As a fan of the Kirby series, I was always intrigued by the somewhat similar Starfy games, but due to most of them having only released in Japan, it took quite a bit for me to actually get into the series. Nowadays, we're living in a pretty good time with the original trilogy officially available on NSO and released patches for 1 and 3, but back then, I had to get through most of these games with a guide, not really being able to understand a lot of the story. So when I say that Starfy 3 managed to leave a massive emotional impact on me despite not understanding a single word, that should say a lot about how damn good this game is.
The Starfy series has gotten five games so far, and they're all varying degrees of great, in my opinion. However, the first three on GBA are the most interesting since they actually form a trilogy. Each entry expands on the previous, and there's even a bit of running continuity, but it all culminates in the third game, which I feel fully capitalizes on the potential of Starfy as a series.
The Starfy series doesn't quite have the same level of lore-building as Kirby, but it has some pretty fantastic characters. Starfy is a charmingly innocent and friendly protagonist, his more cynical ally Moe is an incredibly charismatic and witty side character with a surprising amount of depth, and the main antagonist Ogura is a fun mustache-twirler, at least in the first two games. Starfy 1 and 2 briefly touch upon darker themes in their end credits where we learn about Moe's troubled past, as his parents divorced leaving him to take care of his three siblings with little money to keep them afloat, but Starfy 3 not only expands on those theme further but expands on all the major characters as well. Starfy gets the introduction of his brattier sister, Starly, who's a very welcome presence in this game for multiple reasons. Moe reunites with his father throughout Starfy 3, which leads to probably the most infamous and heart-breaking gut punch in the entire series. And best of all, Ogura gets a fantastic resolution to his character arc as we learn he's working for an even greater threat named Evil who predictably doesn't really respect him. Despite not having played Starfy 3 with a patch, the cutscene direction for the major story events are still clear enough that the game's emotional beats still managed to hit really hard for me.
Starfy is often referred to as a marine platformer, meaning it takes place almost entirely underwater. Wait, wait, hear me out! The Starfy games actually control incredibly well, swimming around is fast and fluid, and Starfy even quickly gets a dash that lets him zoom through the water. There's even a neat combo system where you can get more of the game's currency by quickly chaining together enemy takedowns, really encouraging you to move fast. That being said, there are still aboveground sections which are more focused on traditional platforming, and they feel great too. Starfy 3 expands on the series' gameplay loop by introducing Starly as a playable character, and she has her own share of moves like a wall jump and crawl. The game frequently makes you swap between Starfy and Starly to keep the gameplay varied and make the most of both characters, and I think this mechanic adds some much needed complexity to the series. And in the post-game, you can swap between Starfy and Starly at will to find hidden treasures, opening up the game even further to great effect.
The level and boss design in Starfy 3 is another huge step-up over previous games, with each world offering a fair share of fun and unique mechanics that feel a lot more involved. There's an extremely memorable ghost world early on where you have to use floating cutlery as platforms, an ice world built around riding bowls of crushed ice around, a volcano area with a fittingly large focus on aboveground platforming, and a trippy trench area with gravity flipping shenanigans. Though of course, the best world in the game and arguably the series is Starfy 3's eighth world, the Undersea Ruins. Why is it so great? Well, it's because Wario shows up for a few stages and you have to help him around to discover hidden treasure. It's not just a fun cameo, Wario is built into the gameplay of this stage and the sections involving him are so much fun. The boss fights are also really good here, they feel a lot more involved and puzzle-oriented compared to the often very easy encounters of previous games.
Another thing I love about the Starfy games is just how much replay value they have, and Starfy 3 is no exception. The main campaign alone has a pretty impressive 40 levels spread across its ten worlds, but once the postgame opens up, you unlock another 40 new levels to beat to unlock the true final boss, along with all the main stages getting converted to harder variants with tougher enemies and more pearls to find. There's also a bunch of unlockable minigames, with Starfy 3 having some of the most varied and memorable in the series, along with a robust shop containing music tracks and costumes you can use to dress up both Starfy and Starly. And on top of all that, there's even a bestiary with each entry coming with a witty remark from Moe, if only I could read them all.
Visually, Starfy 3 looks absolutely wonderful. Despite remaining on the same console, each GBA entry slowly amped up the graphical detail, and Starfy 3 is easily the best-looking game in the series. Befitting the game's slightly darker tone, Starfy 3 boasts much harsher shadows for its environments, along with more detailed animations, atmospheric fog, and striking lighting effects. There's a ton of stunning background effects, like one level in the jungle world having a cylindrical-looking background or the ice world boasting a beautiful aurora borealis. The soundtrack is also great, boasting a similarly moodier tone than the previous two. Highlights include Coral Coast, Crushed Ice Alpine, Jungle, and my favorite track in the series, Undersea Ruins, along with the great remixes of tracks like Tone Of The Ocean, Lobber's Cave, and Kigurumi. I don't think it tops the first game's soundtrack for me, but it's definitely one of the series' best.
Densetsu No Starfy 3 is probably my favorite Game Boy Advance game ever made, it just hits all the right beats. It's a gargantuan expansion on the groundwork the previous games laid out, offering more involved gameplay, fantastic level design and bosses, a ridiculous amount of content, a deceptively heartfelt story no matter what language you speak, and a top-notch presentation. And with both the English patch out and the game officially available on NSO, I can't wait for even more people to discover this immensely hidden gem.
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