History VideoGame / Parodius

* ShoutOut: In addition to the [[{{Expy}} exported characters]] and ShootEmUp homages, many of the stages, starting in ''Gokujō Parodius'', are on other Konami properties, including but not limited to ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial'', ''VideoGame/GanbareGoemon'', ''VideoGame/LethalEnforcers'', ''Taisen Puzzle Dama'', ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'', ''VideoGame/YieArKungFu'', and ''[[VideoGame/LivePowerfulProBaseball Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyuu]]''.

* BattleshipRaid: A giant Moai battleship is encountered in ''Parodius Da!'', and appearas again in ''Gokujō Parodius''. On front of the Moai battleship is a giant Moai that wears CoolShades and shoots boogers out of its nose at you, along with the typical energy ring attack of the Moai.

* RecurringBoss: If a boss has appeared in the series, chances are that it will show up again in another game. Mind you, not all bosses return ever game. Some are forgotten and not seen again until Konami wakes the hell up and goes back to see what else they made. The Cat Battleship has seen the most appearances, having appeared from ''Non-Sense Fantasy'' all the way to ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius!'', and that's not even getting into some of the other bosses.
* RefugeInAudacity: Being a wacky parody of the serious ''Gradius'' games, enemy spacecraft, aliens, and biological horrors are replaced with cute penguins, chickens, and cats. The Vic Viper and Lord British are rendered in a chibi style, while other player characters include neutered cats, bunny girls flying on torpedoes, and stickmen flying on paper airplanes with a ''condom'' as a shield. ''Sexy Parodius'' increases the wackiness by including giant women and a shapeshifting tanuki with a set of large testicles. There are also flashing Moais from ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius'', complete with pixelated genitalia...

!!No one ever reads this line:

* ComebackMechanic: You're blazing through the level, sporting a variety of weapons and powerups, and suddenly you make a mistake! You [[CollisionDamage crash into something]] or are [[BulletHell shot down]]. Since gathering all of those goodies to get back up to speed is a pain, the game takes ''some'' pity on you by having your exploding ship release a whole set of Bells upon death --which usually contain at least one Green Bell, a White one, or both, both of which are very destructive and confer either invincibility or the ability to absorb shots. You may also get a mercy Speed Up to help you catch up.

* DynamicDifficulty: Inherited from ''Gradius''. The better you're doing, and the more powerups you have equipped, the less mercy the game will present to you (at least until [[ComebackMechanic you're shot down]]). Then, when you get shot down and lose everything, the game ''instantly'' decreases the amounts of foes on-screen and may toss in a few freebies to give you a chance to recover.
** Often how long you last without dying has a permanent effect on difficulty as well. If you die on the second stage, the game decides that you must be a bad player, and will cap the difficulty fairly low afterwards. You first death on stage 4? The difficulty will climb back up to where it was before afterwards.

* PublicDomainSoundtrack: Most of the background music is based on classical and folk music. Everything else is a remix of ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'' 's soundtracks, such as "Dark Force" (''Gradius III'' 's boss theme) and "Aircraft Carrier" (''Gradius I'' 's boss theme, used for boss rushes) music. Others still are from other Konami properties, like the remixes of ''Castlevania'' music (mainly from ''Kid Dracula'') and even Brilliant2u ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' that replaced KC and the Sunshine Band's "That's the Way I Like It" in the PSP collection.

* RefugeInAudacity: Being a wacky parody of the serious ''Gradius'' games, enemy spacecraft, aliens, and biological horrors are replaced with cute penguins, chickens, and cats. The Vic Viper and Lord British are rendered in a chibi style, while other player characters include neutered cats, bunny girls flying on torpedoes, and stickmen flying on paper airplanes with a ''condom'' as a shield. Using a condom as a shield (for the stick figures on airplanes)? ''Sexy Parodius'' increases the wackiness by including giant women and a shapeshifting tanuki with a set of large testicles. There are also flashing Moais from ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius'', complete with pixelated genitalia...
* ReReleaseSoundtrack: The song that was used originally in the first stage of ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius'' -- "That's the Way (I Like It)", by KC & The Sunshine Band -- was changed in the PSP version to the song "[=Brilliant2U=]" by Naoki Maeda, presumably to avoid copyright issues, since it's an American song. This happened to other tracks in the collection as well. Prior to it, the Platform/PlayStation and Platform/SegaSaturn release of ''Sexy Parodius'' replaced a arrangement of "El Bimbo" with "Symphony No. 40". The same thing was also done for "In the Mood" and "Mambo No. 5" in ''Gokujō Parodius'', along with ''Sexy Parodius'' during the Otohime boss battle, "Mayim Mayim" is replaced with "Korobeiniki".

