Fugush

Only in Japan!
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Boss: Fugush
Japanese name	フグッシュ, Fugusshu
Hit Points	15/20
Attack Power	Body: 10/11 Sea Urchin: 12/13 Needle Attack: 9/10 Falling Rocks: 11/12
Species	Likely based on a pufferfish or porcupinefish.
Fought at	Tear Lake
First appearance	Densetsu no Starfy 4
Latest appearance	Densetsu no Starfy 4

Fugush is the fourth boss in Densetsu no Starfy 4. It appears to be a pufferfish with sharp external needles from its body. It is fought at the end of Tear Lake and can inflate itself to huge sizes. Although it is a fish, it always wears a swimming mask for some reason. It takes a total of 15 Star Spins for Starfy or Starly to defeat it.

Attack patterns

Fugush uses its needles to protect itself against Starfy or Starly. Just touching Fugush when it is fully protected by the needles on its body will cause Starfy or Starly to lose 10 health points. One of Fugush's attacks involves charging into Starfy or Starly, although no additional health points are lost if Fugush touches Starfy or Starly as opposed to just them drifting into it.

Another one of Fugush's attacks involves it waiting at either the left or right edge of the area and spawning three sea urchin like creatures at the opposite side of the screen, or two pairs of sea urchins if Fugush has a low amount of health points left. Fugush will also create a current dragging Starfy or Starly in the direction towards the sea urchins, which makes the sea urchins themselves look like they are struggling to hang on, although Starfy can perform a Turbo Swim to act against the current with the Mighty Star Spin and/or simply hold down on the d-pad and wait until the current disappears and the sea urchins vanish. Alternatively, Starfy or Starly can wait in a gap between the three or four sea urchins, although it still has to swim upwards to prevent itself from falling to the bottom of the ocean floor. If Starfy or Starly makes contact with one of the sea urchins, they will lose 12 health points.

Eventually, Fugush will wear itself out, flash red and green and release its needles in all directions. It may either form a ring of needles that will move towards Starfy or Starly, or just eject them so they keep travelling until coming off the screen. When Fugush is exposed, it is possible for Starfy or Starly to attack it using a Star Spin and make it lose up to about four health points until it retracts the needles back into its body. At lower health points, Fugush will release its needles only slightly but then bring them back into its body and eject them at higher speed. When Fugush has a critically low amount of health points left, it will fire needles which will come closer together (from the form of a circle with a larger diameter to a smaller one until the spikes meet) and actually follow Starfy or Starly around.

Fugush like many bosses has a hidden attack which it will only start using when it has a lower amount of hitpoints left. Fugush may inflate itself up in the middle of the area and drop itself on to the ocean floor. This causes boulders to fall from the ground, which make Starfy lose 11 health points if he touches one.

Trivia

Name origin

• Fugush is derived from 'fugu', フグ and gush; as in liquid flowing out in a rapid and plentiful stream like how Fugush creates water currents that may push the player near sea urchins. Fugu is a Japanese term for a number of fish that include pufferfish. Fugush looks more like a porcupinefish than a pufferfish as he has clearly visible external needles from its body. It is capable of ejecting the needles and puffing up new ones.
• Though Fugush appears to be based on a porcupinefish, its name does not incorporate ハリセンボン, harisenbon, unlike the enemy Harisen-san.