Play Fantastic Journey Online

Summary

Fantastic Journey (the arcade title Gokujō Parodius – Pursuing the Past Glory) feels like a love‑letter to the original Parodius, keeping the same frantic horizontal scrolling action while tossing in a fresh roster of eight pilots. In two‑player mode the second seat isn’t just a copy‑paste; each ship is a color‑shifted clone with a quirky new name—Lord British, Hanako, Winbee, Belial, Akane, Samba, Gabriel and Aitsu—giving the match‑up a playful visual twist. Every character brings a personalized twist on the classic Gradius weapon set, and power capsules still light up the meter for upgrades, while TwinBee‑style bells change color when you blast them for extra abilities. The seven stages march from a UFO‑catcher arcade cabinet to a cookie‑shaped castle and even a neon‑lit Las Vegas casino, each ending with a boss that lampoons icons from Gradius, R‑Type, Xevious, Galaga and Thunder Force—think the “Crazy Core” ship, a mermaid named Eliza, a capsule‑shaped mizumakura, and a geisha with bunny ears. Behind the chaos, Konami’s team—programmer Tsukasa Tokuda, designer Shūjirō Hamakawa, sound‑designer Kazuhiro Senoo and chief Masahiro Inoue—added a “YOU LOSE” game‑over banner, a newcomer‑friendly Semi‑Auto mode, and a soundtrack that mixes classical remixes with familiar Konami tunes, helping the game climb to the top of arcade charts in mid‑1994.

Storyline

In Fantastic Journey on Arcade (often just called Fantastic Journey), the player pilots a quirky flyer through a series of bizarre, surreal locations. The goal is to snatch a legendary treasure and restore the hero’s lost glory.

The chase leads to a glittering dance hall where the supposed prize turns out to be an anthropomorphic bomb named “Mr. Past Glory.” He apologetically admits he isn’t the treasure and then detonates, blowing the hall to smithereens.