* TakingYouWithMe: Decoration Core MK II, or also known as Lips (Stage 5 boss) in ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius'' tries to do this after defeating it. If you know this is coming, you won't have trouble avoiding it. Of course, one must be careful of suicide bullets too...

* WhatTheHellPlayer: Normally, bosses have a pop-up telling you [[AttackItsWeakPoint where to shoot]]. In ''Sexy Parodius'', if you try shooting the tanuki boss in the groin, it tells you NOT to shoot there, since it's the ''wrong'' type of weak spot...

* ZeroEffortBoss: The final boss in most games is this. This is given since this is a parody of ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'', after all. The final boss from ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius'' downplays this, as the boss can kill you, but still is intentionally weak. Bug from ''The Octopus Saves the Earth'' is the exception.

* BattleshipRaid: With Moais and all.

* CameraAbuse: The ending of ''It's Parodius!/Parodius: Non-Sense Fantasy.''

* CoolShades: The front face of the Moai Battleship likes wearing them.

* {{Eagleland}} (Flavor 1): Eagle Sabu, a bald eagle dressed as Uncle Sam, serves as a boss in ''Non-Sense Fantasy.''
* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Intentional due to its ridiculous premise.
* ExcusePlot: Most of the ''Parodius'' games [[NoPlotNoProblem have no actual plot]]; ''Sexy Parodius'' has a weak one, with Takosuke organizing an agency with the characters in the previous games to handle troubles for clients, all of which involve fighting goofy mooks and bosses.

* FlyAtTheCameraEnding: Parodied (of course) in ''Non-Sense Fantasy.'' After having destroyed the Bacterian base, our hero flies at the camera and... [[CameraAbuse smashes]] the screen! [[http://www.vazcomics.org/mamend/P/parodius.htm See for yourself]]!

* HopelessBossFight: Chichibinta Rika is a mid-boss, but still fits. Much like the Shadow Dancer, you can't defeat her; you can only avoid her attempts to crush you.

* InstantBandages: American Eagle, upon being defeated, receives bandages on his body.
* InvincibleMinorMinion: The 16-Bit Block, a UniqueEnemy that only shows up near the end of ''Gokujō Parodius''. It's completely impossible to destroy in the few seconds that it appears on screen; it has 65536 HP, and any attack it takes only deals ScratchDamage. The regular enemies it's a GiantMook of also qualify, save for the one in each set that has only 16 HP instead of 256.

* MoonRabbit: Moon bunny stage!

* [[PlayboyBunny Playboy Bunnies]]: Hikaru and Akane.

* RefugeInAudacity: Neutered cats? Bunny girls flying on torpedoes? Using a condom as a shield (for the stick figures on airplanes)? And that's even before getting into the contents of ''Sexy Parodius''. There are also flashing Moais from ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius'', complete with pixelated genitalia...

* SapientShip: [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} Vic Viper and Lord British]] seem to be sapient beings, rather than mere ships with pilots in them. Because of the [[AffectionateParody nature]] of the game series, this is played up for comedy.

* ShoutOut: Even past the [[{{Expy}} exported characters]] and ShootEmUp homages. Starting with the third game, many levels have been based on other Konami properties, including but not limited to ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial'', ''VideoGame/GanbareGoemon'', ''VideoGame/LethalEnforcers'', ''Taisen Puzzle Dama'', ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'', ''VideoGame/YieArKungFu'', and ''[[VideoGame/LivePowerfulProBaseball Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyuu]]''.

