Densetsu no Stafy (series)

nihongo|"Densetsu no Stafy"|伝説のスタフィー|Densetsu no Sutafī|lit. "Legendary Stafy" is a video game series developed by TOSE (who also developed the "Game & Watch Gallery series") and published by Nintendo. The series is the only franchise that TOSE owns the copyright for, although Nintendo owns the copyright as well. It started in 2002 with Densetsu no Stafy for the Game Boy Advance, and was then followed up by four sequels: Densetsu no Stafy 2 for GBA in 2003, Densetsu no Stafy 3 for GBA in 2004, Densetsu no Stafy 4 for Nintendo DS in 2006 and Densetsu no Stafy Taiketsu! Dire Kaizokudan in 2008 for Nintendo DS.

Games

The following is a list of games released in the series, except the first one on the list, which was cancelled. None of the games have ever been ported outside of Japan.

Gameplay

The genre of the series is a special kind of platform game called "marine platform", due to the game being more about swimming than running and jumping around. Players control the protagonist of the series, Stafy, throughout each game (sometimes Stapy in the third and fourth titles of the series). When on land, the controls are equal to the controls of most other platform games. When in the water, players can only move Stafy around using the control pad alone; however, if players want to make Stafy swim faster, they hold the A button down while moving him around. The games are usually comprised 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.

Characters

tafy

nihongo|Stafy|スタフィー|Sutafī is the protagonist of the "Densetsu no Stafy" series. In the series, he is 7 years old and is 36cm (14.2in; 1ft, 2.2in) tall. He also has a sister named Stapy, is good friends with Kyorosuke and often plays with them. Stafy is a relatively easy-going, friendly character to get along with; another similarity to Kirby. Stafy, in actuality, might be a star and not a starfish. He, along with his family, live up in the clouds, which is where one would most likely find a star. When he fell into sea, most people just assumed he was a starfish because of his shape. Stafy is usually at the receiving end of much physical humor that is seen throughout his games. For example, in Densetsu no Stafy 3, he, at one point gets buried alive by debris, and the player controls Stapy to try and dig him out. Both Stapy and Kyorosuke cry because they're worried about Stafy. Once all the debris is cleared, it was revealed that Stafy was sound asleep the entire time. Stafy can speak, but is often portrayed as being able to say "Fee!" in the television commercials. He doesn't speak in the game, but he does in the official "Densetsu No Stafy" manga series. In the commercials, he is voiced by Satomi Korogi and sounds very similar to the two Pokémon: Pichu and Togepi, also voiced by Satomi Korogi.

tapy

nihongo|Stapy|スタピー|Sutapī is the sister of Stafy. She is pink and wears a pinkish-red bow beside her head. She first appeared in "Densetsu no Stafy 3", and became a playable character later in the game. She appears to be so energetic and brave, she always pushes her brother and Kyorosuke to their limits in doing things. She can be pretty rude sometimes and she gets over sad things faster than her brother does. Though weaker, she has very different abilities from her brother, making her unique. She also has a habit of calling Kyorosuke "The Clam" or simply "Clam". In "Densetsu no Stafy 4", she has the unique special that only she can use called the nihongo|Tenkai Baria|テンカイバリア|lit. "Sky Sea Barrier", which allows her to have a temporary barrier created by the Sky Sea soldiers that makes her invincible for a short period of time.Also, she speaks with Kansai dialect.

Kyorosuke

nihongo|Kyorosuke|キョロスケ the clam is the best friend of Stafy in the "Densetsu no Stafy" series of video games from Nintendo. He often appears in levels to dispense advice to Stafy, and in "Densetsu no Stafy 4", he disperses advice through phone to instead, and teams up with him for powerful attacks. Kyorosuke is an easily angered, loud mouthed, arrogant (always referring to self as "ore-sama") and rude clam. At first glance he is not very likeable. But he proves to be loyal and has a soft spot for a pretty purple fish named Hadehihari. He becomes rather shy and incredibly polite in front of her. Kyorosuke is a rather expressive character, but will not show signs of weaknesses, right up to the point of trying to lie about what happened (sometimes). He is also quick to run away and push responsibilities into Stafy's and Stapy's hands. During the development of the Nintendo Game Boy Color version of Densetsu no Stafy, Kyorosuke's original name was Kyororon, but the developers changed it to Kyorosuke for unknown reasons. In the commercials, he is voiced by famous seiyū Kappei Yamaguchi.

