is a
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
series developed by
Tose
() (also called Tose Software) is a Japanese video game development company based in Kyoto. It is mostly known for developing Nintendo's Game & Watch ports and remakes#Game & Watch Gallery series, ''Game & Watch Gallery'' series, various ''Drago ...
and published by
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
. The series is the only franchise for which Tose owns the copyright, which they share with Nintendo; as a result, Tose, which normally does not put their company name on their games, does so in the ''Starfy'' series. The series began in 2002 with ''
Densetsu no Stafy'' for the
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
, and four sequels were released. For its first seven years, ''Starfy'' games were not released outside Japan. The fifth and latest game in the series was released as ''The Legendary Starfy'' in North America on June 8, 2009.
Games
The following is a list of games released in the series. Games predating ''Taiketsu! Daīru Kaizokudan'' were only released in Japan. As a result, there are no English language titles for these games. An English language title may be given if any Nintendo division outside Japan elects to localize any of these games or feature any of them in a game from another series.
Gameplay
''The Legendary Starfy'' series are
platform game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
s, focusing more on swimming than running and jumping around. Players control the protagonist of the series, Starfy, throughout each game; from the third title onward, Starfy's sister Starly is also playable occasionally. When on land, the controls are equal to the controls of most other platform games. When in the water, players can only move Starfy around using the control pad alone; however, if players want to make Starfy swim faster, they hold the B button down while moving him around. The games are usually composed of multiple stages or worlds, with each stage split up into four sub-stages. Boss characters hide at the end of each world's final sub-stage. Most of the other sub-stages' goals are centered around retrieving a lost or stolen item for another character. Most power-ups are vehicles and costumes. Some are new moves, and some are upgrades for moves and other power-ups.
Marketing
Although there had always been plans to bring the series to North America, the reason why the series stayed in Japan until the announcement of the fifth game was because Nintendo of America had declared the series to be "too Japanese". Nintendo of America has also considered bringing the other four games to North America in some form as well as expanding the series to the Wii, depending on "fan response".
Commercials
The animated television commercials loosely take place in the plot of whatever title is being advertised, as well as its gameplay. The settings and actions were slightly different compared to the ones in the titles they advertised. For instance, in
the first ''The Legendary Starfy'' title, Starfy was walking inside the Tenkai Palace while carrying some stuff, including the Magic Jar holding the antagonist, Ogura, until Starfy tripped and dropped the stuff he was carrying, while the Magic Jar fell into the ocean below the Tenkai Palace. But in one of the commercials for the first title of the series, Starfy was walking outside of Tenkai Palace while only carrying the Magic Jar, until he tripped and fell in the ocean along with the Magic Jar. Except for ''
Densetsu no Stafy 3'', its commercial is the only one in ''The Legendary Starfy'' series that has a different setting. Instead of taking place anywhere in the game, the commercial takes place in a
sushi
is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is " ...
bar, where the characters are standing on plates while being moved around on a
conveyor belt
A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system is one of many types of conveyor systems. A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to ...
. In the Japanese commercials for ''
Densetsu no Stafy 4'' and ''Densetsu no Stafy Taiketsu! Daīru Kaizokudan'' go back to the way the commercials for the first two titles of the series were, by making them loosely based on the plots of whatever is being advertised.
While ''Densetsu no Stafy Taiketsu! Daīru Kaizokudan'' was being planned for release in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
as ''The Legendary Starfy'', a new live-action English commercial for it takes place on a boat "The Falling Star", where an old man and his grandson, fishing, talk about catching a giant squid, the grandson is worried, until the old man assures his grandson that he doesn't have to worry, because he has Starfy. Starfy then pops out of the sea. This is the first North American commercial, airing on May 25, 2009.
Merchandise
During the release of each game in the series, there have been many kinds of merchandise related to the series released in Japanese retail stores, like plush dolls, pencils, birthday balloons and playing cards. Nintendo also officially produced
a manga version of the ''Densetsu no Stafy'' series and later, ''
Densetsu no Stafy R'' with
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.
Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...
.
CD soundtracks from the ''Starfy'' series were also released. The one used to promote the first ''The Legendary Starfy'' game was sung by
BECKY. Kazuki Saya sung to promote ''Densetsu no Stafy 2''. The J-pop group
Perfume
Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...
became the first group to sing the theme song, which was used to promote ''Densetsu no Stafy 3'' during the credits of a Japanese television show ''
Oha-Sta''. Despite that being made, it wasn't released in retail stores. In the commercials for ''Densetsu no Stafy 3'', Perfume's song titled ''Vitamin Drop'', was the only song played in a ''Starfy'' series commercial that isn't related to the series. Another J-pop group
Cute
Cuteness is a subjective term describing a type of attractiveness commonly associated with youth and appearance, as well as a scientific concept and analytical model in ethology, first introduced by Konrad Lorenz. Lorenz proposed the concept ...
recorded the theme song to promote ''Densetsu no Stafy 4''. ''The Legendary Starfy'', unlike other games in the series, was never promoted with a vocal song nor a CD album by a J-pop singer nor group.
Manga
is a
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series produced by
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.
Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...
and
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
. It is based on ''The Legendary Starfy'' video game series, specifically the
first
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
titles in the series. It was serialized in the
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.
Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...
magazine ''
CoroCoro Comic
is a Japanese monthly manga magazine published by Shogakukan, established on May 15, 1977. Its main target is elementary school-aged boys, younger than the readers of shōnen manga. Several of its properties, like ''Doraemon'' and the '' Poké ...
'' from its June 2002 issue to its October 2005 issue. Two ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' (bound volumes) collecting the individual chapters were released on October 28, 2003 and September 28, 2005.
The manga series later got a sequel titled . It is based on the same
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
series as ''Densetsu no Stafy'', specifically ''
Densetsu no Stafy 4''. This manga is also titled It was serialized in ''CoroCoro Comic'' from its April 2006 issue to April 2008 issue. A single volume was released on July 28, 2008.
Other appearances in media
While only one of ''The Legendary Starfy'' games is released outside Japan, some references from the series have made cameo appearances in a few games that were released internationally. In ''
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga'' for the Game Boy Advance, a poster in the Yoshi Theater resembles the box art of
the first game in the series also for the Game Boy Advance, but titled in English as "Legend of Stafy". In ''
Super Princess Peach
''Super Princess Peach'' is a platform video game developed by Tose and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It was released in Japan in October 2005 and worldwide the following year. ''Super Princess Peach'' is the ...
'' for the Nintendo DS, an enemy called "Starfish" resembles the Starfy sprites of ''Densetsu no Stafy 4'', as well as ''The Legendary Starfy'', but with sunglasses. In the Japanese version of ''
Donkey Konga
is a GameCube rhythm video game series starring the ape Donkey Kong, developed by Namco and published by Nintendo. The series' games are intended to be played with a special controller called the DK Bongos that resemble two small bongo drums, b ...
'', one of the songs is the main theme song of the series. Starfy appears in ''
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' is a 2008 List of crossovers in video games, crossover fighting game, fighting video game developed by Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The third installment in the Super Smash Bros., ''Super Smash ...
'' as one of the summonable Assist Trophy characters, as well as a couple of in-game Stickers and a regular Trophy, and is once again referred to as "Stafy". He attacks by using his signature spin attack against the opponents of whoever summoned him, but unlike most, he can be attacked and defeated.
He comes back with the same role in
''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS'' and ''Wii U'' and ''
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting video game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeeding ...
''. Starfy has also become an unlockable costume with his own course in ''
Super Mario Maker
is a 2015 side-scrolling platform game and game creation system developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U, released worldwide in September 2015. Players can create, play, and share courses online, free of charge, based on the styles o ...
''.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legendary Starfy
Shōnen manga
Tose (company) games
Video game franchises
Nintendo franchises
Video game franchises introduced in 2002
Video games with underwater settings
Video games about children
Video games set on fictional planets