* StockSoundEffects: Dozens of anime(''Manga/FairyTail'' being one of the most infamous) and Website/YouTube videos use the "wow" sound effect from ''Parodius Da!'', usually when emphasizing a fanservice scene.
* StoneWall: The 16-bit block. Easy to avoid, impossible to kill.

* BackFromTheDead: Even though you clearly see him dead in a previous game, [[spoiler: Penguinofsky III, the penguin captain,]] comes back in Sexy Parodius as part of a boss rush.

* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever:
** In ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius,'' giant versions of Hikaru and Akane become the level 2 boss. Also, Rika Chichibinita, the giant Vegas dancer, in almost every game save the MSX ''Parodius'' and ''Sexy Parodius''. You also fight giant mermaids, eagles, octopodes, pandas, etc.
** If you snag a Green Bell powerup, your character is temporarily enlarged and made invincible. Although your weapons are disabled, you can simply fly into everything to inflict heavy CollisionDamage.

* GiantWoman : Numerous examples in the series due to its raunchy humor. There's Chichibinta Rika, who appears in most of the games, the giant mermaid Eliza from ''Gokujō Parodius'', Honey from ''Parodius Da!'', "Enormous Hikaru and Akane" from ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius''...
** ''Sexy Parodius'' has Medusa, Tanuko the Tanuki (whenever it transforms into its female form), Yuko, and the final boss Kaori [[spoiler:whose only action kills the actual main villain for you]].

* CoolOldGuy: According to ''Non-Sense Fantasy,'' [[SapientShip Vic Viper]] is 58 years old, and his upgrades are pretty average compared with the other characters, but he is also the only character that appears from the first ''Parodius'' to ''Sexy Parodius.''

* AttackDrone: Many of the characters here have options.

* SelfParody: To ''Gradius''.

* AnnouncerChatter: ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius'' has Tako from the early Parodius-games featured as the game's resident narrator, who won't shut up about anything you do. This is a nod to Konami's ''Live'' sports game series from that time: ''International Superstar Soccer'' and ''Live Powerful Pro Baseball''.

''Parodius'' is a series of Main/ShootEmUp video games by {{Creator/Konami}}. The word "Parodius" is a portmanteau of "parody" and "''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}''". It plays much [[Self-Parody like the series it parodies]], but [[LighterAndSofter cuter]] and [[DenserAndWackier sillier]], while also [[AffectionateParody poking fun at other Konami games and other popular culture]]. Many of the characters are drawn from other Konami games, including the [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} Vic Viper]] (whose [[AttackDrone Option]] is itself playable in ''Sexy Parodius''), VideoGame/{{Twinbee}}, [[VideoGame/GanbareGoemon Goemon]], Pentarou the Penguin,[[note]]Who's the son of ''Penta Penguin'' from [[VideoGame/AntarcticAdventure Antarctic Adventure-series]][[/note]] VideoGame/KidDracula, and [[VideoGame/{{BioMiracleBokutteUpa}} Upa the Baby Prince]].

''Parodius'' is a series of Main/ShootEmUp video games by {{Creator/Konami}}. The word "Parodius" is a portmanteau of "parody" and "''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}''". It plays much like the series it parodies, but much [[LighterAndSofter fluffier]] and [[DenserAndWackier sillier]]. Many of the characters are drawn from other Konami games, including the [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} Vic Viper]] (whose [[AttackDrone Option]] is itself playable in ''Sexy Parodius''), VideoGame/{{Twinbee}}, [[VideoGame/GanbareGoemon Goemon]], Pentarou the Penguin,[[note]]Who's the son of ''Penta Penguin'' from [[VideoGame/AntarcticAdventure Antarctic Adventure-series]][[/note]] VideoGame/KidDracula, and [[VideoGame/{{BioMiracleBokutteUpa}} Upa the Baby Prince]].

* AffectionateParody: of ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'', hence the name.
** ''Parodius! From Myth To Laughter'' shamelessly uses a remix of the attract mode music... and some versions outright ''borrow'' the entire attract mode, from ''Gradius II''.
** Sometimes of other properties: the Moai Battleship is most likely a parody of ''VideoGame/RType'''s infamous huge spaceship from the 3rd level.
** The entirety of ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius'' parodies other Konami's popular properties at the time.

