The story doesn't make any sense.

But before I dive right into why I believe Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius is such a fine specimen of a game missing from the hands of American gamers, let me quickly explain the series' appeal in Japan. In the mid-1980s, Konami created one of their more famous, though not exactly prolific, game series: Gradius. It is a very typical but beloved horizontal shoot-em-up, filled with barrages of annoying bullets and gigantic bosses. The gray flying ship, Vic Viper, was also notable in this series. But Konami sometimes dared to do something very few developers are willing to try: they made fun of themselves. Thus spoke Parodius, a portmanteau of the shmup staple "Gradius" and the term "parody". The Parodius series follows the same general style as Gradius: it's a side-scrolling flight shoot-em-up (often referred to under the guise of the term "shmup" for simplicity's sake) where, as you defeat certain enemies (mostly red ones), you can absorb power-ups that you can use to help equip your ship with the finest arsenal available. Missiles, weapon upgrades, and extra optional ships to surround you will help to add to your firepower (and help keep you alive). As you fly through various stages, be prepared to dodge bullets and obstacles from all angles, and be prepared to tackle bosses much larger and powerful than you are. That's pretty much the general idea. There isn't really a direct goal in Parodius, except to make it to the end of the game (which most games seem to desire as well...). Thnakfully, the controls are tight enough to make your journey a little easier... but only to that minor degree. Most Parodius games end by having your character destroy a giant nasty-looking -- but generally harmless -- octopus creature, this one being no exception. However, the parody issue doesn't stop at Gradius! Parodius games go so far as to poke fun at a variety of Konami games, including their fun Goemon series, and the aforementioned Tokimeki Memorial, often creating entire stages devoted to those games. As well, classical and modern music is sometimes given a lighthearted re-arrangement to liven up stages. Yes, Parodius is indeed a thrilling series... if you enjoy shmups and weird Japanese culture references. Many American gamers do not; as a result, we never received any Parodius games. So here we are, having to look overseas with a magic telescope to witness the joy.

As I said before, "Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius" is the fourth entry in the series. It certainly does its name justice for two reasons. First, the name translates roughly to "Chatting Parodius Live". This is very true because featured within the cartridge is a special voice chip that contains numerous voice samples from a Japanese announcer. As you progress through the game, the announcer will shout various things at you (none of which I understand due to my lack of Japanese comprehension skills), as though it is live commentary. It is a novel feature, but sadly, the voice's tolerability factor only lasts about two minutes and then it's simply irritating. I was able to mentally block it fairly well, and I hope that you have the straightforward willpower do the same. Secondly, the game lives up to the high humour standards set by predecessors of the Parodius standards. Everything that makes the series strange is present. Giant octopi? Check. Parodies of other stuff? Check, with jabs at Tokimeki Memorial, Goemon, the freaky Moai heads from Gradius games, kabuki culture... heck, even K.C. and the Sunshine Band gets the wacky-pants treatment. Take Goemon for example (as I enjoy doing, for the Goemon series is equally amusing). In one of the later stages of the game, the boss is a giant Goemon head that fires off bombs that resemble his unusual associate, Ebisumaru. Hurt him enough and he will transform into a female Goemon! That's weird! Perhaps even more unusual is the occasional bit of sexuality that appears in the game. For example, some enemies bear trenchcoats and open them up like a flasher, revealing a fuzzed-out genital region! And let's not forget to mention the rather large-breasted boss character... These are the types of things that are more accepted in Japan, but frowned upon here.

The graphics are definitely nice and colourful and make good use of the Super Famicom's limited palette. All of the sprites are well-illustrated and usually have several frames of animation; the bosses are also very large (thus being comprised of many sprites in sync with each other) and bear a unique Japanese flair. There is even an entire stage filled with three-dimensional polygons that can be manipulated via a special graphics chip. There is quite some advanced technology afoot! Some of the backgrounds capture an amusing style of parodying other games or cultural aspects, although in between main stages, the backgrounds are very star-filled and generally unimpressive (that is the trend with all Parodius games, it seems). As for audio, I already discussed the announcer voice, which is still only comical for a couple of minutes. The rest of the sound effects are decent, though not spectacular. The game's soundtrack bears a sort of carnival feeling, taking classical music, modern hits, and songs from other games alike, and remixing them into an upbeat mix. Because the stages are not particularly lengthy, the tunes will not wear out their welcome prematurely.