Parasol Stars
Image: Taito/ININ Games

Update [Fri 14th Jun, 2024 09:45 BST]: ININ has given an update on its upcoming rerelease of Parasol Stars: Bubble Bobble III for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

According to a new release date trailer, which was published on its YouTube channel yesterday, the game will arrive on digital storefronts on July 11th and will be priced at £8.99/$9.99/€9.99. Pre-orders are currently live for the Nintendo Switch version, with a 10% discount applied. Xbox pre-orders, meanwhile, will open later this month on June 19th.


Original Story [Thu 20th Jul, 2023 16:30 BST]: ININ Games has announced that it intends to release the Taito platformer Parasol Stars: The Story Of Bubble Bobble III on modern consoles. It will be coming to the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, hopefully this year.

Just to give you a quick refresher, Parasol Stars was originally released on the PC Engine back in 1991 and was the sequel to Rainbow Islands and the original Bubble Bobble. It was later ported to the Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Nintendo Game Boy, and NES, and was also made available for the Wii Virtual Console in 2008. This new reissue, however, should give players a brand new opportunity to rediscover it, giving them an easy way to play it on modern machines.

Here's a description of the story taken from the store page:

"In this captivating platformer by TAITO, players follow the adventures of two brothers, Bubby and Bobby, who embark on a mission to save their neighboring planets from an evil menace. Instead of shooting bubbles, they are now armed with colorful, dazzling parasols with magical powers. These parasols are also used to shield against enemy attacks, stun foes or unleash a torrent of high-scoring stars! “Parasol Stars” is loaded with power-ups that could mean the difference between a sweet win or a crushing defeat! Toss a bomb and blast your enemies to smithereens, or freeze time with a clock that’s all yours to command. But don’t get too comfy, or Death will sneak up on you and swipe one of your precious lives! Harness the power of the parasol and show off your skills in this epic adventure!"

As well as announcing these digital releases for consoles, ININ Games has also partnered up with Strictly Limited Games to produce exclusive and highly limited boxed versions of the games for PS4, PS5, and Switch, with pre-orders starting on July 27th. Here is the store page with more information.

[source youtu.be]