How often do you meet a cute and likeable character in a platform game? I mean Mario and Sonic are fat and cocky icons respectively, but Starfy from the Densetsu no Stafi series is a really cute fella and he makes his English debut (finally, after 4 Japanese games) in the form of The Legendary Starfy.

As the prince of Pufftop Palace in the clouds, his life is turned topsy-turvy when a visitor from outer space crashes into the palace and onto the unsuspecting Starfy. The bunny-like stranger is chased by a bunch of unknown goons. Despite Starfy defeating the goons, the stranger bails out of the palace into the ocean below, and Starfy decides to follow suite along with his pal Moe.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjXpRWl4hAg[/youtube]

Remember the water-based levels in Super Mario Bros? Well, almost every level in The Legendary Starfy IS water based and thankfully being underwater means there are no platforms to jump across (an annoyance I can do without). And being a starfish, Starfy moves about in water much better compared to a certain Italian plumber.

As a 2D platformer (and  a pretty one at that, colourful and the backgrounds are nicely animated), the levels themselves are full of things to do, rather than just making from Point A to Point B. Occassionally you’ll encounter friendly NPCs who will ask you to do certain things, like race another NPC or retrieve a particular item. Mini games aside, there are also treasure chests to be found, and Moe (when activated on the bottom screen) serves as a dowsing stick in this aspect.

As a character, Starfy doesn’t talk much and while he plays the part of the easily exciteable but at the same time bumbling prince, he is still capable of suprises, like the Spin Attack he employs. He is certainly one of the more interesting characters in a game that I’ve encountered for the past couple of years.

Being one of the better platformers this year, be sure to check out The Legendary Starfy. The game is available on Play-Asia, click here for details.