Star Parodier is a vertical scrolling shooter, much like the Star Soldier games, and features many of the same conventions, such as collecting power-ups to upgrade the player's weapons, and facing several bosses and minibosses as they progress through the game. The game also features the 2 and 5 minute high score time attack modes seen in previous games. However, in parodying the hard sci-fi atmosphere of the Star Soldier games, Star Parodier takes a light hearted approach by featuring cute, cartoonish graphics and toning down the violence (for example, defeated enemies wave white flags in surrender). The players choose from one of three craft to play as in the game: the Paro Ceaser from Star Soldier, a giant flying Bomberman or an anthropomorphic PC Engine console that shoots HuCards and CD-ROMs at enemies. The game was originally only released in Japan, though it was also intended to be released in North America under the name Fantasy Star Soldier.