is a 1996 horizontal-scrolling shooter

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...

developed by Konami. It is the fifth installment of the '' Parodius'' series. Like the rest of the series, it is a parody of the '' Gradius'' series and other Konami games. It also contains sexual level and enemy designs, as well as risqué innuendo. Many level bosses are women in various erotic costumes (such as the "bunny costume" modeled on Playboy Bunnies) or various states of undress.

Plot

Takosuke and Pentarou recruit various characters for an agency whose main goal is riches, power, and world peace. The agency helps people who have problems. In addition to Vic Viper and Lord British, Hikaru and Akane, Michael and Gabriel, Koitsu and Aitsu, and Mambo and Samba, Ivan and Toby, two rockhopper penguins, Option and Multiple, sentient versions of Vic Viper and Lord British's drones, Ace from '' TwinBee Yahho!'', who pilots the Shooting Star, and an unnamed woman who pilots the Black Viper, a spacecraft that originates in the game, also get recruited. After completing (or not completing) all the missions, Takosuke steals the profits of the agency for himself and runs away, with the characters chasing him. Depending on how the player finishes the final level, there are two endings. The bad ending sees Takosuke escape with the money and have fun with various women while the player characters look depressed. The good ending has Takosuke get crushed to death by the buttocks of a giant naked woman named Kaori, in which the player characters celebrate.

Gameplay

The gameplay in ''Sexy Parodius'' is similar to the rest of the series, but the player must complete a special mission for each stage. These missions range from collecting a certain amount of coins in a stage to destroying a certain object or enemies. Whether or not the player completes the mission determines whether the player can continue to the next stage or what the next stage will be. Clearing all missions unlocks a special stage. Unlike the past versions, home ports of the game (except the PSP version) have cooperative multiplayer intact. The game continues to play even when one player is choosing a character upon continuing. In a 2-player game, when certain characters are near enough, a third shot appears between them which can be purple shots that swirl all over the screen, hearts that home in on enemies, or rockets that shoot straight ahead. This feature was first seen on Konami's arcade game, ''

Lightning Fighters is a vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game by Konami released in 1990. It was published in the US and Europe as ''Lightning Fighters''. Development The three composers for the game were also working on the music for the Famicom tit ...

''.

Development and release

''Sexy Parodius'' features the song "

Mayim Mayim Mayim Mayim ( he, מים מים, "water, water") is an Israeli folk dance, danced to a song of the same name. It has become notable outside the Israeli dancing community and is often performed at international folk dance events. History The dance ...

". ''Sexy Parodius'' was ported to the

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...

and

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

and both versions were released on November 1, 1996 in Japan. These versions allow the Special Stage to be selected on the Title Screen after finishing the game with all conditions passed. They also come with unlimited continues (the game doesn't keep track of credits). The PlayStation version was also included in ''Parodius Portable'' (albeit with music from some stages replaced with other remixed classical songs) for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Sexy Parodius'' on their April 15, 1996 issue as being the sixth most popular game for that two-week period among arcades surveyed. Japanese gaming publication '' Famitsu'' gave both the PlayStation and Sega Saturn versions of ''Sexy Parodius'' a score of 24 out of 40. ''Intelligent Gamer'' gave it a B−. ''Super GamePower'' gave it 4.5/5 ''Sega Saturn Magazine'' (JP) 8.0/10. ''Joypad'' gave it 3/5. ''Mega Fun'' gave it 74%. ''Mega Console'' 91/100.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Parodius 1996 video games Arcade video games Japan-exclusive video games Parodius PlayStation (console) games Horizontally scrolling shooters Sega Saturn games PlayStation Portable games Video games developed in Japan Sex comedy Surreal comedy