Gokujō Parodius! ~Kako no Eikō o Motomete~ (極上パロディウス ~過去の栄光を求めて~ , lit. "Fantastic Parodius! ~Pursuing the Former Glory~"), released in Europe as Fantastic Journey, is a side-scrolling shooter arcade game and the third title in the Parodius series produced by Konami. Like the rest of the series, it is a parody of the Gradius series and other Konami games.
Plot[]
Once upon a time, there was something called "Glory of the Past", which was wonderful...
It is now 1994 AD. Four years after a parent-child fight involving the whole universe, the world was once again at peace thanks to the four brave men who defeated Takobee, the evil master. However, the brave ones were not welcomed by the world, and lived a lonely life.
One day, Mr. Parodius, who was lying on the cutting board of an octopus jar at home, having not yet healed from his wounds from the previous was, called his eldest son Takosuke.
"Could you search for the "Glory of the Past" for me? I'd like to see the good old days once more before an eagle picks me up and cooks me."
According to the rumors, an octopus named Yukari (also known as A-Ko Tako) in the "Parodius" Disco is hiding it. Upon hearing that, Takosuke took his favorite sun visor and ran out of home looking for the "Glory of the Past".
And thus, the Parodius Legion was formed again. Counting with Takosuke, Vic Viper, TwinBee and Pentaro, along with seven new friends. In search of the "Glory of the Past", Takosuke left with his ten friends!
Gameplay[]
Overall, the gameplay is identical to that of its predecessor, Parodius Da!, with several new characters to choose from. Also new is that if you play a two-player game, the second player will have a different set of characters to select. They are clones of the first player characters, except with different names and slightly altered sprites or changed color palettes.
The characters are:
- Vic Viper and Lord British
- Pentarou and Hanako
- TwinBee and WinBee
- Takosuke and Belial
- Hikaru and Akane
- Mambo and Samba
- Michael and Gabriel
- Koitsu and Aitsu
- Goemon and Ebisumaru
- Dracula-kun and Kid Dracula
- Upa and Rupa
- Akiko Sister-Chan
- Mr. Past Glory
In the Parodius series, starting with Gokujō Parodius!, the Power Meter was changed from a bar with the weapon names as text to a bar with pictures indicating the power-ups. This change doesn't appear in the SFC/SNES version, however. The borders of each icon determine the gameplay type chosen, red for auto, yellow for semi-auto, and blue for manual. As this kind of power meter is shorter, two separate power meters appear onscreen on a two player game.
When playing a two player game, shooting the other character enough times will cause it to get angry and fire shots in all directions for a short time. In the updated ports of Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius, this can be turned on or off in the options screen. Also, when a player has pressed continue, the game stops as the player chooses his/her character and the game type.
Stages[]
Stage | Name | Boss | Music | Remix of |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Circo Porto Harborland | Anna Pavlova and Melora | In The Crane Game Dancing Panda |
In the Mood by Joe Garland Turkey in the Straw (American folksong) Les Toreadors by Georges Bizet |
2 | Cat Battleship Forever | Cat Submarine Eliza and Neil |
Cat Battleship Forever I am Eliza |
Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa |
3 | Candy Land | Decoration Core | Athletics Cry for the Candies Cooking Mambo |
Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka by Johann Strauss Jr. Mambo No. 5 by Dámaso Pérez Prado |
4 | Traffic Signs | Crazy Core | Run! Run! Run! Theme of Crazy Core |
William Tell Overture by Gioacchino Rossini Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky |
5 | Core Ship Parade | Capsule Monster Cappuccino | Space Hit Parade Capsule Monster Cappuccino |
Yankee Doodle Ej Lucka, Lucka (Czech folksong) Mary Had a Little Lamb Der Flohwalzer London Bridge is Falling Down Picnic Rondo Alla Turca by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
X | Moai Battleship | Yoshiko | The Brothers' Ships Move Again Yoshiko and Yoshio's Love |
Ride of the Valkyries by Wilhelm Richard Wagner The Old Stone Age from Gradius II: GOFER no Yabō Zigeunerweisen by Pablo de Sarasate Symphony No. 25, 1st Movement by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
6 | The Moon | Princess Kaguya | What Do You See When You Are Jumping? Oh, Kaguya Princess! |
Jyuugoya Otsuki-san by Nagayo Motoori Kagome-kagome Sakura Sakura O-Edo Nihonbashi Toryanse Hanayome-Ningyou by Haseo Sugiyama Zui-Zui-Zukkorobashi |
7 | Disco | Chichibinta Rika Tako's Cutie |
Paro-Paro Dancing! The Final Enemy Aircraft Carrier |
New World Symphony, 4th Movement by Antonín Dvořák The Final Enemy from Gradius II Aircraft Carrier from Gradius II |
EX | Shooting Memories | Pentaro X | Shooting Memories Theme of Pentaro X |
Challenger 1985 (from Gradius) Bell Power Up BGM (from TwinBee) Power of Anger (from Salamander) Command 770 (from A-Jax) Aqua Illusion (from Gradius III) Sky Walker (from Thunder Cross) Burning Heat (from Gradius II) Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov |
Enemies[]
- Piyoko-chan and Kokekko
- Moai Formation
- Oikani-Maru
- Penguin Ducker
- Tobikichi
- Ran, Sue & Mike
- Prize S
- Peppi & Steve
- Torutoru Festival
- Joyful Penguin
- Konami Signboard
- Parent and Child "Zigzag"
- Dolphin Greets
- Penguicopter
- Fish-S (Mongarakawahagi, Katagi, Nikko, Yakko)
- Penguin Battery
- Adjani
- Anemone Chuck
- Diver Dutter
- Maikabon Natsumi
- Kitten Battleship
- Fusen's Toraro, Fusen's Torajiro, Fusen's Torasaburo
- Cake Cut Penguin
- Nyohou & Kiwi
- Cook Mole "Silver Spoon"
- Compey Tom
- Gribon & Skidteeth
- Big Marondee
- Jewelry Namba
- Bakuzan Sensei
- Chu Chu
- Baby Bottle
- Chuchu Carrier
- Skullmet, Akahachi, Yankee, Mask, Mohican, Sylvia, Heiji, Evening Gunman, Sapphire
- Ochiai Kuranosuke, Nara Deer, Exclamation Mark
- SD Big Core, SD Tetran, SD Crystal Core, SD Big Core MK-II, SD Covered Core
- Crystal Ball
- Color Board Jr.
