Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III box art

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Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III

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Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III

Feb 15, 1991

Main game

3.50 average rating based on 16 ratings

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Break out the bandages and get ready for some finger-searing action! Join Bubby on his latest quest to save the universe, this time with a Magic Umbrella. Umbrella!? Yes, Umbrella! This powerful parasol puts the elements themselves at your command! Shock the tonnage out of the whales with Lightning! Fry the feathers off the crazed, beady-eyed birds with Fire! Or, drown the demented dinosaurs with a tidal wave of Raindrops! Need help? Your buddy Bobby is always nearby. Have a friend plug into your TurboTap and blast into two player simultaneous play. Be prepared for a quest that will take … More
Break out the bandages and get ready for some finger-searing action! Join Bubby on his latest quest to save the universe, this time with a Magic Umbrella. Umbrella!? Yes, Umbrella! This powerful parasol puts the elements themselves at your command! Shock the tonnage out of the whales with Lightning! Fry the feathers off the crazed, beady-eyed birds with Fire! Or, drown the demented dinosaurs with a tidal wave of Raindrops! Need help? Your buddy Bobby is always nearby. Have a friend plug into your TurboTap and blast into two player simultaneous play. Be prepared for a quest that will take you to eight amazing planets, forcing you to uncover the secret that will unleash the Parasol Stars! Parasol Stars is the third game in the Bubble Bobble franchise (and is often labeled "Parasol Stars: The Story Bubble Bobble III"), as well as a semi-official sequel to the second Bubble Bobble spin-off, Rainbow Island. Less
Developers
Taito
Publishers
NEC, Taito, Working Designs
Franchises
Bubble Bobble
Series
Rainbow Islands
Platforms
TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine, Wii
Genres
Arcade, Platform
Themes
Action, Fantasy, Kids
Release Dates
Feb 15, 1991 (Worldwide)
TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine
Aug 19, 2008 (Japan)
Wii
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User Stats
66
In Collection
9
Wish Listed
0
Playing
28
Backlogged
How Long Is Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III?
No playthrough data yet
scoopings
scoopings gave Oct 27, 2024
scoopings gave Oct 27, 2024
Cute Enough, But Pales To Rainbow Islands. And Not In Love With The Gameplay
This review is for the TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine version

Preliminary: So far it's really cute--Look and Sound-wise--and plays well. Looks a lot like an arcade game, even the UI haha, yet it was originally released on the PC Engine, the version I'm playing. I think I prefer Rainbow Islands' mechanics and scrolling, but this is interesting so far. I already (intuitively/trial and error-y) figured out the umbrella mechanics and whatnot. Here goes nothing. (Looks like there are 8 main story worlds, shoulllld be doable but we shall see)

I was getting a bit unsure about it but then I threw multiple water globs at the big grand piano and it turned blue, and then when a large group of enemies bumped into the bubbly grand piano they all became bubbles and i was able to BAM them all and it was delicious haha. Still, just feels like something overall is missing compared to Rainbow Island (or cuz I just came off the high of Adventure Island II).

I'm already on the first boss, and I believe there are 8 of them so this def should be doable. I'm confused how to damage it though, no water is dripping. I guess I will look up the manual after all. Ahhhh …

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Preliminary: So far it's really cute--Look and Sound-wise--and plays well. Looks a lot like an arcade game, even the UI haha, yet it was originally released on the PC Engine, the version I'm playing. I think I prefer Rainbow Islands' mechanics and scrolling, but this is interesting so far. I already (intuitively/trial and error-y) figured out the umbrella mechanics and whatnot. Here goes nothing. (Looks like there are 8 main story worlds, shoulllld be doable but we shall see)

I was getting a bit unsure about it but then I threw multiple water globs at the big grand piano and it turned blue, and then when a large group of enemies bumped into the bubbly grand piano they all became bubbles and i was able to BAM them all and it was delicious haha. Still, just feels like something overall is missing compared to Rainbow Island (or cuz I just came off the high of Adventure Island II).

I'm already on the first boss, and I believe there are 8 of them so this def should be doable. I'm confused how to damage it though, no water is dripping. I guess I will look up the manual after all. Ahhhh it's the power-up I collected, I can shoot a lightning ball thing from my parasol cuz of it. And also ahhh, so this is like a world map enter image description here

Day 1

If I'm understanding it correctly, it seems 8 worlds/bosses will be manageable after all. I may not be in love with the game so far, but as always the PC Engine/Turbografx impresses: it looks sounds and feels like an arcade game. Period.

Welp another world/boss done quickly, and still not really into it. I suppose cuz it seems quick enough I will commit to all 8 worlds, but I dunno. If something spectacular doesn't come about (like, the music is good but just isn't enough for some reason), I'll probly drop it. Just a good 3 star platformer for fans of the series. I prefer the rainbow mechanic, personally, but the parasol is learnable and fun enough.

Day 2

It's been a bit fun figjuring out the quirks of the mechanics and whatnot, using progressively larger enemies to harm the larger enemies etc. But just meh. Not having that much fun with it.

Yeahhh, I'm burned out on it

Look: 7.5/10 Cute. Very good for home console. But more and more to be expected into the 90s

Sound: 7.5/10 Again, cute. But not enough to stand out in 91.

Play: 7/10 It has everything that should make me like it, but I just don't. Feels blah. I almost gave this a 7.5 too, but realized the Play was essentially why I chose to stop playing it soooo.

Feel: 7.5/10

Attachment: 7/10 Meh.

Overall: 7.3/10

Playtime: ~30 mins

Completion: Not sure exactly? Somewhere past 2 bosses

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giopep
giopep gave Oct 1, 2020
giopep gave Oct 1, 2020
giopep's review of Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III
This review is for the TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine version

While I always struggled with the way this series handles jumps, I always loved it. I played some of Parasol Stars back in the day on my Amiga but I never bought the PC Engine version (I do have Rainbow Islands on both format though... ). Now I finally had a chance to play the "original" version on my PC Engine Mini and I loved it. Great personality, lovely graphics and musics, fun to play. The first two/thirds of the game are also very well balanced, but the final part (and the extra levels) are really punishing and I don't think I would have been able to complete them without save state. But now I have it, so...