Unlike many other games in the series, Parasol Stars was never released to arcades - it was originally developed for the NEC PC Engine, and later converted to a number of other home systems. There are four different kinds of droplets, with a mostly elemental theme, some of which are carried over from Bubble Bobble. The parasol can hold more than one droplet at once if five are held, they merge into a large droplet with a special power. The player can capture these on their parasol and throw them at enemies. They fall under the influence of gravity and roll along the platforms within the screen. Almost every level has droplets which drip from points in the level. The rounds are simple arrangements of platforms. At many points it can be used as a parachute.

The parasol is a multipurpose device, it can block as a shield, stun enemies, capture droplets or hurl enemies.

While it is normally closed, the player can deploy it in two ways either open in front of them, or open above the head. According to an ACE magazine in-depth preview, the Amiga and Atari ST versions also contain a secret 'Nightmare' world.

Completing these two lead to the final boss, Chaostikhan (the one responsible for stealing color from the worlds, and supposedly the mastermind behind the previous game's villains) and the true ending. There are eight main worlds however, in order to complete the game properly, the player must open a secret door on the final world by collecting three of the Star items - allowing access to 2 secret worlds, themed around Bubble Bobble and Chack'n Pop that are not initially visible on the main screen. Each world features seven rounds, the last one always hosting a boss that must be defeated to progress to the next world. The game takes place on a number of different worlds, each with a distinct theme. However, Parasol Stars is more of a take on Bubble Bobble than it is on Rainbow Islands. Bubby and Bobby (the characters' human names) star once again as the main characters, retaining their human forms from Rainbow Islands.

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