History YMMV / TheLegendaryStarfy

* CompleteMonster: The game's BigBad [[BadBoss Mashtooth]] is the cruel leader of a gang of SpacePirates and desires nothing but power. Chronologically, the first thing he does is invade the peaceful planet Bunnera to suck out the essence of its inhabitants, simply to make him stronger. He discards of the smaller Bunnerans, claiming "these snack-sized Bunnerans have given me enough power, but I need more." Mashtooth then [[WouldHurtAChild goes after their prince,]] who narrowly escapes with his life. In the final battle, after his subordinates pulled a HeelFaceTurn on him, he eats the prince, [[AndIMustScream who is still alive inside him]], and uses the moon as a battering ram to try and kill Starfy, and possibly hundreds of thousands of innocents in the way. Ruthless, cruel, and terrifying [[EvenEvilHasStandards even to his own minions]], Mashtooth [[KnightOfCerebus stands out]] in this [[VileVillainSaccharineShow relatively lighthearted game]] as a tyrant who would stop at nothing, just to satiate his lust for power.

** Mashtooth's status as a KnightOfCerebus works very well for the most part...though it occasionally gets undercut by the overall goofy nature of the game, such as him telling the Terrible Trio that he'll "squash [them] like a puff pastry" should they fail to capture Bunston.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Ruby seems to be [[ObliviousToLove unaware]] that Moe has a crush on her, and just sees him as a friend. But some of her dialogue with him can come off [[MasterOfTheMixedMessage as almost teasing or flirty]], which could imply that she's actually well aware of his interest in her, and is just waiting for him to tell her--or actually reciprocates his crush.

* CompleteMonster:
** Evil/Iburu is the GreaterScopeVillain of the first two games, the BigBad of the third game, and the orchestrator of everything bad that happens. Seemingly enslaving [[TheDragon Ogura]] at a young age, he tells Ogura to destroy Pufftop and, when he fails, gives him "another chance" in the form of painfully transforming him into an EldritchAbomination. He attempts to execute Moe before his father performs a HeroicSacrifice, but Evil doesn't mind this outcome. At the end of the game, Evil discards Ogura after he is no longer of use to him, claims that he's going to destroy the entire universe, and very nearly succeeds. A psychopathic, seemingly invincible demon, Evil is a far cry from the lighthearted, sometimes even tragic, villains of the previous games.
** The manga by Yumiko Sudo: In the games, Ogura is portrayed as a TragicVillain, but in this manga adaptation, he is [[AdaptationalVillainy far worse]]. Making his first appearance by attempting to [[WouldHurtAChild suffocate Starfy to death]], he goes on to kidnap Starfy's mom and [[BrainwashedAndCrazy force Starfy to fight her]], taking a cruel satisfaction in doing so. Going on to start forest fires and implant landmines in towns, he lacks any of his redeeming traits and [[CompositeCharacter inherits Evil's worst traits]] from the games.

* FandomRivalry: A mostly one-sided one with ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}''. Most ''Starfy'' fans like ''Kirby'', but a lot of ''Kirby'' fans dislike ''Starfy'' for being a similarly cute platformer (but without ''Kirby'''s signature SurpriseCreepy). It doesn't help that ''Super Smash Bros'' has done {{Take That}}s at Starfy.

* AnimationAgeGhetto: The series is an adorable platformer starring a cutesy KidHero but, unlike ''Kirby'', there is little SurpriseCreepy to give older players something to talk about. As a result, the series often gets scoffed at (especially [[AmericansHateTingle in regions where cute things are seen as kiddie]]).

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: During Papes' interview on The Moe Show, he refuses to tell Moe anything. Suddenly, ''Shurikit'' comes out, and Papes asks what she's doing there. Shurikit then apologizes and leaves.
-->'''Moe''': [[LampshadeHanging Well, that was random and totally distracting.]]

** The cutscene titled "Mashtooth's Master Plan" in the game's gallery is shown below a [[TastesLikeDiabetes cute elephant sprinkling a flower patch under a rainbow.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2xeBzat-eo Seriously.]]

* ThatOneLevel: Sogwood Forest. It's full of poison pools that are difficult to get out of should you fall in them, bobbing chestnut platforms that are hard to leap from, and several levels have you swimming ''upwards'' through [[AutoScrollingLevel constantly falling dewdrops.]] The worst part is, to get maximum height while swimming through the dew, you need to launch from the water with a Super Star Spin, which can cause serious DamnYouMuscleMemory moments.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: During Papes' interview on The Moe Show, he refuses to tell Moe anything. Suddenly, ''Shurikit'' comes out, and Papes asks what she's doing there. Shurikit then apologizes and leaves.
-->'''Moe''': [[LampshadeHanging Well, that was random and totally distracting.]]

