I should love this game… I’ve been trying for years to get in to it, keep thinking it will get better just round the corner but… It’s so damn tedious!
I’m at a point near the start where I’ve just fed the mouse/rat 3 bits of cheese and now I’m trying to climb up and…? Jump in some water? I just keep falling and dying over and over.
Just having a rant! Really want to like this game as much as others seem to…
Parodius was released in 1988, and I wouldn’t even definitively say it was the first.
Hell, Leisure Suit Larry came out in ‘87.
Leisure suit Larry is not really a parody like Conker was though, was it? I thought it was just a point and click adventure game with dirty jokes.
Forgive me, if I’m wrong on that. I actually have not really played the leisure suit Larry games. 
I think, Conker not only makes fun of platformer games and game mechanics in general, but directly references movies like Saving Private Ryan, the Alien franchise, and the Matrix. 
I think it had a mix of dirty jokes and parodies. It’s been ages since I’ve played it.
Hopefully someone who remembers it better can chime in, otherwise I guess I know what my weekend downtime plans are.
Parodius to me isn’t a parody, but maybe I’m missing the references. It’s a shmup with funny sprit nnit? How does funny sprites equal a parody? Not being hostile, btw, just looking to get your POV.
Parodius is a parody of Gradius (hence the name).
is it just wordplay or is it a straight up parody?
It’s a “silly” version of Gradius. Wikipedia can explain it better than I can: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parodius:_The_Octopus_Saves_the_Earth
I guess it should have qualified it as a “major console release.”