Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III (PS5) - Review

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While the name Bubble Bobble is rather famous in video game circles, the name Parasol Stars is decidedly less so. A sequel to Rainbow Islands and the third installment of the Bubble Bobble series, Parasol Stars never received an arcade version, instead going straight to the PC Engine, which perhaps explains its relative lack of fanfare. No matter the reason, the game didn't get the attention it deserved in the years since it launched in 1991 — until now. Thanks to publisher ININ and developer Ratalaika Games, which released a port of the game on modern platforms last week, a new generation of gamers gets to see what the action-platformer is all about.

The story in Parasol Stars is slight, but it's there. The heroic brothers Bub and Bob, who retain their human forms from Rainbow Islands, leave the tranquility of the rainbow planet to answer desperate SOS calls from outer space. Over the course of their adventure, the siblings visit eight beautifully-realized alien worlds, each under attack from an evil menace.

Even though there's not much to sink your teeth into story-wise, the game helps tie everything together with little interludes between worlds where the brothers depart the previous planet (now liberated and restored to color) and fly to another grayed-out sphere. It also elevates the proceedings thanks to lovely graphics, handsome sprites, and catchy music.

That said, story remains an afterthought. The main event is 2D action-platforming, which is surprisingly fun and varied considering its simplicity. Instead of shooting bubbles, as you do in Bubble Bobble, you now deploy a colorful parasol, which acts as both defensive shield and offensive weapon. You'll spend most of your time jumping up and across platforms and using your umbrella to block projectiles, stun enemies, and shoot for high scores. True to its lineage, Parasol Stars embraces an easy-to-learn-impossible-to-master mindset that plays out in each level. If you just want to get to the next stage, it's easy enough to stun a foe, pick them up with the parasol, and throw them into a wall. But if you've memorized the stage layout and predicted each enemy pattern, you can line up a whole row of stunned baddies and defeat them simultaneously, scoring big points.

Adding another layer of complexity are power-ups like dynamite, marbles, and boots that pop up randomly in certain stages — seemingly due to special player actions — and a "drop" system. Many levels feature a slow drip of liquid drops, which are themed to four different elements: water, lightning, fire, and star. If you extend your umbrella beneath a drop, you can collect it and launch it at enemies or left-behind fruit. If, however, you collect five drops of the same element, you'll generate a huge drop with amazing power. The water drop creates a rush of water that drowns enemies; the fire drop generates a line of scorching fire; the lightning drop shoots a jolt of electricity across the stage; and the star drop fires star bolts outward in a spiral pattern, destroying anything they touch. Despite requiring only two buttons, Parasol Stars enjoys a good amount of tactical depth.

It doesn't enjoy a great amount of content, however — although that's par for the course considering its arcade sensibilities. You could beat the game in about 40 minutes. Fortunately, it benefits from high replay value. For one, you can invite a friend along to play the entire campaign in local co-op. This is a fun, but also chaotic time, and arguably a more difficult experience since you can pick up and jostle your playing partner. This extra difficulty emerges most obviously during scrolling levels, especially if players are moving in opposite directions. As a result, Parasol Stars is one of those rare arcade-inspired platformers where the single-player experience is arguably superior.

Whether you play solo or with a teammate, you can always repeat the adventure to secure a high score (uploaded to local and online leaderboards) and/or search for secrets and doors. Each world has a hidden door, which will open only after you complete the hidden prerequisites. There are even two secret worlds to uncover, if you know the path.

Regrettably, I wasn't able to experience the two secret worlds during my playthrough on PS5, due to an irksome bug that led to a soft lock on the final boss. Luckily, Ratalaika Games is aware of the issue and is currently deploying a fix. Note: you can still experience the game's "bad" ending, as the bug is specific to the secret route.

While the developer overlooked that bug, it provided lots of upgrades elsewhere. All the typical Ratalaika boons are here, including save states, rewind, mappable controls, and a host of display, filter, and shader options. Also included is an option for enhanced controls, which allow players to move Bub and Bob more smoothly efficiently (purists can always opt for the original 1991 controls). Finally, there are now three ways to experience the game: standard mode, which includes saves, rewind, and cheats; arcade mode, which removes most modern quality of life features; and challenge mode, where you start with only a single credit.

Parasol Stars is a hidden gem in both the Bubble Bobble franchise and the PC Engine library. Thanks to ININ and Ratalaika, a new generation of players can now enjoy it, without purchasing the original hardware or tracking down a TurboGrafx-16 Mini. It boasts lovely graphics, high replay value, and a surprisingly deep scoring system. Its only drawbacks: a short running time, two-player multiplayer that can feel clumsy at times, and a nasty bug unique to this modern port. Once the patch is live, definitely consider picking this one up.

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