98: Parasol Stars

Number 98
(58.2 points)
Parasol Stars
1992: 18 (16.6)
1993: 48 (21.2)
1994: 67 (20.4)

Coming a long time after Bubble Bobble in my list, but a long way before Rainbow Islands, this third entry in that series seems to be well positioned as the middling game of the bunch.

This PC Engine conversion retains all the charm of the original game with a well-made port, as your character is armed with a parasol with which to fend off enemies. You do this by flipping them up onto your parasol before launching them forwards into other baddies, or the wall - or, indeed, both. There are other things you can do with your weapon of choice - you can collect raindrops and send a torrent of water down the screen - but working your way through the many levels of the game will require your expertise in mastering its use.

One can gather from reading Amiga Power that there was a touch of disappointment with Parasol Stars, that it wasn't quite up to the giddy heights of its rainbow-filled predecessor, but the fact it was still picked three times suggests that not being quite as good as that game still makes this a solid entry in itself. Again, I can't fault the effort in the port, they did a great job on it - though given it was a PC Engine game rather than a coin-op, that wasn't quite as hard to manage. Still, despite this version running a bit less smoothly, there's no shame in choosing it today.

Recommended TOSEC disk(s):
Parasol Stars - Rainbow Islands 2 (1992)(Ocean)[cr Flashtro][t +11 Flashtro]