Systems > DS > L > The Legendary Starfy > Staff Review
Sign up for a free user account and you can leave feedback for this review or even submit a game review of your own!
Review by Jason Venter 
June 27, 2009
The Legendary Starfy may represent Starfy's Western Hemisphere debut, but there's no awkward learning curve. After a lively introduction depicted in animated frames that could easily have come from a comic book, you'll appear within the first of several gorgeously-rendered aquatic worlds. A moment or two is all that it will take to become accustomed to the fluid controls as you scamper about on land and dive through the water as if you've been doing so from the day the first game in the franchise arrived in Japan on the Game Boy Advance.
Gameplay feels like a curious mix of Mario and Kirby-style action. Most of your feats of daring will transpire underwater, where you simply move around with the d-pad and press face buttons to accelerate your motions or to start spinning so that you can survive contact with nasties such as crabs and blowfish. It's all comfortably familiar without being tiresome. There's an excellent sense of freedom, too, but never to the point where any of it becomes overwhelming. Best of all, the ability to swim all over the place is actually put to good use. Explore long enough and you'll find hidden passages, secret rooms and even alternate areas accessible from the world map.
Stretches of the game that abandon the watery environment, while still engaging, tend to feel more conventional and make up only a minority of the overall affair. To compensate for any shortcomings, the developers granted access to a varied arsenal of moves that range from double jumps to transformations. New moves join your repertoire as you advance--almost to the very last encounter--keeping things fresh and exciting as you wander through a surprisingly expansive series of around 50 stages.
In case you're not satisfied with a diet of constant platforming and a steady trickle of new abilities, there are a variety of diversions along the way. For example, one stage finds Starfy rolled into a snowball. He'll barrel downhill and you have to move and jump--in the limited fashion available--to avoid falling into fatal gaps. Another break from the norm comes in the form of a series of mine cart rides where you can flip switches to raise the water level (good if you want to leap the widest chasms) while avoiding destructive bits of the landscape. Thanks to solid level design and a variety of neat puzzles, such moments aren't strictly necessary to keep the game engaging. They certainly don't hurt, though.
Boss battles also add plenty of variety. They're quite distinct and definitely more challenging than negotiating the stages. Though the early monsters can easily be defeated simply by spamming Starfy's spinning attack--though not to the point where he gets dizzy--later encounters require the player to make use of the environment. For instance, one fight takes place along a waterfall with spiked barriers on the sides. Going directly against an armored monster will get you nowhere and he moves his shield too quickly for you to possibly get behind him, but what if you push him against the spikes? Surely he won't like that!
By tending a bit toward the puzzle side of the platformer genre, The Legendary Starfy is able to bring a unique experience to the table. Too often, games let that be the end of the story. They'll skimp on beautiful visuals or personality. Fortunately, that's not the case here. The story is actually reasonably interesting and its presentation is lively enough that even the rare line of dull dialog is delivered with personality. There also are some jokes. None of them are laugh-out-loud funny, but the general lighthearted air of the proceedings should bring a smile to your face. Finally, there's welcome attention to detail that also carries over to the actual stages, such as when Starfy's eyes bug out as he's riding the mine cart and it's about to crash into an obstacle. If you didn't know better, you'd think that Nintendo developed the game internally.
For those who truly fall under Starfy's spell, extra content and features round out the package and should serve to keep people playing even after they've defeated the surprisingly difficult final boss. Extra stages can be unlocked, plus the orbs gathered during the main quest act as in-game currency that can be used to purchase "toys" based on the various characters encountered throughout the game. There are even a few mini-games if that's what you're looking for, including a Cooking Mama-style game where you must scramble to make pastries. What those tasty treats have to do with the main storyline is a mystery, but at least it's an excuse to pull out your stylus if you were disappointed that the system's trademark control method isn't required elsewhere.
If nothing else, The Legendary Starfy proves that even global publishers like Nintendo sometimes fail to localize excellent content. Gamers should be thankful that the Starfy trend was broken, if only this once. The game is one of the most robust platformers released on the DS in awhile, plus it's fresher than any of its kind in recent memory. When was the last time you dressed a starfish up in a chicken suit and let it frolic among rainbows as a smiling and oversized cloud blew gusts wind toward it? That sort of thing is normal in Starfy's world and Nintendo's numerous fans owe it to themselves to investigate. Hopefully, they won't have to wait as long if any follow-ups are produced.
|
|
|
Most recent video game reviews written by Jason Venter
The Simpsons Arcade Game (Xbox 360) [February 04, 2012]
Pushmo (3DS) [January 31, 2012]
Unstoppable Gorg (PC) [January 19, 2012]
Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (Xbox 360) [January 08, 2012]
Defense Grid: The Awakening (PC) [January 04, 2012]
|
You can click the tabs on the above bar to choose whether you wish to read comments from visitors who have posted on Facebook, or from registered site users who have left feedback on the forums. Please leave a comment of your own if you have anything to say!
|
|
|
Follow Us |
Advertise exclusively for 1 month... only $1000!
Recent Forum Discussions
+ holdthephone's Final Fantasy XIII-2 review
+ [News] Schafer has pitched Psychonauts 2, Minecraft dev says 'let's make it happen'
+ Where's SkyWard Sword's review ? And please bring back the rating feature.
+ playstation vita, yo.
+ RotW January 29 - February 04 2012
+ Games to be added to the database...
+ The Final Fantasy XIII-2 thread
+ [News] Final Fantasy X HD will be a remaster, not a remake
+ [News] Naughty Dog explored making a new Jak and Daxter, made Last of Us instead
+ Magical Mystery Tournament!
+ disco's SoulCalibur V review
+ nickyv917's Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door review
Staff Game Reviews
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| SoulCalibur V |
| The Simpsons Arcade Game |
| Quarrel |
| Star Ocean: The Last Hope |
| Pushmo |
| Medal of Honor: Airborne |
Site Staff
 |  | ||
 |  | ||
 |  | ||
 |  | ||
 |
Featured Reviews [+]
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Rayman Origins |
| Othello |
| Scarface: The World is Yours |
| The Last Express |
| Golden Axe II |
| Assassin's Creed: Revelations |
Exclusive User Reviews [+]
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Mega Jump |
| White Knight Chronicles |
| Dragon Wars |
| F-Zero GX |
| Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door |
| Pokemon Snap |
Info |
Help |
Privacy Policy |
Contact |
Advertise
© 1998-2012 HonestGamers
None of the material contained within this site--from reviews, guides, cheats and editorials to message board posts--may be reproduced in any conceivable fashion without permission from the author(s) of said material. This site is not sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Microsoft, or any other such party. The Legendary Starfy is a registered trademark of its copyright holder. This site makes no claim to The Legendary Starfy, its characters, screenshots, artwork, music, or any intellectual property contained within. Opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily represent the opinion of site staff or sponsors.