* GiantWoman : The Parodius series ''loves'' this trope. There's Chichibinta Rika, who appears in most of the games, the giant mermaid Eliza from ''Gokujō Parodius'', Honey from ''Parodius Da!'', "Enormous Hikaru and Akane" from ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius''...

Compare ''VideoGame/HarmfulPark'' and ''VideoGame/BoogieWings'', similarly psychedelic, insanity-fueled arcade shumps released in the 90s after then success of ''Parodius''.

* AttackDrone: Well, many of the characters here have options. Although in the last game, you can play as Option itself.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''VideoGame/{{Otomedius}}'' seems to be this, with two of the ''Parodius'' bosses appearing in ''Otomedius Gorgeous'' (Eliza the Mermaid and Yoshiko, Empress of Easter Island respectively). The latest uses of the ''Parodius'' name are with pachinko and pachislot games.

** In ''Sexy Parodius'', after defeating the boss of the girl factory stage 3, its penguin operator will exit and shoot a machine gun. The machine gun bullets are extremely short-ranged, but if you are either too close or tempt fate, the bullets will kill you, forcing you to restart the boss fight.

** If you snag a Green Bell powerup, your character is temporarily enlarged and made absolutely invincible. Although your weapons are disabled, you can simply fly into everything to inflict very heavy CollisionDamage.

* BattleshipRaid: With moais and all.

* MarshmallowHell: An actual attack of a boss in ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius.'' Mind you, the fact that the "chest" consists of [[TorpedoTits two missiles]] makes it considerably deadlier.
* MeaningfulName: The game is a '''parody''' of '''Gradius'''. Hence the {{portmanteau}} title, Parodius.

* PoisonMushroom: The "!?"/"OH!" powerup, which takes away all your powerups. It mainly exists to add risk to using the powerup roulette.

* RefugeInAudacity: Neutered cats? Bunny girls flying on torpedoes? Using a condom as a shield (for the stick figures on airplanes)? And that's even before getting into the contents of ''Sexy Parodius''.
** The most blatant example of the trope may be the flashing Moai's from ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius'', complete with pixellated genitalia...

* SapientShip: [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} Vic Viper and Lord British]] seem to be sapient beings, rather than mere ships with pilots in them. Of course, this being ''Parodius'', this is played up for comedy.
* SchoolSettingSimulation: One of the stages in ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius'' is set in a parody of ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial''. Notably, this ''also'' is the only stage which, on most versions, has an optional vocal theme.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''VideoGame/{{Otomedius}}'' seems to be this, what with two of the Parodius bosses appearing in ''Otomedius Gorgeous'' (Eliza the Mermaid and Yoshiko, Empress of Easter Island respectively). Parodius seems to live on through pachinko and pachislot games, however.

** The entirety of ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius'' runs with this on other Konami's popular properties at the time.

** In the Sega Saturn and PlayStation versions of ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius,'' the boss rush stage exclusive to those versions has bosses drawn in a different art style than the rest of the enemies.

* {{Baku}}: The FinalBoss in the first game is a baku named Bug (a PunnyName that works better in Japanese), who fights surprisingly well for his role in a game inspired by Gradius.

* CallBack: The subtitle for the second Parodius game, ''From Myth To Laughter'', is a follow-on from the subtitle of ''Gradius III'', which was ''From Legend To Myth''.

** ''Sexy Parodius'' has no less than '''four'''. There's Medusa, Tanuko the Tanuki (whenever it transforms into its female form), Yuko, and the infamous final boss Kaori [[spoiler:who only kills the actual main villain for you]].

* {{Karakasa}}: ''Parodius Da!'' has a MiniBoss that consists of a group of karakasa looping around the screen (parodying Iron Maiden from ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}} III'') after it starts to rain in a haunted level.

* ZeroEffortBoss: The final boss in most games is this. This is given since this is a parody of ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'', after all. However, Bug from ''The Octopus Saves the Earth'' is an aversion. The final boss from ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius'' downplays this, as the boss can kill you, but still is intentionally weak.

