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The Legendary StarfyBy Marlon Esmeralda - 07-13-09 Print  EmailI'll admit that I've never played a Starfy game before, and I'm sure many other American games are the same way. Most of this is due to Nintendo keeping the little star guy a Japan-only franchise. Now Nintendo has finally decided to bring their star hero to North American shores in The Legendary Starfy for the Nintendo DS. While it may be the fifth in the series, The Legendary Starfy is a good choice for the debut of Starfy in the U.S. In The Legendary Starfy, players will take the role of Starfy. He is the prince of Pufftop Palace, which is a kingdom located in the sky. Starfy was enjoying a nice nap until an unknown visitor falls down from above and crashes through the roof, landing right on Starfy. The visitor is Bunston, a rabbit in an astronaut outfit, and he is being chased by an unknown trio. Starfy, being the nice guy that he is, decides to help Bunston out. After fighting off the shady guys, Starfy realizes that Bunston has dove off into the ocean below. Eager to learn more about Bunston, Starfy attempts to follow him down. While Moe, Starfy's best friend, tries to stop him, but fails as the two dive down from the clouds into the ocean. The two eventually meet up with Bunston and find out that he's lost his memory. It is then discovered that Bunston drop a shard from earlier. When Bunston saw the shard, he suddenly gets a burst of memory and recalls some of the past events. So Starfy, Moe, and Bunston join up together on an adventure to find the other missing shards in order to recover Bunston's lost memory and to find out why he is being chased. The gameplay in Starfy is similar to many Nintendo platformers. When I first played the game, I couldn't help but get the feel of a Kirby game. It's not entirely the same platformer as the other Nintendo games either. Underwater levels also fill the game up, and bring something new to platforming, which the Starfy series can call its own. The controls are very simple, where you got a button to attack and a button to jump. In water, the controls change a bit, but it still feels the same and is just as easy to learn. As you progress later in the game, you will get additional abilities allowing you to jump higher and even glide. Bunston also has a special power that puts Starfy into one of four animal costumes, each equipped with a special ability. Like a dragon that can breathe out fire, or a manatee that can tranform its tail into a huge ice shard. The levels will also start to revolve around your newly found abilities, allowing for some depth in gameplay. They also start to change in overall level design as you progress through each World in the game. Each level has its own charm, and it really gets you a bit anxious when you move onto another one. Though the overall difficulty of the game is fairly easy, that doesn't mean it wasn't fun to play. The boss battles are pretty enjoyable, and are a bit creative. Many secrets also fill up the levels, so you get that feel of exploring, as you're looking through every crack and corner, to make sure you're not missing out on anything. On the bottom screen will be useful tools available to you as you play. Each of these tools showcase a different character from the game, with more being available as you progress further. The first tool you gain is a mermaid application, that gives you hints for the level you're playing. Other tools help keep track of your play time, or of your overall progress in the game. A very useful tool is the Moe application, which helps detect if a secret treasure chest is nearby. It's very helpful, as treasure chests will unlock many things for you. Things like secrets journal entries of characters, and special outfits for Starfy to wear. While it doesn't do anything gameplay wise, players have a 3-D Starfy avatar on the top screen every time they pause the game. With a mascot as cute as Starfy, you can't help but smile at the idea. Unlocking a full outfit, will also trigger special situations for your Starfy avatar. For example, dressing him up in beachwear will trigger a special that will have Starfy relaxing on a beach. Another is getting him dressed up as a magician to unlock the special for a Starfy Magic Show. There are many other things that you can do in the game, other than the platforming levels. There are five mini-games to engage in, with only two being available from the start. One of the games has you making dumplings in a Cooking Mama style, where you do things like oiling up the pan, pouring the batter, dropping in the octopus, flipping the dumpling, flipping it again, then adding the toppings. The game is very simple, and very addicting. Other mini-games will have you shooting coins or fishing, allowing for up to 4 players to face off with each other. Aside from mini-games, multiplayer can also be seen in the core game, as it supports co-op play for certain levels and boss fights. The second player will take on the form of Starly, Starfy's pink sister, and has some special moves of her own. The best part for the multiplayer is that everything is accessible with only one game available. The graphics in The Legendary Starfy are all 2-D, besides the Starfy avatar, and sports a similar style to Kirby. Very colorful levels, with each set of levels having its own feel as you explore through different worlds. The dialogue scenes have characters showing off their emotions in over-the-top ways, like mouths wide open and eyes popping out. The cutscenes are shown in a comic-book style, like in Elite Beat Agents, with some slight animations and message bubbles. The audio is also nicely done, with a few catchy tunes and detailed sound effects. Nothing really standing too far out. Starfy's cute voice will also have you smiling. The single-player mode in The Legendary Starfy will certainly take a while to go through, and it is quite the adventure. It may be a breeze to get through, but it will take a good bit of skill to achieve everything the game has to offer. There are just so many things to unlock in this game, and those things add more to the overall replay value of the game. Like a boss mode, that will have you playing through all the game's bosses. Play by yourself, and then enjoy the game with others. Your total amount of time with the game is really dependent on how much you're willing to put into it. Play the single-player and be done with it, play the addicting mini-games, or replay and explore the levels to uncover everything. There's plenty to do in the game. The Legendary Starfy is a great starting point for, hopefully, many other Starfy games to come. Fans of classic platformers will enjoy the old-school influences presented in Starfy, while also enjoying the new things it also brings on its own. This is a game probably more directed to the kids, but gamers of all ages can really get into it, and still get a sense of enjoyment in playing it. The story is very heart-warming and fun, the levels are great, the mini-games can be addicting, and dressing up Starfy may be a bit odd. No matter what you do in this game, chances are you may be smiling while doing it. The Legendary Starfy is a very charming and well-presented title, and one that's more than worthy to stand with Nintendo's other golden franchises. Ratings |
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