Parodius Da!
Title screen
| Developer: | Konami |
|---|---|
| Music: | Muraoka Kazuki |
| Program: | Tokuda Tsukasa |
| Art: | Gakincho, Touyou Syoutarou, Miyoshi Takemasa, Mory-Wandayu, Mikachan |
| Release date: | Arcade: April 25, 1990 Famicom: November 30, 1990 Gameboy: April 5, 1991 PC Engine: February 21, 1992 Super Famicom: July 3, 1992 PlayStation: December 3, 1994 Sega Saturn: May 19, 1995 |
| Previous game: | Trigon |
| Next game: | Thunder Cross II |
Parodius Da! (Japanese: Parodiusu Da! パロディウスだ！) is a shmup developed and published by Konami in 1990. It is the second installment in the Parodius series succeeding the less popular Parodius (Konami 1988) released on the MSX. It is the first of the three arcade games from the series followed by Gokujou Parodius (Konami 1994) and Sexy Parodius (Konami 1996).
Parodius Da! has received several console ports over the years, e.g. for the Super Nintendo, Sega Saturn or PlayStation - all of which differ significantly from the arcade original as well as from each other.
Contents
Gameplay Overview
Controls
Parodius Da! offers two different control styles which can be selected at the start of the game: Auto Power-Up (uses one button) and Manual Power-Up (uses three buttons).
| Auto Power-Up | Manual Power-Up | |
|---|---|---|
| A button | Select Power-Up | |
| B button | Primary weapon (shot/laser) Secondary weapon (missile) Bell power |
Primary weapon (shot/laser) |
| C button | Secondary weapon (missile) Bell power |
When Auto Power-Up is selected, the game will automatically power up the ship when enough capsules are collected.
Characters
There are four characters to choose from: Vic Viper, Octopus, Twin Bee and Pentarou. While the basic controls are the same, each of the characters has individual strengths and weaknesses due to the different Power Meters. Although preferences may vary, Pentarou is considered to be the hardest character to use.
Power Meter
The Power Meter system in Parodius Da! is directly inherited from the Gradius series. When the game begins, the Power Meter starts at position 0, i.e. no box of the Power Meter is highlighted. When the player picks up a red capsule, the Power Meter position is advanced by +1 and the next box in the Power Meter sequence will be highlighted. Upon pressing A, the ship receives the currently highlighted ability. Once an upgrade is activated, the Power Meter jumps back to position 0 again and the sequence starts anew.
When a red capsule is picked up when the Power Meter is at position 7 it will jump back to position 1.
The effects of the seven positions of the Power Meter are as follows.
| Position | Effect |
|---|---|
| Speed Up | Increases the speed of the character. This position can be selected up to 5 times to gradually increase the speed further. |
| Missile | Activates the secondary weapon which in most cases is useful against ground targets. The shot frequency is lower than Double or Laser. |
| Double | Activates the first of the two primary weapons. Depending on the character it gives greater coverage diagonally up or to the back. |
| Laser | Activates the second of the two primary weapons. Usually gives much greater screen coverage to the front and deals more damage than Double. |
| Option | Adds an option to the character. Each character can carry up to four helping options. |
| !? | The character is set back to the default state. All speed ups, weapons, options and the shield are removed immediately. |
| Shield | A shield is added which can protect against a number of hits from bullets or enemies/terrain. The shield has its own hitbox that is larger than the character itself. |
While Missile can be equipped in conjunction with Double or Laser, only one of the primary weapon (Double or Laser) can be selected at a time. Therefore, the player has to decide when to use Double and when Laser might be the better choice.