* KaizoTrap: There are several in the series.
** In ''Sexy Parodius'', after defeating the boss of the girl factory stage 3, its penguin operator will exit his machine and shoot a machine gun. The machine gun bullets are extremely short-ranged, but if you are either too close or tempt fate, the bullets will kill you, forcing you to restart the boss fight.

The weapons and powerups are largely derived from ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'', ''Salamander'' and ''VideoGame/{{Twinbee}}'', but later games have characters equipped with weapons modeled after Konami's lesser-known {{Shoot Em Up}}s, such as ''VideoGame/ThunderCross'', ''VideoGame/{{Axelay}}'' and ''XEXEX'', and from other shooters such as ''VideoGame/{{Darius}}'', ''VideoGame/RType Leo'' and ''Truxton II''. The enemies are [[EverythingTryingToKillYou all over the place]], but if there are two common themes, it's penguins and moai.

''Parodius'' a series of Main/ShootEmUp video games by {{Creator/Konami}}. The word "Parodius" is a portmanteau of "parody" and "''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}''". It plays much like the series it parodies, but much [[LighterAndSofter fluffier]] and [[DenserAndWackier sillier]]. Many of the characters are drawn from other Konami games, including the [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} Vic Viper]] (whose [[AttackDrone Option]] is itself playable in ''Sexy Parodius''), VideoGame/{{Twinbee}}, [[VideoGame/GanbareGoemon Goemon]], Pentarou the Penguin,[[note]]Who's the son of ''Penta Penguin'' from [[VideoGame/AntarcticAdventure Antarctic Adventure-series]][[/note]] VideoGame/KidDracula, and [[VideoGame/{{BioMiracleBokutteUpa}} Upa the Baby Prince]].

** The final "boss" in ''Sexy Parodius'' [[isn't fought in any way. She defeats the true villain of the game, Takosuke, by sitting on him.]]

''Parodius'' is a portmanteau of "parody" and "''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}''". It plays much like the series it parodies, but much [[LighterAndSofter fluffier]] and [[DenserAndWackier sillier]]. Many of the characters are drawn from other {{Creator/Konami}} games, including the [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} Vic Viper]] (whose [[AttackDrone Option]] is itself playable in ''Sexy Parodius''), VideoGame/{{Twinbee}}, [[VideoGame/GanbareGoemon Goemon]], Pentarou the Penguin,[[note]]Who's the son of ''Penta Penguin'' from [[VideoGame/AntarcticAdventure Antarctic Adventure-series]][[/note]] VideoGame/KidDracula, and [[VideoGame/{{BioMiracleBokutteUpa}} Upa the Baby Prince]].

Also released on [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem the Famicom]], [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem the Super Famicom]], Platform/GameBoy, [[Platform/TurboGrafx16 PC-Engine]], the [[Platform/PlayStation]], the [[Platform/SegaSaturn]], the Platform/SharpX68000, and [[Main/MobilePhoneGame mobile devices]]. Released in Europe as ''Parodius: Non-Sense Fantasy''.

Parodius is pretty much ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'' [[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs on acid]]. Leave your common sense at the door.

The series proper spans five games:
* ''Parodius ～Tako wa Chikyū o Sukū～''[[labelnote:translation]]"The Octopus Saves the Earth"[[/labelnote]] (1988, for {{Platform/MSX}})
* ''Parodius Da! ～Shinwa kara Owarai～''[[labelnote:translation]]"It's Parodius! From Myth to Comedy"[[/labelnote]] (1990, for arcade, SNES, PC-Engine, NES, Platform/GameBoy) -- Released in Europe as ''Parodius: Non-Sense Fantasy''.
* ''Gokujō Parodius ～Kako no Eikou wo Motomete～''[[labelnote:translation]]"Ultimate Parodius: Seeking the Glory of the Past"[[/labelnote]] (1994, for arcade and Super Famicom) -- Released in Europe as ''Fantastic Journey''.
* ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius''[[labelnote:translation]]"Live Chatting Parodius"[[/labelnote]] (1995, for Super Famicom, Platform/PlayStation, Platform/SegaSaturn)
* ''Sexy Parodius'' (1996, for arcade, Platform/PlayStation, Platform/SegaSaturn)

A TurnBasedStrategy spinoff, ''Paro Wars'', was released in 1997 for the Platform/PlayStation. There was also a ''Parodius'' Drama CD, and various pachinko and pachi-slot games.

