Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III
1991 · Platformer · TurboGrafx-16
Overview
Parasol Stars is the third entry in the Bubble Bobble series, following Bub and Bob as they wield magical parasols to collect water drops and defeat enemies across colorful single-screen stages. The game blends the puzzle-platformer DNA of Bubble Bobble with new mechanics enabled by the parasol weapon, creating one of the most charming platformers on the TurboGrafx-16.
Deep Dive
Parasol Stars continued the Bubble Bobble lineage — colorful single-screen stages, cooperative two-player play, defeating enemies by trapping or hitting them before collecting the items they leave behind — while replacing the bubble-blowing mechanic with parasol-based combat. Bub and Bob could use the parasol to collect raindrops falling from above, then hurl the charged water at enemies. Different liquid types — stars, fire, flowers, and more — were collected by catching different colored drops, each with different attack properties and point values. The level structure followed the Bubble Bobble template: one hundred stages of increasing difficulty, each presenting a spatial puzzle about how to efficiently eliminate all enemies while maximizing the point multiplier for chain kills. Secret items hidden in each stage encouraged exploration and rewarded players who memorized stage layouts across multiple playthroughs. The two-player cooperative mode retained the charming character interaction — players could assist each other or accidentally get in each other's way — that had made Bubble Bobble a social gaming staple. Parasol Stars is considered among the finest games on the TurboGrafx-16 and one of Taito's strongest franchise entries of the 16-bit era. The game's combination of accessible mechanics, deep optimization potential, and cooperative play gave it exceptional longevity. It is frequently cited alongside Rainbow Islands as one of the best Bubble Bobble sequels, and its 100-stage structure has been completed by dedicated players in under an hour through precise play.
Developer Story
Parasol Stars was developed by Taito Corporation, the company that had created Bubble Bobble in 1986 and watched it become one of the most beloved arcade-to-home franchises of the late 1980s. The development team wanted to maintain the series' cooperative soul while introducing a weapon mechanic that offered more tactical variety than bubble-blowing. The parasol concept emerged from a desire to create a character tool that could both attack and collect, enabling the liquid-type system that gave each stage a puzzle dimension beyond spatial maneuvering. The TurboGrafx-16 was chosen as the primary platform because its hardware comfortably handled the sprite density the game required.
Did You Know?
- Parasol Stars is officially subtitled 'The Story of Bubble Bobble III,' making it the direct sequel to Rainbow Islands (Bubble Bobble II) in Taito's internal franchise numbering.
- The game's water-collecting mechanic was designed around the TurboGrafx-16's ability to handle multiple simultaneously falling sprite objects — on NES hardware the system would have caused significant slowdown.
- Each world in Parasol Stars has a dedicated secret item that only appears when specific conditions are met, such as defeating all enemies in a stage within a time limit — Taito designed these to reward dedicated replay.
- Parasol Stars was initially planned as a PC Engine exclusive and was later ported to the Amiga, Atari ST, and Game Boy, but the TurboGrafx-16 version is consistently regarded as the definitive version.
