Pentarou

Pentarou (ペンタロウ)
Created by	Konami
Species	Penguin
First Appearance	Parodius Da! －Shinwa kara Owarai e－
Parents	Penguin, Penko
# of Appearances	16 between 1983 and 1997 including father

Pentarou (ペン太郎, ペンタロウ, pentarō) is a video game character created by Konami, originally appearing in 1990 in the game Parodius Da! －Shinwa kara Owarai e－. A male penguin, he is the son of the penguin referred to as just "Penguin" (ペンギン, Pengin), later named Penta (ペン太) who originally appeared in 1983 in Antarctic Adventure, but subsequently became the protagonist Penguin Adventure and a playable character in the MSX Parodius game. Yume Penguin Monogatari (Penguin Dream story) features a penguin by the name of Penta, which may be either Pentarou or his father. Pentarou's name is a portmanteau of penguin and "Tarō", which is a very common boys' name oft used in Japanese folk tales.

Occupation

Pentarou's father Penguin had no occupation, as in Antarctic Adventure Penguin was marooned on the southern most continent, and had lost contact with his family, was trying to return home. In Penguin Adventure, Penguin was charged with the task of traveling through the "dream continent" to find the golden apple which would cure the disease that Penguin Princess Penguette (Penko in Japan), Penguin's girlfriend and Pentarou's mother, had come down with. Shortly after, Penguin had a stint as a professional table tennis player. Pentarou has made most of his appearances in the Parodius series of games, where he was a selectable character in every title from Parodius Da! －Shinwa kara Owarai e－ onwards, except Sexy Parodius. In that title he plays the role of a boss at the mercenary company where all the Parodius characters are employed. He handles the negotiations and gives out the assignments to the other characters. He works in an office, specifically at a desk that he can barely see across where he utilizes a typewriter constantly. As Pentarou cannot fight himself in this game, he hires Ivan & Toby, two penguin commandos to take his place.

Appearance

Originally Penguin has black feathers on his arms and backside, although sometimes they appear as an azure shade, however Pentarou's feathers are always blue. At the time of Yume Penguin Monogatari, Penta (believed to be Penguin) becomes obese and risks his love life because of it. Later on, as pictured in the cartoon drawings of the Parodius games, Pentarou wears a flack jacket and wields a carbine. It is possible that he picked up the shooting skills learned by his father during the course of events in Penguin Adventure, as one of the most facilitating items during the course of the game is a gun.

Love life

Penguin is known to have had one girlfriend/mate, Penguette (Penko-Hime, ペン子姫) as a result of the journey he faced in Penguin Adventure, who is the mother of Pentarou. In the manual for Parodius on the MSX, it states that Penguin has earned many female fans from his appearances in PC games, causing Penko (here labeled as Penko-chan) to be jealous. In addition, his duties with the Space Fighters had made him uncomfortable in his relationship with Penko.[1]

Yume Penguin Monogatari features a penguin simply known as Penta. While it is arguable that Penta is not the same Penguin, the game also features a female penguin who is named "Penko" and is dressed and colored exactly the same way as Penko Hime, thus solidifying the link between the protagnoists. In YPM, Penta has grown severely obese, to the point that his girlfriend (Penko) is dumping him for another penguin named Ginji. The game followed the struggle of Penta losing weight by finding various diet drinks and exercising. However Ginji was determined to keep Penko and so he sent enemies after Penta to force feed him. At the conclusion of the game Penko reveals herself to be overweight to the now-fit Penta. Penta slaps his own head in disbelief.

Pentarou acquired a mate in the Parodius series; a female penguin named Hanako, meaning "little flower". Hanako is a common Japanese girl's name. Hanako is similarly colored as Penko, although her feathers are closer to magenta than pink, and in some games appear orange. It is unknown if Pentarou has any children, although one could conjecture that the options he uses in the Parodius games, pictured as small penguins, are in-fact his offspring.

Appearances of Penguin and Pentarou

• 1983 – Antarctic Adventure (MSX, ColecoVision, NES) – Protagonist (Penguin)
• 1985 – Konami's Ping Pong (Arcade) – Protagonist (Penguin)
• 1986 – Penguin Adventure (MSX) – Protagonist (Penguin)
• 1986 – Game Master (MSX) (Penguin)
• 1988 – Wai Wai World (Famicom) – In a brief cameo, he operates a special transportation device that sends the main character to one of the game's six main levels.
• 1988 – Parodius (MSX) – One of the selectable characters (Penguin)
• 1988 – Game Master 2 (MSX)
• 1988 – Konami no Uranai Sensation (MSX2)
• 1989 – Hai no Majutsushi (MSX2) – One of the selectable characters
• 1990 – Parodius Da! －Shinwa kara Owarai e－ (Arcade, MSX, Super Famicom, Game Boy, PC Engine) – One of the selectable characters (Pentarou)
• 1991 — Wai Wai World 2: SOS!! Paseri Jou (Famicom) – He makes a brief cameo between stages.
• 1991 – Yume Penguin Monogatari (Famicom) – Obese protagonist
• 1994 – Gokujō Parodius! ～Kako no Eikō o Motomete～ (Arcade, Super Famicom) – One of the selectable characters (Pentarou)
• 1995 – Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius (Super Famicom, PlayStation) – One of the selectable characters (Pentarou)
• 1996 – Sexy Parodius (Arcade, Sega Saturn, PlayStation) – Is the boss, and perhaps owner, of the Parodius mercenary organization. (Pentarou)
• 1997 – Paro Wars (PlayStation) – One of the selectable characters
• 1999 - Crash Team Racing (PlayStation) - A penguin named Penta, which maybe a reference to this character or actually this character, appears as a secret racer.
• 2001 – Konami Krazy Racers (Game Boy Advance) – Options screens
• 2008 – New International Track & Field (Nintendo DS) – One of the selectable Konami characters

External links

• Thorough overview of Penguin Adventure
• Review of Yume Penguin Monogatari