MSX Parodius commentary by Toyo Shotaro
If you’ve read my previous post about Hideo Kojima’s 2-part guest column on Beep! Mega Drive, then you probably noticed that his columns were labeled Part 2 and 3. Well Part 1(published on the March ‘93 issue of the same magazine) was actually written by Toyo Shotaro and dealt with his experience with the original MSX version of Parodius.
Toyo Shotaro, also known as Takemasa Miyoshi, worked as a graphic designer in various Konami games, including (but not limited) to the arcade version of Parodius Da!, the Super NES version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters, and the N64 fighting game Deadly Arts.
Inside Stories of the MSX Now Revealed Part 1: Tragic Story - Ah! The MSX of Youth
by Shotaro Toyo
Speaking of Parodius, did you know the original version was on the MSX? (I can’t believe it’s been over six years since it came out). First of all, development started rather frivolously as a side-project alongside another game we were working on and then we realized something... It was going to be a limited print run with just 10,000 units to be produced... That’s when our hardships began. When the lid was opened, the development period turned out to be just one month! The development plan had sloppy programming instructions with advice such as “I’m counting on you for the movement of the boss!” Everyday, from morning to night, I was devoting my youthful energy to Parodius.
Even with the super hard schedule, I wasn’t pleased with some of the stages that the staff made despite their great commitment, so they had to be trashed! It feels like it was only yesterday that felt that we were being strangled out of our necks! But we can create a work that we can be confident in when it is done in such a matter. Our ideas, gags and game features must stand out on every count.
Because of its small print run, the MSX Parodius seems to be a very hard game to come by in game shops, but if you do manage to find it, make sure to play it at least once! The experience of the original is a bit different.
By the way, the cover artwork by yours truly is a must-see! Look for it!
Comic Translation
Hayasaka (the lady): “Oh-no! The space bar felt out! What? The M and N keys are missing too.“
Masa (the guy): “Is that so? They broke because you’ve been playing too much shumps! You overdid it with the Gradius games!”
