Hold your breath, dive deep, and reach for the stars!
NATICA STAR SPLASH is an Action Game developed by Fox Eye, a Doujin Soft developer known for its various Under the Sea fantasy games such as Holdover, Sacrifice Girl, Hades Vanquish, and BLUE GUARDIAN: Margaret.
You play as the titular Natica, one the mascots of the Fox Eye ABYSS section of the circle who previously appeared as one of the main characters of previous event games Slide Loop Puzzle and Natica and Sandy: Underwater Rescue. This game tasks you with using Natica to grab all of the stars you can find in different submerged areas, and then safely return to the surface with all of them in hand without letting Natica drown in the process. Combos are made by grabbing these stars in a consistent rate to get more points. The medals you can win from beating each level can be used to get more skills, which can then help you complete additional quotas in each level in order to get even more medals.
Clearing every level of each area’s basic mission of gathering the stars rewards you with artwork of Natica in different situations and scenarios that’s usually portrayed as Fanservice. Collecting enough medals in that that area unlocks a more Fanservicey variation of the same artwork.
This game was originally released as a Christmas Eve 2018 event game, but in 2019, it made a comeback as the last of the five games included in the Fox Eye Limited Game Collection. New material from there includes a zoom-in camera option, updated artwork, an English version, and most significantly, the very first time Natica was given a voice. The Japanese and English version of this collection can be purchased at DLsite.
NATICA STAR SPLASH provides examples of:
- 2½D: Like Aqua Cube, this game only uses side-scrolling controls with 3D models for Natica and her surroundings.
- And I Must Scream: The third 2019 artwork has Natica completely stuck underwater, with the alternate version of it having her scream out this way, very much dooming her to die by drowning.
- Anti-Frustration Features:
- Some of the skills simply make it easier to maneuver Natica during her diving sessions, and help sustain her Combos, such as instantly charging her Dolphin Kick skill by tapping the Z Key rather than holding it, or maintaining your control of her even when she starts struggling to hold her breath.
- A downplayed example: the game doesn't register a loss until after Natica's drowning animation finishes. Most of the time, this is moot since the player loses control of Natica once the animation starts. However, if the player is fortunate enough to have Natica close to the surface when she starts drowning, there's a chance that her head will break the surface; causing her to immediately stop drowning and giving control back to the player.
- Art Evolution: All of this game's unlockable artwork was redone in the game's Updated Re-release in the Fox Eye Limited Game Collection. However, the improvement isn't as significant as other games in that collection, as the length between the original and new releases of NATICA STAR SPLASH is only a few months. Most of the 2019 art instead puts Natica through a new scenario compared to her 2018 artwork.
- Author Appeal: A cute girl that loves swimming and diving, but keeps putting her life at risk of drowning from her diving activities? Must be a genuine Fox Eye game.
- Combos: Gather stars in a quick, consecutive order to keep raising how many points you get from the next star. Grabbing bells isn't necessary to complete a level, but they do extend the combo time longer than the stars do. There are separate unlockable skills that boosts the combo time for bells even further, and does so for stars, themselves. In the Midnight Pool level, starting a combo draws stars and bells towards Natica. The higher the combo becomes, the strong the attraction is.
- Dies Wide Open: Whenever Natica drowns in this game, her eyes freeze up in utter despair. She also seems to drown this way in the alternate version of the third 2018 artwork when her feet get stuck in a clam's shell.
- Fanservice: Natica, a passionate swimmer, dons a dark-blue, skintight swimsuit in this game just as she previously did in Natica and Sandy: Underwater Rescue. A lot of her artwork in this game tends to put her in lewd poses and situations, such as having her ditch the swimsuit she's wearing, and/or putting her life in underwater peril. This may also be the reason the game's Updated Re-release gave Natica a voice actress, and has a new option to zoom the camera in on her during her divings and drownings.
- Follow the Money: Several levels in the game set up their stars for you to follow and grab in a path line. Some even last the entire level, going from the first star all the way to the last one, making them essential for point Combos and capitalizing on your unlockable skills in order to achieve those combos.
- Genre Shift: This is the second game after Natica and Sandy: Underwater Rescue to star Natica as the playable protagonist. While Underwater Rescue is a Tower Defense game that features the duo together, STAR SPLASH is an Action Game with Natica as its only character and Sandy nowhere in sight.
