Sexy Parodius Original Sound Version

Let it be known that I love the Parodius series. When I was first introduced to Parodius, I was delighted with its fun and over-exaggerated graphics and style. One of the coolest aspects of the series was the music. The spin-off style of Gradius and its distinguished harmony has always been to my liking.

If you're thinking of buying this soundtrack, be sure you know what you're getting into first. (From that line, you'd think that it's a bad thing, right? Not so!) Sexy Parodius OSV takes classical music, remakes it into Konami's famous rocking style, and infuses it with upbeat, hyper-cute overtones. There are several cool combinations of classical works from Bach, Debussy, Korsakov, and Beethoven, among others. The music itself is always fun and silly sounding, and it's never, ever completely serious; it's downright wacky, in fact! The synthesized instruments are full of power and there are fast, upbeat sounds aplenty, which is a definite trademark of Konami's music.

The actual sound system is a vast step up from the previous installment, Gokujou Parodius. The sounds are much crisper, the synth-fuzz that's evident in many of the older arcade sound chips is more or less gone, and you really hear the drum machines leave their mark. Perhaps what makes this soundtrack so cool is that such a great sound system is used for such nonsensical compositions.

Everyone recognizes these songs too. Listening to them is like listening to a Looney Tunes cartoon. Do you like songs like Mozart's Symphony No. 40 but can't quite dig the classical overtones? Well, give "Help Me!" a go! "Yuko Is Your Enemy's" Swan Lake theme? Find it here! Some of my personal faves are the famous farm theme of "Pastoral March", the Flight of the Bumblebee melody in "Boss! It's Parodius", and "Chu Chu Polka", which starts off with a small reprise of Castlevania's "Vampire Killer", then transitions over to a fun-filled, wacky polka medley! The songs aren't all classical in origin; it couldn't be called "Parodius" without having some Gradius songs on it, right? I can't recall all of them, but I definitely recognize "Destroy The Candy" as one of the intense songs in Gradius.

This music truly is odd. Nonetheless, it simply rocks; the entire premise is innovative and really works well. I give Sexy Parodius - Original Sound Version my full recommendation. And if you get a chance, try out the shooter games. I guarantee one wacky, fun time!