The Legendary Starfy (DS) Review

It’s not uncommon to see a primarily Japanese property get exported to the west after a little bit of exposure. When we first saw Marth and Roy debut in Super Smash Bros Melee, the popularity for their signature series, Fire Emblem, increased outside of Japan beyond what was initially expected. Now, with the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the western world has been introduced to Starfy, and now, we are lucky enough to get the latest game in the Starfy series, The Legendary Starfy.

The Legendary Starfy opens with Starfy, the game’s protagonist (who is either a star or a starfish; we’ll never know) sleeping in his bed in the Pufftop Palace in the sky. However, during his sleep, a rabbit wearing an astronaut suit named Bunston falls through the roof of the Pufftop Palace and was followed by the Dire Pirate Squad. Fast forward through a couple of conflicts and Bunston is dropped from the Pufftop Palace, the Dire Pirate Squad have disappeared and Starfy has been left wondering where Bunston is. Moe, Starfy’s adorable shellfish friend, turns up to work out what went on, but much to his dismay, Starfy just jumps away from the Pufftop Palace and then falls into the ocean, looking to find Bunston and defeat the Dire Pirate Squad.

The Legendary Starfy is probably one of the best looking two dimensional DS games on the system. Starfy is beautifully animated, with most of the worlds he travels through being extremely vibrant and sharp. The enemies that Starfy will encounter are also beautifully animated, with some of the larger boss characters expanding over both screens. It’s needless to say that whoever was in charge of the artistic direction for The Legendary Starfy definitely captured the charm and quirkiness of the franchise’s characters in this iteration.

The gameplay in The Legendary Starfy is fairly straight forward; an almost Kirby-esque platformer. Players step into the shoes (or should I say points) of Starfy, a magical starfish who has one main ability, and that is to spin. Yes, to spin. While it’s not anything particularly interesting, the worlds that Starfy travels through are what makes it interesting. Starfy must move from the beginning of the level to the end while defeating enemies and collecting treasure along the way. Most of Starfy’s environments will be underwater, meaning that Starfy can swim too. The controls are very intuitive but, really, it’s hard to get things like this wrong after so long. In addition to his Spin move, Starfy can also absorb thoughts from Bunston whenever he appears in order to morph into another form, once again similar to Kirby. The first, a dragon, allows Starfy to breathe fire. In addition, some other forms include ghosts, chickens and an ice-shooting dugong-like creature. These forms really do vary up the gameplay and make it a little more interesting.

In addition to the actual gameplay, there are several interludes in which the creepily silent Starfy listens to one of his friends or an enemy speak to him in order to advance the story. While there isn’t anything necessarily wrong with the scenes themselves, as they are localised brilliantly, there is something I didn’t like about them – namely they felt as if they were intruding on the gameplay. It got to the point where the story took the backseat just so that I could actually play the game more.

Probably the biggest problem with Starfy’s gameplay is that it’s just too easy, with one of the boss battles taking me less than thirty seconds to complete. While this is probably a given since the game does look like it’s geared towards younger children, there is just too much complexity within the main game in terms of collectibles to make it seem like it IS made for younger children. What the main point here is, is that while Starfy appears to be an extremely easy game, there is a lot of stuff that more mature gamers can do to lengthen the experience. Namely, there are heaps of hidden treasures to find in the game too, as well as accessories to dress up a virtual model of Starfy. A little more on that later.

In a rather expected fashion, Starfy’s soundtrack is kind of forgettable while being adorably upbeat at the same time. Players will probably be taken back to the days when they were paying Kirby’s Dreamland. The sounds that Starfy makes can get a tad on the irritating side, but for the most part you’ll be too busy having fun spinning through oceans, destroying fish and collecting treasure to even care. To put it quick and painlessly, Starfy’s soundtrack is adorable and matches the tone that the game is trying to convey, while at the same time it’s probably not one of the greatest soundtracks you’ll ever hear.

In addition to the single player modes, players will be able to play through pre-determined special levels and the boss battles of the game in co-operative mode, where second players will take the role of Starly, Starfy’s just as adorable sister. In addition to this, there are approximately five mini-games that offer a nice distraction for players who might’ve put a little too much time into the single player mode. Finally, players can also interview the game’s characters about the events in the game, a nice feature but nothing that’s extremely crucial to gameplay. Being such an easy game, it’s hard to say that you’ll have trouble finishing it nor that you’ll take a good amount of time finishing it either. There is all that extra content locked away for completionists, as previously mentioned.

To conclude, The Legendary Starfy is the first Starfy game that we’ve received in the Western world and I wouldn’t want to stop it at this. The world that has been created by the game’s developers is vibrant and alive, while the gameplay itself is really suitable for any age group. With a bit of work, the developers can easily work this up to the same level as Kirby, if not surpass it. A great platformer worth a look from DS users young and old.

Graphics 8.0

A brilliant combination of colourful environments and nicely drawn characters makes the visual presentation in Starfy absolutely amazing for the DS. Animation is fluid and brings life to the characters inhabiting Starfys world.

Gameplay 7.0

While the gameplay is great, the difficulty is extremely easy and most well seasoned gamers will have no trouble getting through it fast. The mechanics are sound and there are a few extra modes and mini-games to make the game just a little more appealing as an overall package.

Sound 5.5

A rather average soundtrack that, although upbeat and cheerful, is somewhat forgettable. Definitely the worst part of The Legendary Starfy.

Tilt 6.0

The single player mode can be short due to its difficulty, but the world that Starfy adventures through has many secrets just waiting to be discovered by completionists. Otherwise, a rather short affair. Multiplayer co-op keeps the game fresh for when a mate comes around too.

Value 8.0

While it was incredibly easy, I really enjoyed Starfy. The colourful and detailed graphics really pulled me in, with the game being very reminiscent of the Gameboy platformers I played as a child.