Game Review: Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III (Nintendo Switch)

Parasol Stars is coming to Nintendo Switch! – “Parasol who?” Yes, lots of gamers would ask such a question, because they are too young. Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III is a Taito game of the year 1991 – and it was huge there! It is considered the best Turbografx-16 game – in Japan the Turbografx-16 was called PC-Engine– and lots of gamers bought this console only because of this software gem! Before you start the Switch game you can choose between the US and the Japanese version.

Parasol Stars is the third entry in the Bubble Bobble franchise and it is the best “BB” game in my opinion! Bubby and Bobby fight the bad side in their human forms now – and don’t fire bubbles on enemies, no, they are armed with cute parasols. And this makes the gameplay very various! You can collect lightnings or water capsules with your new weapon to make a huge tempest or a water fountain which attacks the enemies. And the parasol can block as a shield or stun. At many points it can be used as a parachute, too!.

You have to travel to eight planets on which you have to master seven levels – yes, the last one is always the boss fight. You go to a factory, into the jungle or onto a rainbow land – yes, the developers were very creative 33 years ago! And it is great fun till today!

The Switch version offers a standard mode with control enhancements, savestates, rewind/fast-forward and cheats. Yes, it is easy to play through this mode. And you can play it with a friend! The multiplayer mode is great fun too! When you want a great challenge choose the arcade mode – it is the pure fun from the year 1991. The game offers a challenge mode too – try it and make your score on the leaderboard!

Parasol Stars was of course loved by the critics in the 90s – CU Amigo gave it a 9.5 out of 10.0 and Entertainment Weekly said: “This one’s even more fun to play than it is to describe: Bubby (or Bobby when two play simultaneously) uses his umbrella to flick bizarre meanies across the screen and turn them into pieces of cake, apples, mushrooms, etc., which he then gobbles up in order to earn points.” My score is a 9, too! Parasol Stars is great part of videogame history and a true gem of the good old days. Thx, ININ, to bring it to Switch!

Verdict: ININ made an old soup so tasty that every true gamer has to get it. Now!

Soup Temperature:  9/10

A review code was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review.