Parodius plays much like the Gradius series, but much [[LighterAndSofter Fluffier]] and [[DenserAndWackier Nuttier]]. Many of the characters are drawn from other {{Creator/Konami}} games, including the [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} Vic Viper]] (whose [[AttackDrone Option]] is itself playable in ''Sexy Parodius''), VideoGame/{{Twinbee}}, [[VideoGame/GanbareGoemon Goemon]], Pentarou the Penguin,[[note]]Who's the son of ''Penta Penguin'' from [[VideoGame/AntarcticAdventure Antarctic Adventure-series]][[/note]] VideoGame/KidDracula, and [[VideoGame/{{BioMiracleBokutteUpa}} Upa the Baby Prince]].

Characters original to the series have included:
* Tako (Octopus), Takosuke, Takohiko & Belial: A family of octopuses.
* Hikaru & Akane: [[RocketRide Torpedo-riding]] girls in PlayboyBunny outfits.
* Mambo & Samba: Laser-shooting fish.
* Michael & Gabriel: Angelic pigs.
* Mike & Ran: Neutered cats.
* Sue & Memim: A pair of [[OurFairiesAreDifferent faeries]].
* Koitsu, Aitsu, Soitsu & Doitsu: Stick men riding paper airplanes.
* Ivan & Toby: More penguins with UnusualEyebrows.

** It's Parodius! From Myth To Laughter shamelessly uses a remix of the attract mode music... and some versions outright ''borrow'' the entire attract mode, from ''Gradius II''.

* AnnouncerChatter: ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius'' has Tako from early Parodius-games featured as the game's resident narrator, who won't shut up about anything you do. This is a nod to Konami's ''Live'' sports game series from that time: ''International Superstar Soccer'' and ''Live Powerful Pro Baseball''.

* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:The treasure box at the end of]] ''Fantastic Journey''.
** The final, er, "boss" in ''Sexy Parodius'' doesn't get fought.

* BellyDancer: Chichibinta Rika (this series's version of the endgame Shadow Dancer robots) is a giant showgirl that can't be shot dead. You have to fly either between her arms or [[BetweenMyLegs Between Her Legs]] to survive.

* CallBack: The subtitle for the second Parodius game, From Myth To Laughter, is a follow-on from the subtitle of ''Gradius III'', which was From Legend To Myth.

* DynamicDifficulty:
** Inherited from ''Gradius''. The better you're doing, and the more powerups you have equipped, the less mercy the game will present to you (at least until [[ComebackMechanic you're shot down]]). Then, when you get shot down and lose everything, the game ''instantly'' decreases the amounts of foes on-screen and may toss in a few freebies to give you a chance to recover.

* {{Expy}}:
** The angelic pig Michael has the Wave Laser from ''VideoGame/{{Darius}}'' 's Silver Hawk [[note]] And that's before Mike copy-catting the entirety of arsenal in ''Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius''[[/note]], and Hikaru uses weapons from the ''Thunder Cross'' ship. And Ran is [[VideoGame/RType R9 Leo]]. Mambo's Screw Laser resembles that of Anti-Air Laser from ''VideoGame/{{RType}}''-series, and also has Search Laser from ''Xexex''.
** Kid Dracula uses the artillery of the ship from ''VideoGame/{{Axelay}}'', another Konami shooter. Upa rains down thunder with loadout from VideoGame/{{Raiden}}, while Rupa expertises on the weapons seen in [[Creator/{{Toaplan}} Truxton II.]]
** Also, Tako/Octopus has the ''Salamander'' configuration, while Pentarou has the ''Gradius III'' configuration... heck, almost everybody is probably this in some way or another.
* ExcusePlot: Most of these games [[NoPlotNoProblem really have no plot to speak of]]; ''Sexy Parodius'' has a weak one, with Takosuke organizing an agency with the characters in the previous games to handle troubles for clients, all of which involve fighting goofy mooks and bosses; does it really matter?

