Stafy 5 Review

Console: Nintendo DS
Release Date: July 10th, 2008
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: TOSE
Players: 1 player Single Player (Maybe some sort of Co-op Levels, but I'm unsure) 4 player DS Download Play
ESRB Rating: The Japan Equivalent of E for Everyone

Introduction: Inside the Royal Sky City Castle the peaceful sea-star citizens work and play. Suddenly an alien ship crashes into the castle and Prince Stafy is thrust into an adventure of land and sea. See what I think of this game and whether it's worth importing or not!

Storyline: The storyline from what I "understand" is as follows. Alien rabbit falls into the castle and is immediately followed by even stranger aliens who appear hostile. The rabbit-esque alien is looking to help his home-planet in need from the aliens who are defiling his planet, and Stafy is the one. Not much can be said about the storyline, because as you can "probably" figure I don't know the exact storyline, just a gist from cut-scenes and such. All in all, it seems like a fine storyline.

Graphics: Let me just start with this, I think the DS is more for 2D games, than 3D games. There I said it. Pixels just look better on the DS, whereas a 3D game usually doesn't excel at what it is supposed to do. The graphical capabilities just aren't good enough, and luckily most 2D games are platformers, my favorite genre. After that short statement, I just want to say this is really just an awesome game, graphical-wise. It has nice clear and crisp colors. Not a pixel seems out of place and the enemies and environments are different from most anything you have ever seen in a video game. Overall, graphics are some of the best for the DS, 2D or not, you have to admit they are well made.

Game play: Yes, this is a platformer, one of the most horibly over-played genres of games ever, but it does it well! Unlike a lot of bad attempts from 3rd parties and the like, this platformer is great! If you have never played a Stafy game before, it is unlike any platformer you have know before. There are no "weapons" in this game, only Stafy's body, which he can willingly use as a projectile to empale enemies. The game plays different when on land, than in water, and the same is true for vice-versa. In water, Stafy has a range of movement, up, down, left, right there is always somewhere to go. On land Stafy and run, jump and of course spin. The balance of difficulty is great too. The easy levels are at the beginning and the hard ones are near the end, with maybe some odds and ends mixed in at times. I think the game play is just the defining factor of a Stafy game. When I think of Stafy, I think of the actual gameplay, not some other gimmicks that might be in the game.

Longevity: Let me just say this game spans 10 worlds or so, with about 7 levels in each world, so 70 levels to begin with. There are also bonus levels, about 3 per world, so 30 more there. That is 100 levels there. In addition, you can collect treasure within each level to get new mini-games, new "clothes" for Stafy or other prizes. The game is just so vast, and you can probably play for a LONG time before you actually get 100%. That being said, I am not one to really strive for 100% on a lot of games, however I think it's just great to pick the game up, even after you have "beaten" the game, and find 3 or so secrets you might have never known about before.

Sound: The sound is pretty good. The game has a great soundtrack, I haven't encountered a single level's music which I thought was bad. The sound effects, are pretty good. A lot of them are great, but there are a few, that are poorly made, a lot of sound effects that you will hear throughout the course of the game, over and over and over. It just stinks that they hadn't really polished that one minor problem out. Really though, the sound is just a small part of the game, and overall the soundtrack itself, is just fantastic!

Overall: I can't say how much I just love this game. It is probably one, if not my favorite game for the DS. The length of the game is just great. Combine this with it's great, polished features, and you can't pass this game up.

Where to buy: Because this game is an import game, and you will need to obtain from a Japan based seller, I will give a link to help you get your hands on this great game! You can buy Stafy 5 at this link: Click here to buy the game!