HadeHirari

nihongo|HadeHirari|ハデヒラリ is the zebra turkeyfish in the "Densetsu no Stafy" series of video games from Nintendo. She is the love interest of Kyorosuke. HadeHirari is a fish that likes dressing up and lives in a fashionable house in the corals. HadeHirari is gentle, always cheering people on (and Kyorosuke describes her as "pretty"). Perhaps this is why Kyorosuke fell for her. She also dreams of getting married to a cool and good looking person.

Mermaid

Mermaid is a mermaid used as a method of saving progress in the game for later play. She appears in large, purple clam shells scattered all over various points in the games. In the first three games of the series, the clam shells she appears in lay dormant until players bump Stafy or Stapy into her. Upon doing so the clam shell opens up and Mermaid comes out waving, automatically saving the progress players completed while replenishing all of Stafy's or Stapy's hearts before disappearing. If players happen to lose all hearts, players will have to start from the last save point they activated. Also, if players decide to quit playing, they can restart at the same save point. "In Densetsu no Stafy 4", instead of bumping upon a Mermaid's clam to save progress, players must over lap the clam and press the X button, your energy is replenished, and the progress is saved. Instead of disappearing, she goes back into the clam, so players can return to her and save again.

Ogura

nihongo|Ogura|オーグラ|Ōgura is the primary antagonist in the "Densetsu no Stafy" series of video games from Nintendo. In his first appearance, "Densetsu no Stafy", Stafy was arranging furniture and other objects around Tenkai Palace while he tripped and dropped the Magic Jar that holds and prevents Ogura from destroying everything in his path. When the Magic Jar was dropped, it released Ogura, while he started a severe thunderstorm with tornadoes and waterspouts to attack Tenkai Palace. During its attack, Tenkai Palace was vibrating, which made Stafy fall into the ocean. Stafy returned to Tenkai Palace with the help of Kyorosuke and Grandfather Rob to fight Ogura and seal him back into the Magic Jar.

In "Densetsu no Stafy 2", Ogura tried to find several ways to escape the Magic Jar, until he thought of creating 10 children small enough to exit out of the Magic Jar. Later, his children started another thunderstorm, which is more severe than the one in the previous game. So severe, it shook the Magic Jar into the ocean, releasing Ogura. He then took Stafy's mother, Mama Star, and flew away from Tenkai Palace. Stafy tried to chase him, but then Kyorosuke tried to stop Stafy from jumping into the ocean to save Mama Star, but then the storm shook them off into the ocean. Later, Stafy and Kyorosuke killed Ogura's children while they fought and sealed Ogura back into the Magic Jar once again.

In "Densetsu no Stafy 3", another thunderstorm occurred, even more severe than the other two from the two previous games. Unlike the other two storms, this one caused lightning to destroy the Magic Jar and release Ogura once again, while he flew away from Tenkai Palace.

Other characters

*Lobjii-san
*Ateru
*PapaStar
*MamaStar
*Materu
*Dejiru
*Rampa
*The Daiiru Pirate Squad

Alternate names

Due to the nature of Japanese language, the proper way to spell Stafy's name in English is disputed. Since the character and his games have never been released outside of Japan, there has been no official English name for the series. Four different spellings are used interchangeably by fans and other people: Stafy, Stafi, Starfy, and Starfi. If it were spelled with "Star" in Japanese, it would have a dash after the "ta" (タ) and look like "スターフィー", but it does not actually look like that. In Japanese and English, the confirmed romanization is "Stafy". As further confirmation, in the North American version of the game "", a poster in the game features a cameo of Stafy titled as "Legend of Stafy", suggesting that is Nintendo's official title, "Densetsu no Stafy", in English. Second, in the credits of the first Densetsu no Stafy title, it is referred to as "Densetsu no Stafy". Third, in the costumes section of Densetsu no Stafy 2, the name Stafy was written in English on his Baseball Cap and Baseball Jersey. Fourth, the official Japanese websites for this series use the spelling "Stafy" in their URL paths and image names. Finally, in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl", the Densetsu no Stafy series was referred to as "Densetsu no Stafy", while the character Stafy was referred to as "Stafy".
*In Japanese however it is spelled as "Sutafi" due to the Japanese language not being able to write exactly "Stafy." This is due to it being the closest translation Japanese characters can produce.