* GroinAttack: The tanuki boss's secondary weakness in ''Sexy Parodius;'' fitting since [[spoiler: being a tanuki, he has a ridiculously large nutsack.]] Seriously, just ''try'' and resist [[NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught doing it to him while he's meditating.]] I dare you. ''[[Film/PulpFiction I double dare you, motherfucker.]]''
** Best of all, not only does he react realistically by clutching his groin and [[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl effeminately squealing in pain]], but [[spoiler: he also [[SuperGenderBender briefly transforms into a human woman]] if you exploit this [[VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay incredibly corny and juvenile yet hilarious]] joke enough times during the fight.]]

* MultipleEndings: Should you fail to beat the last level in Sexy Parodius before the timer runs out, you'll get a bad ending.
* NintendoHard: Just because the games look cute does not mean they are easy.
* NoblewomansLaugh: As stated below, one of the bosses attacks you with it.

* PoisonMushroom: The "!?"/"OH!" powerup, which takes away all your powerups. It mainly exists to turn powerup roulette into NightmareFuel.
* {{Portmanteau}}: Parodius = '''Paro'''dy + Gra'''dius'''
** Takosuke and Takohiko's name are a portmanteau of the word "tako" (octopus in Japanese) and common endings for Japanese names.
* PublicDomainSoundtrack
** Most of the background music is based on classical and folk music.
** Everything else is a remix of ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'' 's soundtracks, such as "Dark Force" (''Gradius III'' 's boss theme) and "Aircraft Carrier" (''Gradius I'' 's boss theme, used for boss rushes) music.
** And some are from other Konami properties, like the remixes of ''Castlevania'' music (mainly from ''Kid Dracula'') and even Brilliant2u ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' that replaced That's the Way I Like It in the PSP collection.

* ReReleaseSoundtrack: The song that was used originally in the first stage of ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius'' -- "That's the Way (I Like It)", by KC & The Sunshine Band -- was changed in the PSP version to the song "[=Brilliant2U=]" by Naoki Maeda, presumably to avoid copyright issues, since it's an American song. This happened to other tracks in the collection as well. Prior to it, the Platform/PlayStation and Platform/SegaSaturn release of ''Sexy Parodius'' replaced a arrangement of "El Bimbo" with "Symphony No. 40". The same thing was also done for "In the Mood" and "Mambo No. 5" in ''Gokujou Parodius'', along in ''Sexy Parodius'' during Otohime boss battle, "Mayim Mayim" is replaced with "Korobeiniki".
* RuleOfFunny: The games make more sense if you just answer every FridgeLogic question with this trope.

* ShoutOut: Even past the [[{{Expy}} exported characters]] and ShootEmUp homages. Starting with the third game, many levels have been based on other Konami properties, including but not limited to ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial'', ''VideoGame/GanbareGoemon'', ''VideoGame/LethalEnforcers'', ''Taisen Puzzle Dama'', ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'', ''VideoGame/YieArKungFu'', and ''[[VideoGame/LivePowerfulProBaseball Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu]]''.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Sue and Memim are these for Hikaru and Akane [[spoiler:who are for once not on your side]] in ''Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius''.

* TalkingPoo: You can see a living poo come out of a toilet if you destroy an specific Moai head in the second stage of ''Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius''. It's dressed in a way reminiscent of a [[Anime/SailorMoon certain magical girl show]].

* UpdatedRerelease: A compilation of most of the games (except the SpinOff ''Paro Wars'') was released for the PSP in 2006. It contained a remake of the MSX original, the PSX version of ''Jikkyō Oshaberi,'' and the arcade versions of rest. Due to copyrights involving some of the songs, Konami replaced a few of the tracks with replacement music. There is also a Japan-only compilation of the second and third games, released as ''Gokujō Parodius DA!!''

* WelcomeBackTraitor: After fighting them in ''Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius'', [[spoiler:Hikaru and Akane]] return to being playable characters in ''Sexy Parodius''.

* ZeroEffortBoss: The final boss in most games is this. This is given since this is a parody of ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'', after all. However, Bug from ''Tako wa Chikyū o Sukū'' is an aversion. The final boss from ''Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius'' downplays this, as the boss can kill you, but still is intentionally weak.