While we wait for Konami to give us a long-overdue localization of the Parodius series (preferably as a collection), a fan translation has been dropped for 1994’s Super Famicom version of Gokujou Parodius. For the English release, it has been titled Fantastic Parodius! Pursuing the Former Glory.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Parodius series, it’s something of a spin-off or parody of Gradius. Hence the name. The series began in 1988 on the MSX microcomputer before getting a more famous release in arcade in 1990. That title, known as Parodius Da, was ported to various consoles including Game Boy, Famicom, and Super Famicom. The follow-up to Parodius Da is what we have here, known as Gokujou Parodius and sometimes as Fantastic Journey.
The games in the series are wacky crossovers that take the Gradius shooter formula to some weird places. I personally prefer the Parodius games to the core Gradius series, simply because discovering what comes next is a lot more fun for me. Maybe you’ll fight a cat boat. Perhaps the next boss is an octopus washing its hair. It still has all the challenge, but with an extra layer of weirdness.
A collection would still be nice
It’s the second title to hit the Super Famicom, and, as the blurb on the site points out, is the last one in need of a fan translation. To note, you don’t really need a translation to play the Parodius games. They’re just as much of shooters as the Gradius titles and aren’t story or menu-heavy titles. However, it’s always nice to have the work done to have all the details understandable. It at least makes the cutscenes more enjoyable.
I still can’t believe that we have never received an official localization of Parodius here in North America. I think the closest we got was the Otomedius games on Xbox 360. At the very least, we should have an Arcade Archives entry of it by now. We got Pistol Daimyo, but none of the Parodius games? Come on.
The translation patch comes to us from a team of modders consisting of Blizzz, ReyVGM, FlashPV, and Natori Youkai, and you can find it right here.
Published: Aug 8, 2023 02:00 pm