Starfy Doesn’t Scowl, He Smiles Here Too

When Nintendo released some Kirby games overseas they tried to make the cute puffball look less cute. Unlike angry Kirby, Starfy remains adorable. Maybe even more adorable in North America.

He has gentle smile on the US cover instead of the high five pose on the Japanese box art. Nintendo’s localization team also thought it was important to change the direction Starfy flies in from. The trail of bubbles suggests he swims from right to the left in Japan. In North America he corkscrews to the center. Was this change made to tell a perspective buyer Starfy has a spin attack?

The box art tells us one more, and perhaps the most important, detail Nintendo left out when the announced the first international Starfy game. The Legendary Starfy is actually a localized version of The Legend of Starfy Showdown! Dire Pirate Brigade, the latest Starfy game for the Nintendo DS. Most Starfy followers suspected this, but the box art pretty much confirms it.