out of things to say already! How’s that for a change? Lest I be accused of phoning it in this week, however, allow me to emphasize that this is the third Parodius I’ve reviewed now. The other, a super difficult “special stage,” is a sort of post-credits Easter egg, so make sure not to switch the power off prematurely or you’ll miss out on the the true final boss. ![]() One of these is an extended battle against a moai head-studded space battleship that can only be accessed by if you have the correct digit occupying the hundreds place in your score when you defeat specific bosses. There are a total of nine levels to overcome this time, although two of them are cleverly hidden and it wouldn’t surprise me if many players never managed to find them back in the day. This world can always use more Ebisumaru. Each hero also has an alternate version usable in the game’s two-player mode, such as Goemon’s chubby sidekick, Ebisumaru. With every character having his, her, or its own unique suite of weapons, the replay value is immense. They join Parodius stalwarts like the Vic Viper, TwinBee, Pentarou the penguin, and Tako the octopus. New to this release are fighting infant Upa (from Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa), Goemon (from Ganbare Goemon), and Kid Dracula (from Akumajō Special: Boku Dracula-kun). And, no, that’s not a Spinal Tap reference. Whereas the arcade Gokujō Parodius offered eight “ships” to choose between, the Super Famicom cranks that up to eleven. ![]() Apart from that, the three look, sound, and play so alike that you could swap stages around between them without a casual fan even noticing. As the middle child on the system, it features a larger roster of playable characters than its predecessor, Parodius: Non-Sense Fantasy, and a smaller one then its successor, Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius. So it goes for Gokujō Parodius – Kako no Eikō o Motomete (“Fantastic Parodius – Pursue the Glory of the Past”), the 1994 Super Famicom port of the arcade game that debuted earlier that same year. There are a lot more sexy ladies and berserk octopuses to go around in Parodius, sure, but the fundamentals never really change. No matter which installment you pick up, you’re in for wacky horizontal shooting based on mechanics lifted straight from the company’s own Gradius and TwinBee franchises. Konami’s Parodius saga was nothing if not consistent.
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