Starfy is a pretty legendary Nintendo video game character in Japan, appearing in several games over there since the Game Boy Advance. It must’ve taken the little starfish a long time to swim across the Pacific, but now he’s finally available in the US! In The Legendary Starfy, a mysterious rabbit creature wearing a spacesuit crashes through Starfy’s castle in the sky, and the space bunny’s being chased by some shadowy goons. It’s up to Starfy, his clam friend Moe, and little sister Starly to help their new friend and save the day!

Starfy and friends are like a cross between an anime version of Spongebob and Finding Nemo. Starfy’s games are typical 2-D platformers, similar to Mario or Kirby. Starfy can do all the things a 2-D game hero is supposed to do: run, jump, do a spin attack, and swim. Especially swim, as Starfy, being a starfish, maneuvers well in water and many of the levels involve the wet stuff. As his games are geared for younger players, The Legendary Starfy is light on difficulty. But as a Nintendo published product, it’s not light on production values…or fun!

The graphics are clean and colorful and the sprites are well-animated. And play control is smooth and easy, too. Sometimes, Starfy can change into different creatures like a fire-breathing dragon or a chicken, which give him new abilities. And in a select few levels and boss fights, you can even have another player join in wirelessly with their own DS and play as Starfy’s spunky little sister Starly. Explore and collect pearls, find hidden treasures, secret levels, and outfits to dress up Starfy in. A few touch screen mini-games round out the package. The Legendary Starfy is highly recommended for anyone who likes breezy 2-D platformers, the young, and the young at heart.

For more Starfy fun, here’s a blog I wrote a few months ago, when I imported the newest Starfy game from Japan. I’ve imported them all thinking they would never come over here, and it’s a nice surprise to find out Nintendo finally did it. I’ve never played a game both in Japanese and in English before, so it was kind of interesting to see how they localized it. Only thing they took out was the voices at the beginning that said “Nintendo” and the title of the game. And I never thought about naming the clam character “Moe!” Oh yeah, one warning about my previous blog on Starfy. It’s a little outdated and I don’t feel like updating it, so you’ll read a lot of incorrect information about character names and the fact that I said multiple times that Starfy games would never come out in America. It feels good to be wrong this time!

Kid Factor:
The Legendary Starfy is rated E for Everyone with an ESRB descriptor of Mild Cartoon Violence. Starfy spins at enemies and they just twirl off screen when hit, and that’s all. Because of the cheerful themes and light challenge level, The Legendary Starfy is best for younger players. But older gamers will still have fun finding all the secrets. Reading skill is helpful for all the text, but since I’ve played the import version just fine and don’t know a lick of Japanese, I can safely say that reading ability isn’t necessary at all to enjoy this game. I would even say that The Legendary Starfy is a better game for a youngster than most Mario titles. Mario games are great for kids, but later levels have more tricky jumps and obstacles that may frustrate less experienced gamers. But even the youngest players can enjoy Starfy with little to no help from another person. The Legendary Starfy is definitely a great addition to any young gamer’s library.

Tags: Game Reviews