REVIEW: Parodius 1992 SNES
	By: Konami Type: Shoot 'em up Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium

This then, is a parody on the popular Gradius games. Or rather, it's a Gradius game on cocaine. Now, the Gradius games are good, solid fun indeed, but throw in a horde of squids and penguins, mix in a good helping of over-the-top surrealism, and you have what seems like a comletely new experience. Such is the emphasis on mischievous cutesy wierdness, that the bizarre tone of the game almost single-handedly makes it worth playing.
 
Examples: a squadron of smooching lips, a battle cruiser with a kitten's head, volcanoes that shoot eggplants and a rampaging pinball machine are just some of the foes you must face. Sounds unusual? Well, it is. It's not like anything you've played before. Parodius is a unique, mindwarping shooting-trip.
 
But of course, just wierdo graphics aren't enough, there needs to be a game in there as well. The good news is, Parodius knows this, and there is a game hiding underneath it's cover of freakiness. And a very good game, at that. Basically, it's just the Gradius engine and we all know how well that works. There are a few little additions, though. Parodius features some extra power-ups that aren't used in the Gradius game, and adds the twist of having four different little madmen to play as. However, as a game good and proper, Gradius is more taxing and involving. Parodius is just a little bit more shallow and easy-going than it's more serious sibling. But the again, Gradius never had a shampooing octopus.
 

The weird cat ship boss...

Special mention must go out to the excellent presentation. The enormous, colourful graphics still remain impressive today, and the music is a stroke of genius. I raved like a nutter about Gradius 3 's music, but I'm going to be even worse here. I simply adore the Parodius music. For each level, there's a famous piece of classical music, re-mixed with heavy beats and a very modern feel pumping away in the background, and it works brilliantly. Ah, the bliss of blasting penguins in a hot-tub with a trance-techno-metal-funk Guiseppe Lasagna Verdi in the background! Thank heavens for a sound test allowing you to enjoy the upbeat tunes whenever you want to.
 
Rounding off, Parodius is a good, solid game elevated to the status of an excellent game by it's unique, surreal flavour. Forget Star Wars, Gundam Wing, Macross and perhaps even Evangelion: the future is penguins in space! - Toasty 93%
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