History VideoGame / Parodius

* ''Parodius ～Tako wa Chikyū o Sukū～''[[labelnote:translation]]"The Octopus Saves the Earth"[[/labelnote]] (1988, for {{UsefulNotes/MSX}})
* ''Parodius Da! ～Shinwa kara Owarai～''[[labelnote:translation]]"It's Parodius! From Myth to Comedy"[[/labelnote]] (1990, for arcade, SNES, PC-Engine, NES, UsefulNotes/GameBoy) -- Released in Europe as ''Parodius: Non-Sense Fantasy''.

* ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius''[[labelnote:translation]]"Live Chatting Parodius"[[/labelnote]] (1995, for Super Famicom, UsefulNotes/PlayStation, UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn)
* ''Sexy Parodius'' (1996, for arcade, UsefulNotes/PlayStation, UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn)

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

* 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 UsefulNotes/PlayStation and UsefulNotes/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".

* OperaGloves: Hikaru and Akane wear them.

* InstantBandage: 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 [[UsefulNotes/PowersOfTwoMinusOne 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.

* 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.

* {{Baku}}: The FinalBoss is a baku named Bug (a PunnyName that works better in Japanese).

* BellyDancer: Chichibinta Rika (this series's version of the endgame Shadow Dancer robots). You have to fly either between her arms or [[BetweenMyLegs Between Her Legs]] to survive.

* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Takosuke]] in ''Sexy Parodius'' does one of these just before the last level in an attempt to escape with all the money you earned in-game. [[spoiler: He doesn't get far.]]

** ''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.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Sue and Memim are these for Hikaru and Akane in ''Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius''.

* ZeroEffortBoss: The final boss in most games is this. This is given since this is a parody of ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'', after all.

* StockSoundEffects: Dozens of anime(''Manga/FairyTail'' being one of the most infamous) use the "wow" sound effect from ''Parodius Da!'', usually when emphasizing a fanservice scene.

* PandaingToTheAudience: As seen in the page picture, a dancing panda is the first boss of ''Fantastic Journey.'' And its fight BGM is ''March of the Toreadors'' from ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}.'' HilarityEnsues, especially when you shoot it and its eyes pop out of its head like [[VideoGame/StreetFighterII Blanka]].

* StockSoundEffects: Dozens of anime use the "wow" sound effect from Parodius, when emphasizing a fanservice scene.

* TheThingThatGoesDoink: ''Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius'' has a giant one of these as an obstacle. As befitting Parodius, it uses penguins instead of water.

* GirlInABox: Mission A4 of ''Sexy Parodius'' involves showgirls kidnapped and stuffed into boxes; you have to rescue them by blasting the boxes open. Some of them have other things (like enemies or bombs) however.

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 [[EenieMeenieMinyMoai moai]].

* EenieMeenieMinyMoai: A huge battleship of them, [[VideoGame/{{Darius}} approaching fast]]. They also often appear in pre-stages.

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 [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins penguins]] and [[EenieMeenieMinyMoai moai]].

* EverythingsBetterWithPenguins: There's plenty of them. Two almost always serves as playable characters, another [[note]]Penkuro, of the ''Taisen Puzzle Dama'' series[[/note]] is one of the bosses of ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius''' Boss Rush stage, and the rest are either {{Mook}}s or [[FunnyBackgroundEvent background elements.]]

* TheThingThatGoesDoink: ''Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius'' has a giant one of these as an obstacle. As befitting Parodius, it uses [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins penguins]] instead of water.

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

* SchoolSettingSimulation: The second stage is set in a school and a parody of ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial''.

* 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.

** 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, octopi, pandas, etc.

* PantyShot: You get one from Anna Baburowa,the first boss in ''Fantastic Journey'' (pictured above).You also get another one from her sister Zyiude in the sequel, ''Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius.''

* {{Bowdlerise}}: The NES/Famicom version of ''Parodius Da!'' censors the burlesque dancer boss, Chichibinta, into a much more modestly-dressed circus ringleader named Miss Mishibarita.

* 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 UsefulNotes/PlayStation and UsefulNotes/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''.

** 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 [[ConkersBadFurDay incredibly corny and juvenile yet hilarious]] joke enough times during the fight.]]

[[quoteright:247:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/paro1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:247:Are you sure you're sober when playing this?]]

-->-- ''Parodius: Non-Sense Fantasy'' (European release of ''Parodius Da!'')

** ''Fantastic Journey.'' [[spoiler: After several stages of wackyness, you have finally defeated the Octo-Queen. You find the treasure you've been looking for...only to find that there is a sentient classic cartoon bomb that has taken the place of the treasure. It's fuse has already burned to its last moments, and as a result, the dance club base is utterly destroyed by the ensuing explosion. During the credits, enjoy watching your character float amongst the shattered remains of the club you just raided (and you can find it funny somehow, as you can see bras floating around). However, [[NotQuiteDead that doesn't stop you from entering the]] [[BrutalBonusLevel Special Stage.]]]]

* [[{{Expy}} Exported Weapons]]: 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''.

* WidgetSeries: It's not a surprise that Western audiences are weirded out by this series.