Marketing

Commercials

The animated television commercials took place in the title's storyline (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 Densetsu no Stafy title, Stafy was walking inside the Tenkai Palace while carrying some stuff, including the Magic Jar holding the antagonist, Ogura, until Stafy 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, Stafy 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 Densetsu no Stafy series that has a different setting. Instead of taking place anywhere in the game, the commercial takes place in a sushi bar, where the characters are standing on plates while being moved around on a conveyor belt.

Merchandise

During the release of each game in the series, there has been many kinds of merchandise related to the series released in Japanese retail stores, like plush dolls, pencils, birthday balloons and casino cards. Nintendo also officially produced a manga version of the "Densetsu no Stafy" series and later, "Densetsu no Stafy R" with Shogakukan. CD soundtracks from the "Stafy" series were also released. The one used to promote the first "Densetsu no Stafy" game was sung by BECKY. Kazuki Saya sung to promote "Densetsu no Stafy 2". The J-pop group Perfume 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 first and only song played in a Stafy series commercial that isn't related to the series. Another J-pop group °C-ute recorded the theme song to promote "Densetsu no Stafy 4".

Other appearances in media

While none of the Densetsu no Stafy games were released outside of Japan, some references from the series have made cameo appearances in a few games that were released internationally. In "" for the Game Boy Advance, a poster in the Yoshi Theater resembles the box art of the first Densetsu no Stafy, but titled in English as "Legend of Stafy". In "Super Princess Peach" for the Nintendo DS, an enemy called "Starfish" resembles the Stafy sprites of Densetsu no Stafy 4, but with sunglasses. Also, in the Japanese version of Donkey Konga one of the songs is the "Densetsu no Stafy" main theme. Stafy also appears in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" as one of the Assist Trophy characters. He attacks by using his signature spin attack against the opponents of whoever summoned him, but unlike most, he can be attacked and defeated. [cite web |author = | date=December, 14, 2007| title=Smash Bros. DOJO!! - Stafy
format= | work=Nintendo | url=http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/items/assist/assist13.html | accessdate=2007-12-14]

References

Reviews

* [http://www.ntsc-uk.com/review.php?platform=gba&game=LegendOfStafi NTSC-uk review of the first three Densetsu no Stafy games]
* [http://www.ntsc-uk.com/review.php?platform=nds&game=DensetsuNoStafi4 NTSC-uk review of Densetsu no Stafy 4]

External links

* [http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/sw2000/itiran/cgb/soft/stafy/ "Densetsu no Stafy" official SpaceWorld 2000 website] ( [http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/?wb_url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/sw2000/itiran/cgb/soft/stafy/&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=2 Translated using Excite.Co.Jp] )
* [http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/sw2001/softlist/gba/stafy/ "Densetsu no Stafy" official SpaceWorld 2001 website] ( [http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/?wb_url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/sw2001/softlist/gba/stafy/&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=2 Translated using Excite.Co.Jp] )
* [http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/astj/ "Densetsu no Stafy" official Japanese website] ( [http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/?wb_url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/astj/&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=2 Translated using Excite.Co.Jp] )
* [http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/avfj/ "Densetsu no Stafy 2" official Japanese website] ( [http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/?wb_url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/avfj/&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=2 Translated using Excite.Co.Jp] )
* [http://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0309/index.html Nintendo Online Magazine website for Densetsu no Stafy 2 and Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour] ( [http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/?wb_url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0309/index.html&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=2 Translated using Excite.Co.Jp] )
* [http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/b3dj/ "Densetsu no Stafy 3" official Japanese website] ( [http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/?wb_url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/b3dj/&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=2 Translated using Excite.Co.Jp] )
* [http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/stafy4/ "Densetsu no Stafy 4" Costume Contest website] ( [http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/?wb_url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/stafy4/&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=2 Translated using Excite.Co.Jp] )
* [http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/a4dj/ "Densetsu no Stafy 4" official Japanese website] ( [http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/?wb_url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/a4dj/&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=2 Translated using Excite.Co.Jp] )
* [http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/yssj/index.html "Densetsu no Stafy Taiketsu! Dire Kaizokudan" official Japanese website] ( [http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/?wb_url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/yssj/index.html&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=2 Translated using Excite.Co.Jp] )