Tag Archives: Rainbow Islands

Retro Select, Videos

Retro Select: Parasol Stars

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The Atari ST version of Parasol Stars may have been perfectly competent, but if you want the true experience, you should go back to where it all began: the PC Engine version.

Yes, unlike the previous two games in theΒ Bubble BobbleΒ series,Β Parasol StarsΒ actually originated on a home platform. And that original PC Engine version of this game — available as one of the many excellent games on the PC Engine Mini — is the best way to enjoy this wonderful game. So let’s do just that!

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget toΒ subscribe on YouTube for more!

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Parasol Stars

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A lot of people forget that there’s a third Bubble Bobble game — or, as this port puts it, a second Rainbow Islands game.

ButΒ Parasol StarsΒ from Taito is very much a thing that exists — and moreover, it got a very competent port to Atari ST thanks to Ocean Software. While the PC Engine original may be a bit smoother and slicker than this one, this is certainly not a bad effort considering how it’s running on general-purpose rather than gaming-specialist hardware.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget toΒ subscribe on YouTube for more!

Atari A to Z

Essentials, PC Engine, Taito

Parasol Stars: The Bubble Bobble Everyone Forgets

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At the time of writing, the world is gearing up for a fourth official installment in the Bubble Bobble series.

Wait a minute, I hear you ask,Β fourth?Β What happened to the third? I don’t judge you too harshly for asking this question; I know some people who weren’t even aware that Rainbow IslandsΒ was theΒ second Bubble BobbleΒ game, so for you to be unaware that there had already been a thirdΒ one is entirely understandable.

It doesn’t stop it being a huge shame, however, because 1991’s Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble IIIΒ is a wonderful game; one of my all-time favourite single-screen “kill ’em all” platformers, in fact, beaten only by Rod-Land. And yet, for various reasons, very few people either know it exists or remember it.

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