Parodius is one of the most widely ported
Konami shmups; the original Parodius appeared on everything from the
MSX to the
Super Nintendo, each
port being slightly different. Not counting these, there are four in the series:
Parodius
Sexy Parodius (Parodius 2)
Gossip Parodius (Parodius 3)
Parodius 4
All but P4 are available on the Super Famicom, the Japanese SNES. The first Parodius also made an English appearance in the United Kingdom. P4 is on the Sony Playstation, along with Parowars, which is a strategy game featuring Parodius characters.
Hunting down a good SNES emulator such as ZSNES and the Parodius games is highly recommended if you like shmups; finding the original cartridgess and a converter even more so.
Aside from making fun of Gradius and other Konami games, Parodius has its own "traditions". Frex:
- In every game, there is a stage with a showgirl. You cannot kill her, but must pass through her legs. In the second game, the showgirl is two screens in height; in Parodius 3, she is part of a feudal-era Japan stage and turned into a geisha.
- Penguins figure very heavily into every game, as do whacked interpretations of Gradius "boss" characters.