Parasol Stars (TurboGrafx-16) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
144A playthough of Working Designs' 1991 action-puzzle game for the TurboGrafx-16, Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III.
Though there were never many HuCards released in America, the TurboGrafx-16 did see some absolutely stellar releases, and not all of them were of the twitch-shmup variety that the system is mostly remembered for.
Parasol Stars is one such game. As its subtitle suggests, it is part of Taito's legendary Bubble Bobble series (it is actually one of two games referred to as Bubble Bobble 3), and it is also the direct follow-up to Rainbow Islands (which was the first of three different games referred to as Bubble Bobble 2).
Instead of blowing bubbles or creating rainbows, our intrepid pair of young heroes now arm themselves with parasols. Yeah... I know. Parasols. Maybe they're actually southern belles that are trying to avoid the sun.
Anyways, these parasols turn out to be pretty handy. They can be used to collect power-up orbs, to stun and to fling enemies, and to control the speed at which you fall, and they are an effective way to reinvigorate the mechanics of the previous two games without merely rehashing them.
The object of each stage is to clear out all the enemies, and at the end of each world you fight a boss (complete with a sweet chiptune version of the song Lambada!) before you can move on. You can race through the stages pretty quickly, but there are lots of secrets hidden about if you care to take the time to explore. And just like any other Bubble Bobble game, you don't get the good ending just by surviving the gauntlet. There are "miracles" that you have to collect along the way if you hope to earn the key that opens up the final stage where you'll meet the (absolutely horrifying) true last boss.
Just like the other BB games, the genius of Parasol Stars' design lies in its simplicity. There are no overwrought mechanics nor convoluted plot gimmicks at play, but there's plenty of depth to get you hooked before long.
That is if the game's personality doesn't do that for you already. I remember falling in love with it the first time I ever played it, and I think the graphics played a huge role in that. The characters are massive, the art is endearing, and the sheer amount of color is actually a bit overwhelming. The game looks like the most adorable animated storybook you've likely ever seen, and yet it also manages to be a monster showcase title for the capabilities of the TurboGrafx console. Though it wasn't an arcade game, Paradol Stars might as well have been for how it looked. The music was nauseatingly cute and memorable as well - just as with Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, or Magical Puzzle Popils, good luck ever forgetting the main theme once you've heard it.
I'm glad that this little unsung hero of the Turbo's game library is finally getting another chance to see the sun with its upcoming inclusion in the TurboGrafx Mini. It's an immaculate effort that ended up becoming one of my favorite Taito games of the era.
Related games:
Bubble Bobble (NES)
https://youtu.be/OiyRnJgivsI
Bubble Bobble 2 (NES)
https://youtu.be/RaA9PKUueEQ
Magical Puzzle Popils (Game Gear)
https://youtu.be/2c5qgU0tvlk
Bubble Symphony (Saturn)
https://youtu.be/I9LfzYylKZw
And for more TurboGrafx-16 stuff, check out my playlist!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3gSj_kh1fHthFFFMbIuf5uIEsXu69_WF
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!