Parodius: The Octopus Saves The Earth Review

(Originally posted on June, 2015)

(2007, PSP)

Like many others, I’ve often found SHMUPs to be rather intimidating. The genre was always more on the periphery, with more time spent being wowed by epic box art and daunting, action-packed screenshots than actually practicing any of the games. Owning Xevious for the NES, I can’t recall beating even the first level. I would always give the Gradius mini-game a try whenever playing Legend of the Mystical Ninja, but couldn’t clear that either. The Einhander demo on the PS1 wowed me (especially with its music), but the full game was never tackled. I was lucky enough to find a great price on the stunning and highly sought Radiant Silvergun for the Saturn, but only finished off the insane final boss thanks to the unlimited continues option. Of course, I flirted with all sorts of arcade games, especially Strikers 1945 Plus for the Neo Geo, but I would rarely complete a SHMUP and certainly never felt skilled at any of them.

Between wanting to get more in to the genre and feeling nostalgic for Konami’s glory days, I recently picked up Parodius Portable for the PSP. Containing the 5 main entries to the series, I started with the very first game which is a much smoother, colorful remake of the rough looking original made for the MSX. The Parodius series is well known as being an off-shoot of Gradius, but since I’ve hardly touched those games I have little insight to offer. Here are some impressions as a beginner:

Even with the easiest setting, the game never lets up on the cruelty you’d expect from a 80s era shoot-em-up. After a single bullet or collision takes out your player, you’ll have to restart from one of just a few checkpoints per level. Simultaneously navigating the cramped canyons, dodging bullets from all directions, all while fleeing from gigantic, angry bees approaching from behind is almost too much at times, but none of the deaths felt like anyone’s fault but my own. Once I got over the temptation to quit altogether and worked up the resolve to beat the game no matter what, the act of constantly revisiting stages, getting the really hard parts into muscle memory and lasting even just a few moments longer became truly rewarding.

The option based weapon upgrade system gives a genius sense of chaos and temptation as you have to manage your (potential) firepower while struggling not to sacrifice one bit of attention to what’s happening around your ship (or octopus/ninja/knight/penguin). I wasted so many lives chasing power-ups rather than just paying attention to the bigger picture. That’s a good metaphor for life really. If you manage to work up to 3 long-pulse laser cannons, you’ll be decimating the entire screen all while feeling that you’ve earned the power to do so.

Going down narrow corridors that have mostly been blocked by huge, abruptly moving blocks of machinery while being pursued by bullet spitting penguins, the last level demands laser-precision control of the ship and almost feels like a puzzle game in how you have to set up the use of the horizontal warp power-up. After weeks of play, I managed to beat the game using the following options: Game Level 1 – Easy, Difficulty Rise Half, Life 9, Power Up Semi-Auto, Roulette Off, Hit Size Small, Wait Level 1.

While the degree of ‘non-sense fantasy’ in the original doesn’t reach the insanity seen later on in the series, there’s still a ton of strange and perplexing sights, with all sorts of animals, Moai heads and  random pieces of Japanese culture (in outer space of all places). Although this game isn’t friendly at all to beginners, all the silliness certainly takes some of the pressure off the whole experience. I couldn’t tell a huge difference between the five selectable characters other than amusing cosmetic changes to their upgrade items, so I most often went with the Vic Viper from Gradius as the sprite was small. While some of the boss fights feel like they go on a bit too long (if you’re underpowered), they feel surprisingly varied, especially the projectile firing, formation switching 8 mouthed boss of level 4. Accompanied by a rather silly remix of a classical music piece, bosses are often easier than the canyon/corridor segments of the main stages.

Both the original and an arranged soundtrack are included. I prefer the abrasive, more intense punch of the former. Set in the second level where the game throws a ton of environmental obstacles at you, Light of an Octopus has that classic tense and wondrous soundtrack you’d expect from a space shoot-em-up. Played on the Japanese graveyard level, Waltz of an Octopus is the most haunting track. The opening and ending tracks are especially heavy on mood as well. Part ridiculous remixes of classical music, part standard SHMUP music, this is a very good 8-bit soundtrack.

I don’t think I could ever see myself putting in the work to ‘1 credit clear’ any shooter, but the intense, immediate challenge offered by the genre is always worth a visit on occasion. I wouldn't say Parodius (at least the first one) is the most beginner friendly shooter, but it’s wacky universe and Konami fan service can’t be found anywhere else and will suck you in like a black hole.