** [[BadBoss Mashtooth]], the BigBad of the 5th game, is the cruel leader of a gang of SpacePirates and desires nothing but power. Chronologically, the first thing he does is invade the peaceful planet Bunnera to suck out the essence of its inhabitants, simply to make him stronger. He discards of the smaller Bunnerans, claiming "these snack-sized Bunnerans have given me enough power, but I need more." Mashtooth then [[WouldHurtAChild goes after their prince,]] who narrowly escapes with his life. In the final battle, after his subordinates pulled a HeelFaceTurn on him, he eats the prince, [[AndIMustScream who is still alive inside him]], and uses the moon as a battering ram to try and kill Starfy, and possibly hundreds of thousands of innocents in the way. Ruthless, cruel, and terrifying [[EvenEvilHasStandards even to his own minions]], Mashtooth [[KnightOfCerebus stands out]] in this [[VileVillainSaccharineShow relatively lighthearted game]] as a tyrant who would stop at nothing, just to satiate his lust for power.

* ItsEasySoItSucks: Although some of the later levels and bosses can be rather annoying...
** Especially in the 5th game when you're trying to get that 9,999-pearl clothing item, and especially when you're trying to get all the toys from the Gashapon machine (which replaces the previous games' system of simply defeating an enemy to add it to the beastiary); the toy you get is completely random to point where it's possible to get duplicates, thus eventually [[FakeLongevity forcing players to resort to "farming"]] (itself a subversion in which you just have to collect the pearls) in order to get all the collectibles.
*** While the main game is a nice, relaxing platformer, stage 10 is Time Attack. You can't even fight the Boss until you beat a certain time goal on each stage. The boss has an extremely hard-to-dodge attack that does infinite damage. Not to mention that to even unlock stage 10 in the first place, you have to beat the Big Bossdown in under nine minutes.
** Every NewGamePlus in the four games has tweaked level designs, trickier bosses and some NintendoHard extra levels. The TrueFinalBoss of 3 is a pain, having 12 hard to reach weak spots, moves quickly, and has a final attack in which you must hit 12 random weak spots on a meteorite before it crushes you... and then you'll have to try defusing the exact same attack again. Oh, and you are limited to 5 HP during boss battles. Sorry, no health upgrades before the fourth game.

* GoddamnedBoss: Fugusshu from the fourth game. He can't be attacked safely until he releases his spines, giving him a few seconds of vulnerability until they regenerate. This vulnerability period is very short and it's very easy to attack too late and hit his spines instead. You also have to deal with multiple other attacks in the meantime while you wait for this specific attack to happen, turning the fight into one very tedious waiting game. There's also the fact that Fugusshu's attacks can easily deal ten points of damage or more at a stage where Starfy only has 70 hit points at the max.
* {{Narm}}:
** In the third game, [[spoiler:Ogura's tragic HeroicSacrifice]] is offset by [[spoiler: [[http://imgur.com/cdWFezu Starly's face.]] ]] Really now...
** Mashtooth's status as a KnightOfCerebus in the fifth game works very well for the most part...though it occasionally gets undercut by the overall goofy nature of the game, such as him telling the Terrible Trio that he'll "squash [them] like a puff pastry" should they fail to capture Bunston.
*** Similarly, Mashtooth is told twice--once by one of his {{Mooks}}, and another time by Snips--that his plan is "not very nice". It's so [[CaptainObvious blunt]] that it ruins the serious nature of both scenes it appears in.
** The cutscene titled "Mashtooth's Master Plan" in 5's gallery is shown below a [[TastesLikeDiabetes cute elephant sprinkling a flower patch under a rainbow.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2xeBzat-eo Seriously.]]

* SequelDifficultyDrop: The challenge in the platforming part of the Stafy series has been lowered down since Stafy 3. For example, in Stafy 2, you have to deal with 3 worlds without the Glide ability, with many ground levels. This same ability is learned within the first level for all the next installments except the 5th game, where you learn the Glide ability in the second world instead.

* SignatureScene: [[spoiler: Wario]]'s appearance in the third game.
** Ogura's [[spoiler: HeroicSacrifice]] from the same game also counts, although to a lesser extent.
* ThatOneAttack:
** Evil's {{Wave Motion|Gun}} [[WaterfallPuke Puke]] is absurdly hard to deflect, you have to repeatedly hit the crosshairs precisely over and over again just to slow it down, should you failed one of them, all you can do is to wait for the inevitable OneHitKill to claim your life.
** Ogura's own WaveMotionGun attack moves faster than you, can turn its direction around with no telegraph and lasts for a very long time.
** Mashtooth's inhale move isn't particularly difficult to avoid, just as long as you stay away from him. If you ''do'' get caught, however, you have to mash left and right on the D-pad at a very fast rate to escape, or else you'll be swallowed and [[OneHitKill lose instantly]]. The move is even worse to deal with during the Big Bossdown, since losing a fight means having to play the whole thing over again. The attack can also be quite annoying during said Bossdown due to it lasting for a long time, with obstacles to dodge, forcing you to wait and avoid attacks for a long period of time without being able to counterattack at all.
** [[spoiler:Old Man Lobber's]] Clakkity attack is ridiculously hard to dodge, and is a one-hit KO. Good luck...
* ThatOneLevel: Sogwood Forest in ''Legendary Starfy.'' It's full of poison pools that are difficult to get out of should you fall in them, bobbing chestnut platforms that are hard to leap from, and several levels have you swimming ''upwards'' through [[AutoScrollingLevel constantly falling dewdrops.]] The worst part is, to get maximum height while swimming through the dew, you need to launch from the water with a Super Star Spin, which can cause serious DamnYouMuscleMemory moments.

