Parasol Stars

~ PARASOL STARS ~

Working Designs / Taito

HuCard

1991

I was late to the party on this one. I remembered that it received mediocre grades in EGM (I think one guy even gave it a 4), but I'd heard nothing but praise for it since seeing those scores, and considering that I enjoyed Bubble Bobble back in the day, I expected to have a good time with this chip.

And I did have a pretty good time with it--the most fun coming during levels where I had to put some thought into how exactly I'd reach/attack the enemies. As the game goes along, it seems to focus more on stocking its stages with huge, hard-to-stun enemies rather than on presenting increasingly intricate board design, which was a minor disappointment. But the simple Bubble-Bobble-style gameplay--with cartoony bosses to fight, tasty-looking treats to collect, elemental powers to wield, and point-boosting secrets to stumble upon--kept me entertained until I reached the adventure's conclusion.

Speaking of the conclusion, I was exasperated when I discovered this devious game's GNG-esque "bad ending." Thankfully, I was able to achieve the superior finish with little grief during my very next try.

I'm less forgiving of the limited soundtrack; more tunes are desperately needed. But the biggest concern with Parasol Stars isn't really the soundtrack or the abrupt bad ending or the often too-simple stage design; it's the price tag. This game can get kind of expensive considering it's not some sort of landmark experience. It's an enjoyable time-waster, for sure, but a price of $10-15 seems more appropriate than what I often see it go for, unless the buyer plans on logging lots of hours in two-player mode.

But to conclude with a positive, another thing I enjoyed was running into the big boss from the original Bubble Bobble in the ninth world here. It'd been many years since I'd last seen the old goober, and it was a fun reunion/rematch!