Parodius Da! is a horizontally-scrolling shoot-em-up in which the Great Octopus has threatened Earth. To help Parodius save the planet, the player and his friends must begin their search across the world to find the enemy and destroy him. Parodius Da! was created as a parody of Konami's own "Gradius" series of shoot-em-ups but adopted a graphical style that was entirely its own; something that becomes evident at the very start of the game when players can chose to pilot either a penguin or an octopus rather that the traditional Gradius ship.