Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III is a colorful classic 2D platformer that you should check out on PlayStation 5. Learn more in our Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III review!
Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III is a colorful classic 2D platformer that you should check out on PlayStation 5. This one was originally released by Taito way back in 1991 for the PC Engine, which is the Japanese equivalent of what we know as the Turbografx-16. It was released in North America by Working Designs, which means it had a low physical print run, making it a rare game on the TG-16. It’s now 2024, and ININ Games is acting as the game’s publisher to bring it back under the spotlight on PlayStation 5.
As its name suggests, this is the third game in the long-running Bubble Bobble series. It follows Rainbow Island, the sequel to the original Bubble Bobble, which I had a lot of fun playing back in the day on the Nintendo Entertainment System – you know, the NES. For Parasol Stars, you’ll be playing as Bubby and Bobby, which are the human names – and forms – of the franchise’s main characters. They were known as Bub and Bob in Bubble Bobble, where you got to play as them in dinosaur form.
This release offers you the option of playing the Japanese or US versions. You also have the option of playing through the game in one of two modes: Standard or Arcade. If you play in Standard Mode, you’ll be able to use save states, take advantage of control enhancements and cheats, rewind, and fast-forward – more on these in a bit. If you go for the Arcade Mode, then you’ll be taking on a more classic journey where you’ll be using credits to continue after making one too many mistakes and won’t have access to the aforementioned features. And yes, this is the mode you’ll have to play to unlock trophies!
Once you’re ready to jump into action, you’ll control your character with the left analog stick or the D-Pad as you jump with the X button and use the Square or Circle buttons to attack enemies. You can grab enemies and launch them at other enemies or grab elemental spheres that can be used to unleash powerful attacks. You can also use the parasol to defend yourself against projectile attacks from your sides or above. Deploy the parasol when jumping to float down as well!
As has been the case for other releases from ININ Games for classic retro games, you can take advantage of some additional quality-of-life elements during your time with Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III. You can rewind time by pressing the L2 button, which will allow you to fix any of your mistakes. You can also fast-forward the action with the R2 button. Check out the rewind speed option to customize your experience.
Speaking of which, there are some other things for you to check out so you can make adjustments as needed. You can change shaders and filters, add or remove the wallpaper around the playing area, activate cheats for infinite lives, infinite credits, make your character invincible, add a multi-jump feature, and automatically unlock the bonus door in each world instead of having to collect 3 miracle items of the same kind,
And now… it’s trophy time! This one has a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy for you to add to your collection. And since it’s a Cross-Buy title, if you own a PlayStation 5 console, you can download both the PS4 and PS5 versions of the game. The list includes 28 Bronze trophies, 3 Silver trophies, and 5 Gold trophies for you to work on. Some of the objectives to complete include meeting each boss, beating each world, continuing after a game over, getting 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 points, having 6 or more lives, having 10 or more lives, floating for 10 seconds or more, and getting the good ending and the bad ending.
It’s been a while since Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III was released for the PC Engine/Turbografx-16 several decades ago. The game is now getting a second chance to shine on Sony’s console, and it’s a fun 2D arcade-style experience worth checking out, especially if you’re a Bubble Bobble fan. Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III is available on PlayStation 5 with a $9.99 price tag. There’s also a PlayStation 4 version of the game available for the same price as a separate purchase.
Disclaimer
This Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by ININ Games.