- Zub
- Pabo, Pibo, Pubo & Pebo
- Nipponia Nipopo
- Bun Corps 3 O'clock Snack
- Usatan Rocket
- Rabbiducker
- Jumping Rabbit
- Teahouse Hatch
- The Only "Bunnyman" In The World
- Kine & Ussuu
- Immortal Pot
- Bee
- Mirror Ball
- Bakke
- Penguin Hatch MK-II
- Bata Bata
- Moai No. 1
- Cyber Moai (Moai No. 2)
- Moai No. 3 & Moai No. 4
- Moai Hatch
- Yoshida-kun
- Captain Moai
- Bacon Bacon
- Gomabou
- Option Hunter
- Tako Cells X
- Soap
- 16BIT Board
Ports[]
Gokujō Parodius! was ported to the Super Famicom in 1994. The only significant difference between the console and the arcade version was added characters: Goemon/Ebisumaru from Ganbare Goemon, Dracula-kun/Kid-D from Kid Dracula, and Upa and Rupa from Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa.
Weapon differences in the SNES release[]
Hikaru and Akane get the Tailgun, the Boomerang Shot from Thunder Cross, another shooter game by Konami, and a Shield instead of the Spread Bomb, the Carrot Shot and a force field called Star that they get in the arcade version, as well as on the Deluxe Pack released for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Similarly, Mambo and Samba are given Homing Missiles, the Reflect Shot (which gives them two options when chosen), Grade Up and a Shield instead of the Bubble Missile, the Control Laser, Search Laser and a force field known as Barrier.
Other releases[]
Gokujō Parodius! was also ported along with Parodius Da! in the Gokujō Parodius Da! Deluxe Pack for PlayStation in 1994 and Sega Saturn in 1995. This compilation was released in Japan and Europe as Ultimate Parodius, with Parodius Da! simply titled Parodius and Gokujō Parodius as Fantastic Journey. The European release had English texts when the Megaphone is used and re-colored the mini Eagle Sabu enemies to green (as opposed to brown in the Japanese version).
It was also released on mobile phones and included in Parodius Portable (although in the latter release some of the songs were removed due to copyright issues).
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Inside the arcade ROM, there are two additional pieces of music that went unused. Both a stage and boss theme are listed, and are repeated multiple times within the ROM, suggesting they were possibly placeholder pieces. The two music tracks are Je Te Veux and "Habanera" from Carmen.
Gokujō Parodius! ~Kako no Eikō o Motomete~ | ||
Characters | Takosuke and Belial • Vic Viper and Lord British • Pentaro and Hanako • TwinBee and WinBee • Hikaru and Akane • Mambo and Samba • Michael and Gabriel • Koitsu and Aitsu • Goemon and Ebisumaru • Dracula-kun and Kid Dracula • Upa and Rupa • Mr. Past Glory | |
Stages | Circo Porto Harborland • Cat Battleship Forever • Candy Land • Traffic Signs • Core Ship Parade • Moai Battleship • The Moon • Disco • Shooting Memories | |
Bosses | Anna Pavlova • Cat Submarine • Eliza • Decoration Core • Crazy Core • Capsule Monster Cappuccino • Yoshiko • Princess Kaguya • Chichibinta Rika • Tako's Cutie • Pentaro X |
Gradius video games | ||
Gradius series | Gradius • Gradius II • Gradius III • Gradius Gaiden • Gradius IV: Fukkatsu • Gradius Galaxies • Gradius V • Gradius ReBirth • Gradius: The Interstellar Assault • Gradius NEO • Gradius NEO Imperial | |
Spin-offs | Salamander (Life Force) (MSX ver.)• Salamander 2 • Nemesis 2 (Nemesis '90 Kai) • Nemesis 3 • Nemesis (Game Boy) • Cosmic Wars • Solar Assault | |
Parody games | Parodius • Parodius Da! • Gokujō Parodius! • Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius • Sexy Parodius • Paro Wars • Otomedius (Otomedius Gorgeous) • Otomedius Excellent | |
Other games | Scramble • Thunder Cross • Thunder Cross II • Space Manbow • Force Gear | |
Pachislot | Gradius: The Slot • CR Parodius Da! EX • Gokuraku Parodius! | |
Cancelled | Vic Viper • Gradius Arc • Salamander HD Remaster |