Parasol Stars (Switch)

Powah Dunk | July 19, 2024 | Review | No Comments

Bubble Bobble is just one of those iconic franchises that resonate with the retro crowd, Rainbow Islands followed this one with a great but not quite as memorable twist on the gameplay and today we are looking at the third in the series the often overlooked Parasol Stars, grab some change and sit down, we are taking this back to the 90s.

Parasol Stars as mentioned is the third major Bubble Bobble release despite a confusing amount of sequels available I.E Bubble Bobble 2 on the NES, this game didn’t release in the Arcades and only really saw a release in Japan and Europe, the definitive version being the PC Engine version which is the one Inin Games has chosen to port over to modern consoles with some quality of life improvements.

Bubby and Bobby are back and much like Rainbow Islands won’t be donning the Dinosaur suits, instead this time they come equipped with the titular Parasols that allow them to throw the baddies around, gather water droplets to create a rush of water and slowly glide across the games many single-screen levels, themed across the various planets that are in danger.

After a handful of stages, you are met with a boss character who usually has quite a simple pattern but a rather large pool of health before you jet off to the next themed planet for some fantastic colourful visuals with that iconic Bubble Bobble charm.

The game is a fun arcade-style romp, especially if you can grab another player then you can easily blast through the game or your credits while having a good old-school laugh, it just has that certain level of Taito charm that hits oh so right.

In terms of additions and features it’s once again the standard fare from Inin and Ratlakia Games, a deceptively named “arcade” mode gives you the pure unadulterated version of Parasol Stars while the “Modern” version gives you such home comforts as Save States, unlimited continues and a Rewind feature to help you mitigate very minor mistakes.

You have full button remapping alongside many options to alter the display, you can make it as close to the original as you want or lean into the more modern display options offering a crisp and colourful time over the CRT scanline haven, the choice is yours.

Sadly, as a celebration title, this falls a little flat when it comes to extras, admittedly it is budget-priced and for a lot of fans outside of Japan or Europe this could be the first time getting your hands on a Parasol but the lack of concept art, gallery or any extras knocks this title back.

Parasol Stars is a fantastic title especially with a friend making the most of its chaotic co-op feature, it’s reasonably priced and while it lacks extras you’d normally associate with a re-release it has an awesome amount of custom options and quality-of-life features making it the best way to play this forgotten level in Bubble Bobble history.