- Gratuitous English: In the Fox Eye Limited Game Collection Updated Re-release, Natica gains a voice that is provided by the Japanese Yuumi Nakai. However, all of Natica's spoken lines are short cheers in English that change depending on how many medals were earned after completing a level. She says "Okay!" for one medal, "Yeah!" for two medals, and "Grrrr-eat!" for getting all three.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Natica is a young dark-skinned blonde girl with a passion for swimming and diving. As mentioned in the Natica and Sandy: Underwater Rescue page, not only is she specifically one of Fox Eye's many blonde heroines (which outnumber every other hair color in the circle), but she also strongly resembles (or is even an Expy of) Marie from Holdover.
Here's a side-by-side comparison of the two
◊ provided by Fox, himself (along with Rico of Blue Port. Fox Eye's original blonde heroine). - Hand-or-Object Underwear: The alternate version of the 2018 artwork makes her completely naked, but she's quick to cover her nipples with the harpoon she's holding while sporting an annoyed look on her face.
- Hotter and Sexier: Some of Natica’s 2019 artwork in the Updated Re-release of this game comes off as this compared to the original 2018 versions. For example, while the 2018 version of the first unlockable artwork has Natica confidently posing underwater with a harpoon, the 2019 version instead has her hugging the rock behind her. Her rear, along with a serene look on her face, both face the camera. This is further emphasized in an unlockable variation of the same artwork, where Natica maintains this same pose, but is now completely naked while also smiling with a heavy teasing Luminescent Blush on her face, making it now seem like she’s inviting the viewer for underwater intercourse. Considering that she’s one of the mascots of the more-mature Fox Eye ABYSS section of the circle, this trope was likely intentional.
- Instant-Win Condition: After collecting all of the stars in a level, you must then have Natica swim to the surface in order to complete the level. This means that you can still get a Game Over if Natica drowns before then.
- Luck-Based Mission: You aren’t expected to achieve the high score of 5,000 points in the Midnight Pool level until you have unlocked almost every single skill in the game beforehand. Even after you do, how, when, and where the stars and bells fall into the pool is entirely randomized.
- No-Damage Run: Invoked. Some of the levels have medal quotas that require you beat them without getting hit by the spiked mines and moving clams. The game in general encourages avoiding damage to get medals, as damage flinches and immobilizes Natica long enough for the player to lose their point combo.
- Oxygen Meter: Subverted, this time. While it cannot be seen, as a Fox Eye game, it's still definitely there. You must watch for Natica's body language and behavior when she's on the verge of drowning, and the meter drops faster if she takes damage underwater. There are different skills you can unlock that improve how long she can hold her breath. It takes about 5 seconds for her to fully recover her oxygen from a full dive. In the Updated Re-release, by way of Author Appeal, you will also hear her straining her voice when she's almost out of air, and this occurs before she starts verbally struggling for a breath.
- Pool Scene: The Midnight Pool level is Exactly What It Says on the Tin. It runs completely different rules from the rest of the game in that you have Natica catch stars and bells that fall from the sky before any of them touch the bottom of the pool. Building a combo in this level creates a vacuum effect that draws stars and bells towards Natica. This vacuum effect gets stronger the bigger the combo is. Natica can also briefly draw the pickups towards her by leaping out of, and diving back into the pool. This is also the only level with 5 medals instead of the usual 3, and each medal is won from every 1,000 points you have in your high score.
- Suddenly Voiced: In the game's original Christmas Eve 2018 event release, Natica was completely silent. In the game's Updated Re-release in the Fox Eye Limited Game Collection, Natica gains a brand new voice provided by Yuumi Nakai.
- Updated Re-release: The version of the game included in the Fox Eye Limited Game Collection in 2019 now has a zoom-in camera option, completely upgraded the unlockable artwork (the original artwork can still be unlocked, though), an English version of the game, and now provides Natica with a voice actress.
- Under the Sea: Many of the levels take place in one of four different underwater areas, such as an ocean's seabed, an industrial waterway, an undersea cave, or a deep swimming pool.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: The 2019 version of the game lets you zoom in on Natica as she swims, giving players an excellent view of her struggling and drowning once her Oxygen Meter runs too low.