** Ogura also counts. [[spoiler: He was seemingly enslaved by Evil at a young age, and is hurt by Evil when he loses to Starfy, despite secretly respecting Starfy he can't show this because Evil would kill him. Makes it all the more sadder when he performs a heroic sacrifice to elmininate Evil.]]

** ...until in the 5th game when you're trying to get that 9,999-pearl clothing item, and especially when you're trying to get all the toys from the Gashapon machine (which replaces the previous games' system of simply defeating an enemy to add it to the beastiary); the toy you get is completely random to point where it's possible to get duplicates, thus eventually forcing players to resort to "farming" (itself a subversion in which you just have to collect the pearls) in order to get all the collectibles, making this particular entry in the series an inversion of this trope.
*** Also, while the main game is a nice, relaxing platformer, stage 10 is Time Attack. You can't even fight the Boss until you beat a certain time goal on each stage. The boss has an extremely hard-to-dodge attack that does infinite damage.

*** And [[spoiler: Old Man Lobber's]] one hit-ko Clakkity is ridiculously hard to dodge, and does infinite damage. Good luck...

** The cutscene titled "[[BigBad Mashtooth]]'s Master Plan" in 5's gallery is shown below a [[TastesLikeDiabetes cute elephant sprinkling a flower patch under a rainbow.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2xeBzat-eo Seriously.]]

* TheyCopiedItNowItSucks: Whether Starfy actually riffed off of Kirby is up in the air, but a lot of the series' poor reputation [[AmericansHateTingle outside of Japan]] comes from the idea that he's just a Kirby knockoff.

** Evil's [[WaveMotionGun Wave Motion]] [[WaterfallPuke Puke]] is absurdly hard to deflect, you have to repeatedly hit the crosshairs precisely over and over again just to slow it down, should you failed one of them, all you can do is to wait for the inevitable OneHitKill to claim your life.

* SignatureScene: [[spoiler: Wario]]'s appearance in the third game.
** Ogura's [[spoiler: HeroicSacrifice]] from the same game also counts, although to a lesser extent.

** Evil/Iburu is the GreaterScopeVillain of the first two games, the BigBad of the third game, and the orchestrator of everything bad that happens. Seemingly enslaving [[TheDragon Ogura]] at a young age, he tells Ogura to destroy Pufftop and, when he fails, gives him " [[PragmaticVillainy another chance]]" in the form of painfully transforming him into an EldritchAbomination. He attempts to [[spoiler:execute Moe before his father preforms a heroic sacrifice, but Evil doesn't mind this outcome]]. At the end of the game, [[spoiler: Evil discards Ogura after [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he is no longer of use to him]], claims that he's going to destroy the entire universe, ForTheEvulz, and very nearly succeeds]]. A [[AxCrazy psychopathic]], seemingly invincible demon, Evil is a far cry from the lighthearted, sometimes even [[TragicVillain tragic villains]] of the past games.

** The manga by Yumiko Sudo: In the games, Ogura is portrayed as a TragicVillain, but in this manga adaptation, he is [[AdaptationalVillainy far worse]]. Making his first appearance by attempting to [[WouldHurtAChild suffocate Starfy to death]], he goes on to kidnap Starfy's mom and [[BrainwashedAndCrazy force Starfy to fight her]], taking a cruel satisfaction in doing so. Going on to start forest fires and implant landmines in towns, he lacks any of his [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes redeeming]] [[HeroicSacrifice traits]] and [[CompositeCharacter inherits Evil's worst traits]] from the games.

* TheyCopiedItNowItSucks: Whether Starfy actually riffed off of Kirby is up in the air, but a lot of the series poor reputation [[AmericansHateTingle outside of Japan]] comes from the idea that he's just a Kirby knockoff.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Though it involves a truly aggravating sequence of ButtonMashing, [[spoiler:singlehandedly pushing back the moon and then using it to take down Mashtooth]] in 5 is by far the most awesome thing that Starfy has done in the entire series.

* TheyCopiedItNowItSucks: Whether Starfy actually riffed off of Kirby is up in the air, but a lot of the series poor reputation [[AmericansHateTingle outside of Japan]] comes from the idea thag he's just a Kirby knockoff.

* {{Narm}}: The cutscene titled "[[BigBad Mashtooth]]'s Master Plan" in 5's gallery is shown below a [[TastesLikeDiabetes cute elephant sprinkling a flower patch under a rainbow.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2xeBzat-eo Seriously.]]

* ThatOneAttack: Evil's [[WaveMotionGun Wave Motion]] [[WaterfallPuke Puke]] is absurdly hard to deflect, you have to repeatedly hit the crosshairs precisely over and over again just to slow it down, should you failed one of them, all you can do is to wait for the inevitable OneHitKill to claim your life.

* TheWoobie: Moe. [[spoiler: His family is forced to move from their home, his mother dies, and then when he meets his dad, he makes a HeroicSacrifice that kills him.]]