The Legendary Starfy

Review from AJ - Monday, 02 November 2009 @ 9:46am

The Legendary Who?

Why have I never heard of this Starfy guy? Am I showing a complete ignorance of all things Nintendo with my lack of Starfy knowledge? I’ve played a whole lot of Nintendo titles, and never once came across any such starfish! Well, as it turns out, The Legendary Starfy is actually the 5th game featuring the “oh so cute” Starfy....it’s just that none of them have made their way of out Japan until now.

I love the names of the games in this series (translated from Japanese of course):

Ummm..yeah....different marketing team on the last one perhaps?

Ice Ice Baby

So anyway, Starfy...sorry, The Legendary Starfy, is a little yellow super cute guy. He lives in Pufftop Palace (in the clouds) with his sister Starly. He also has a couple of friends in, Moe (the clam) and Mermaid (a mermaid!). In this particular adventure he is aiding the astronaut suit wearing Bunston, a space faring rabbit. I originally thought Starfy was a starfish, as that would seem to fit the whole underwater thing, but I was somewhat perplexed as to why a starfish would be living in the sky. As it turns out, after some research, he’s not really a starfish...but that research hasn’t helped me work out exactly what he is.

It’s not hard to understand why Starfy hasn’t made his way West until now. The game is distinctly Japanese. The characters, the situation and the story are all very fun and very much not what we’re used to seeing. For some that is a plus, for others it is a rather perplexing negative. It’s this fact that has kept Starfy out of our hands for the past 7 years. Starfy has made an appearance in the West before, as an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

ZOMG, CUTENESS OVERLOAD IMMINENT

The game itself, is similar to Kirby in many ways or perhaps Super Princess Peach (I haven’t played it, honest!), and is very much a typical Nintendo 2D platformer in terms of layout, level design and progression. “Platformer”, however, doesn’t very accurately describe Starfy, as most of the game is played under water. Starfy can go on land, and must do so on occasion, but he is much slower than in water.

Starfy has only one basic attack which is a spin attack. The spin attack is not only used to defeat enemies, but also to bash broken walls to reveal secret areas and to pick up special bubbles containing money which can be used to buy stuff (more on that later). Spin too much and Starfy get’s dizzy, always amusing, but also can be really annoying when in the midst of battle. As is typical for this genre, Starfy also has several “costumes” (courtesy of Bunston for some reason!) which give him special powers. At certain times in the game Starfy can change into Monstar (a fire breathing dragon), Starpedo (a seal that allows you to ram enemies with a large ice spike), Starfright (a Boo with cuteness +10, wall hack ability and exploding poo) and Roostar(a chicken that has a sonic squawk with chickens that come out of its mouth). Each of the costumes are stupidly cute, and so absurd as to be amusing. As is standard fare, the abilities only become available on levels DESIGNED for that ability. Not a problem, but removes any chance of you “exploring” ways to beat a level.

Yeah I duno either

Starfy’s story is funny, and the character animations are adorable. Whilst I have played a fair proportion of the game now, I’m still not entirely sure what the hell is going on. I’ve never been one for reading, and whilst entertaining, there is a lot of reading to be done. There certainly is not as much as Paper Mario, but still enough to have me mashing the A button in attempt to skip it. The general gist is that Bunston, the space bunny, is on the run from the “Terrible Trio” and Starfy (and his Starly) are attempting to find out why and to help him out. Starly is occasionally available as a playable character in a sort of co-op mode only playable with another DS (no cartridge required). Lots of fun, and a very cool way to share the enjoyment, but it can be frustrating to have to leave sections of the game “unplayed” if no one is around to join in.

The Legendary Starfy also has a series of minigames playable solo or with friends including a cooking game, a fishing game and slingshotting coin game. As is usually the case, the games are entertaining distractions but really are just something to fill in the time when not playing the rest of the game. I’m not much for collecting extras, but the game does feature a rather novel and amusing “dress up” section allowing you to dress up Starfy in all sorts of ridiculous outfits. The sad thing is that none of it carries over to the game making it fairly redundant unless you like to tick all the “complete” boxes on a game.

He doesn't talk... but I bet he sounds like Pikachu

The Legendary Starfy, in reality, is a case of a reworking of an old formula. The worlds are pretty much what you’d expect (there is even the Starfy equivalent of a Lavel level and an Ice level), the characters are super cute, the enemies expectedly hopeless, the story predictably lame (but enjoyable nonetheless). But I guess when you’re on to a good thing stick to it! Starfy lives in a big detailed world with plenty to do and more than enough to keep the most dedicated gamer occupied for a long time. If you’ve always gone out and bought every Mario Bros, Kirby, Princess Peach and Wario game, then Starfy is more of the same with a little bit of a twist...well...it’s more of a “spin”, and it’s enough to make a tired genre fresh and entertaining.

Pros

Exceedingly Attractive Super Cuteness Power!
Costume powers are entertaining AND useful
Big world, lots to do.
All water levels, yet doesn't suck!
Fun characters and story

Cons

Mostly still the same old ideas.
A little too easy and a little too cute for us manly men.
Results in lack of sleep when played before bed.