Kirby’s Epic Yarn was a radical departure for the series that many were surprised by, yet the game was incredibly well received. It wasn’t the first time Kirby had taken on a different style and wasn’t the last either. Kirby And The Rainbow Curse was a game that used a Claymation style design, that while somewhat unusual for the series, did give the game a unique feeling. We have seen the yarn style be applied to games like Yoshi, but what about the Claymation style?
This brings me to the Starfy series. The series was mostly Japan exclusive until the 5th game and after that, the series didn’t last. The games were platformers dubbed as “marine action”, and made heavy use of costumes and transformations during gameplay to alter the experience. The Starfy series would be the perfect choice to be revived in a Claymation style game. The underwater environments would be truly interesting to see in this visual style and the game could get a second life, especially with a new hook to bring people in and realize it isn’t a bad series.
Elements such as including the costume transformations could be done beautifully here and the “marine action” environments would have to be rendered differently and thus creating a new way to show off the game. More importantly though, is the fact that it would actually fit Starfy much better than Kirby (especially since Rainbow Curse was a spinoff) and this could be the transition needed. I realize Starfy is unlikely to come back anytime soon, but I felt this was an idea people should at least consider. There is a lot more Nintendo could have done with the series, but it just wasn’t handled well when it came to the west.
But what do you all think? Agree or disagree? Let me know!
The above is the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of ROG or its staff.