Densetsu no Stafy 3

Densetsu no Stafy 3 (伝説のスタフィー3) is a platforming video game developed by Tose and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance only in Japan on August 5, 2004. It is the third game in The Legendary Starfy series, as well as the third and last title of the series developed and released for the Game Boy Advance. Later, its sequel, Densetsu no Stafy 4, was developed for the Nintendo DS. It received its first official re-release on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on July 12, 2024, in all regions for the first time along the other GBA entries.

Plot
In the beginning, a short time after Densetsu no Stafy 2's storyline, everything was calm and everyone, including the protagonist Stafy, known as Starfy in Western regions, was happy again, until another severe thunderstorm came and shook Pufftop Palace. This time, it was more severe than the ones in the past. A lightning bolt struck the Magic Jar and destroyed it, and the antagonist of the previous titles, Ogura, was freed once again. He later flew away from Pufftop Palace, leaving everyone else wondering what he was leaving for. Starfy's father told Starfy and Moe that it fell to them to stop Ogura for a third time. Moe became angry and refused, because he was bored of doing the same things they did in the past. Later, Starfy's sister, Starly, jumped and bounced on Moe, and introduced herself to him. She later pushed him and her brother off the edge of Pufftop Palace and jumped down with them to pursue Ogura.

Gameplay
Like its predecessors, Densetsu no Stafy 3 plays very much like other platforming games, such as some Super Mario Bros. titles and some Kirby titles, but it's mostly about swimming around stages, which makes this series' official game genre as marine platform. In fact, the colorful graphics and level layouts (as well as the look of Stafy) have drawn many comparisons to the Kirby series. Stafy himself can run, jump, and attack via spinning; he also gains access to various transportation objects and animal familiars as the games progress. Like Densetsu no Stafy 2 and unlike the first title of the series, Densetsu no Stafy 3 usually has a certain number of stages per area, with each stage split up into four sub-stages. Most of the other stages' goals are centered around retrieving a lost or stolen item for another character, including Wario. There are many items to collect and many enemies to defeat. The player can move Starfy on land by running and jumping, but when Starfy is in watery areas, he can move much more freely, push obstacles, and so on. Like the previous games, this game also includes minigames, except all of them are different compared to the ones that are similar to Atari's Breakout.

Development
After the release of Densetsu no Stafy 2, Nintendo and Tose immediately moved on to develop Densetsu no Stafy 3. The game was developed in less than a year, and included some features that the previous games didn't have, such as multiplayer minigames. However, like its predecessors, Nintendo and TOSE aired animated television commercials for Densetsu no Stafy 3, as well as releasing some promotional merchandise. Perfume, a J-Pop group, recorded and played their own version of The Legendary Starfy main theme during the credits of a Japanese television show Oha-Sta. Despite that being made, it wasn't released in retail stores.

Reception
Densetsu no Stafy 3 was the second best-selling game in Japan during its week of release at 42,000 copies. By the end of 2004, the game sold a total of 212,946 copies in the country. Japanese gaming publication Famitsu gave the game a total score of 31 out of 40. In 2009, Nintendo Life gave the game a score of 10 out of 10 and called it "one of the best platformers ever created". In 2023, Time Extension included the game on their list of "Best GBA Games of All Time".