Nintendo Switch Online’s Latest GBA Additions Are Fresh From The Sea – But There’s A Catch

At a time when Microsoft followed Sony in raising their subscription rates, Nintendo is sitting comfortably with three new deep cuts added to Nintendo Switch Online.

If you have never heard of Starfy, that’s perfectly understandable. This was a platformer franchise developed by Nintendo and the legendary/infamous TOSE for the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS.

Nintendo wanted to bring these games to the West, but it didn’t happen until they got to the 5^th and final game on the DS, localized as The Legendary Starfy. Apparently, it didn’t work out because Nintendo felt that the games were too Japanese to be enjoyed worldwide.

We know a lot of Nintendo fans would disagree, but of course, like any other developer, Nintendo has to think about what games will feasibly be profitable to be worth localizing.

What we are getting are the three Densetsu No Starfy games originally released on the Game Boy Advance in the 2000s. These games are releasing worldwide for the first time, but Nintendo made a somewhat perplexing choice.

That choice was to release all three games in their original Japanese, with no translation. There is absolutely a lot of text in these games, and quite a bit of dialogue, and we are just going to miss out on that context, mostly.

I say mostly since these games are mainly platformers. Unlike Mario and Sonic, Starfy has his platforming adventures under the sea. As such, aside from running and jumping, you do a lot of swimming, and those come with their own controls too.

The truth is, these games were made for a younger audience, so you’ll find that these are short and easy playthroughs. But, the lack of a localization will really hurt your enjoyment, since you won’t know what the story is, and you won’t even understand the tutorial sections of the game.

While it’s possible to guess your way around the Densetsu No Starfy games, we will go ahead and link to Neoseeker so you can read the FAQs on these games. We tried them for ourselves, and can confirm that once you learn some of the basics you won’t have any problem getting through these games.

We certainly expect more than the original Japanese versions of these games, even if it is possible to finish them without knowing the plot. We can’t speculate on why Nintendo made this choice, as opposed to, for example, producing a remake that possibly bundles the Starfy games together. Producing a remake bundling the series would justify a $ 60 price tag, and a localization.

But maybe Nintendo saw the reception to Wayforward’s Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp and decided it would not be worth it. In any case, if you are curious to check these games out, they’re only an update away on the Nintendo Switch Game Boy Advance app.