Well, I did it! With a little over a month to spare, I hit 52 games beat! I always feel a sense of fulfillment when I hit that magical number of games beat, knowing that I'm at least 52 games closer to playing and beating every game I own, plus many others. I don't know how December is going to go, but at the very least there is one more game I definitely plan on playing and beating, but it wouldn't surprise me if I round out this year at around 55+ games. But anyhow, let's get to my mini review of #52.
52. Sexy Parodius (Saturn)
I haven't played a Parodius game in several years, and I had a hard time remembering which ones I had played. To my delight, Sexy Parodius is not a game I've every played and at least from memory, it's the most fun game in the series I've played, which also includes games from its parent series, Gradius. Sexy Parodius is a slightly more risque cute em' up (hence the word sexy in the title), but is still fairly lighthearted and goofy like the other games in the series. Essentially you have you sandard cute em' up type enemies, plus some half naked anime wiafus to blast through, but nothing more than a PG-13 movie. The gameplay is Sexy Parodius is pretty good overall, although it is nothing groundbreaking from a mechanics or balancing point of view, but in the end its mostly serviceable. I've never been a fan of the Gradius style power up system and its tendency to screw you over, however it wasn't as bad as some other Konami schmup titles I've played that use this style. Of note, there are also fun level objectives that you can either pass or fail, and depending on the outcome you can play very different levels than the ones you would have gone onto otherwise. But I found the objectives a fun, unique addition to this game, that I wouldn't mind seeing in other shmups. Visually the game is very entertaining and fun. This game screams weird Japanese pop culture, and delivers it in a very brightly colored, vibrant setting. Audio is also surprisingly good with some catchy toons and entertaining voice acting; I had no idea what the characters were saying, but the delivery still made me laugh, especially when combined with the stage and level transition visuals. I'm always very pleased when I play a game I've never tried before that ends up being way better than I thought it would be and Sexy Parodius is certainly a prime example. (11/26/23) [34/50]