Kirby Super Star

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Kirby Super Star Kirby's Fun Pak
Developer(s)	HAL Laboratory
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Satoshi Nakamura
Series	Kirby
Platform(s)	Super NES, Nintendo DS, Virtual Console
Release date(s)	SNES JP July 31, 1995 NA September 23, 1996 PAL 30 December, 1996 Ultra JP November 6, 2008 NA September 22, 2008 AUS November 27, 2008 SK November 13, 2008 EU September 18, 2009 Virtual Console JP October 13, 2009 NA 2010 EU 2010 AUS 2010
Genre(s)	Platform, action
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer (two players simultaneously)
Rating(s)	ESRB: K-A
Media	32-megabit cartridge

Kirby Super Star, known in Europe as Kirby's Fun Pak and in Japan as Kirby Super Deluxe (星のカービィ スーパーデラックス, Hoshi no Kābī Sūpā Derakkusu^?, lit. "Kirby of the Stars Super Deluxe") is a 1995-96 platforming video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. It was first released in Japan on July 31, 1995, in North America on September 23, 1996, and in Europe on December 30, 1996. Kirby Super Star's box art states that the game features eight games in one cartridge. Most of these games offered are mostly platforming-oriented, while some others are mini-games.

Kirby Super Star has been remade for the Nintendo DS under the name of Kirby Super Star Ultra.^[1]

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Platforming games 1.2 Sub games 2 Remake 3 Reception 4 Legacy 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Gameplay

Kirby Super Star plays like a standard 16-bit era platforming video game, in which Kirby, the main character, can go left, right, up and down on a two dimensional plane. Throughout each level, Kirby must avoid touching environmental hazards and a variety of enemies, who mostly have their own attacks. Kirby has a health meter, and when this is depleted, Kirby loses one life and returns to a save point. If he loses all of his lives, the game ends.

Kirby Super Star allows Kirby to copy the abilities of his enemies, and then perform a wide range of attacks using these abilities. Kirby wears different hats and changes color according to the ability he is using.

One of the unique features of this Kirby game is the addition of a "helper". The helper is an enemy-turned-friend who follows Kirby around and helps fight enemies. A second player can use an additional controller to control the helper, making a solo experience into a two-player adventure. The helper also sometimes has abilities that Kirby does not when taken control of by a second player. For instance, if Kirby got a Wheel power and turned it into a helper, Kirby could ride on the helper. While Kirby would die after falling into a pit, a helper character had no such vulnerability. Most of the mini-games have two-player modes as well.

Kirby Super Star is one of the three international SNES games (outside Japan) that uses the SA-1 chip. The other two are Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and Kirby's Dream Land 3.

[edit] Platforming games

There are seven main games in Kirby Super Star that follow the platforming mould set forth by Kirby's Adventure and other earlier Kirby games.

Spring Breeze is the first game in Kirby Super Star. King Dedede takes food from Dreamland and Kirby tries to take it back. It is based on the first Kirby game, Kirby's Dream Land for the Game Boy, and uses Kirby Super Star's gameplay and enhanced graphics, including power-ups and a helper, which the original game lacks. Kirby must make his way to a castle to challenge King Dedede and recapture the food that was stolen from the citizens of Dream Land.

Dyna Blade is the second game in Kirby Super Star. Dyna Blade, a giant bird, is disturbing Dream Land's crops, Kirby tries to stop her. It uses a world map, with four levels Kirby must clear and a boss at the end. The boss at the end is Dyna Blade. There are also two secret areas and a mini-boss that moves across the world map.

Gourmet Race is the third game in Kirby Super Star. Dedede challenges Kirby to a race to see who can get the most food. It is a race against King Dedede incorporating platform elements. The objective is to both beat King Dedede to the finish line and collect the most food. However beating the course is very important since you can get 90 points by winning every course, 30 for each course you win. There are three levels, and the player can choose to race either King Dedede or his "ghost", which is the player's best attempt at the race. You can also race on the courses without King Dedede. There are no snacks but the goal is to go as fast as possible, like when going against Dedede, but your fastest time is recorded for each course. There is no multiplayer option, although one is added in the Nintendo DS remake, Kirby Super Star Ultra. Also, unlike the DS remake, it does not show the total time of the best time of your courses after you finish a course when running alone.

The Great Cave Offensive is the fourth game in Kirby Super Star. While venturing in a forest, Kirby falls into a cave, in the game you try to get out. In it, the player attempts to collect up to sixty treasure chests strewn throughout the game. There are many different rooms containing hidden treasure chests with prizes that raise the player's score and completion rate. The maximum score is 9999990, which by collecting all 60 treasures. You go through four worlds, only to end up on the first world to go on a warp star for Kirby to escape from the cave. Some of the treasures are references to other Nintendo games, such as the Triforce, the Screw Attack, Captain Falcon's Helmet and a Mr. Saturn.

Revenge of Meta Knight is the fifth game in Kirby Super Star. In it, Kirby attempts to destroy Meta Knight's battleship, the Halberd, before Meta Knight can conquer Dream Land. Each area has a time limit, which will cost Kirby a life if it hits zero. It is particularly plot-based, featuring comments from the various crew members of the Halberd. Every time you beat a round, either the ship takes damage or Kirby tries to get back on the Halberd. At the bottom of the screen, there is a meter showing how the Halberd is doing.

Milky Way Wishes is the sixth game in Kirby Super Star. In it, the Sun and Moon around planet Popstar are fighting. A person about the size of Kirby bouncing on a ball, Marx, tells Kirby he must travel to different planets and defeat the boss at the end of each one in order to reach the giant comet NOVA, who gives Kirby a wish. But Marx caused the Sun and Moon to fight, so Marx wishes to take over Pop Star. Unlike the other platform games, Kirby cannot copy the abilities of enemies he inhales; instead, he collects "Deluxe Ability Pedestals". These are items with abilities on them that, once in Kirby's possession, allow the player to select them from a list of abilities. It also features a scrolling space shooter stage near the end in which you fight Nova's Nucleus. After that, you fight Marx. When he is beaten, NOVA explodes, stopping Marx from taking over Popstar.

The Arena is the final game in Kirby Super Star. It is an endurance challenge that requires the player to fight every boss in the game one after the other without dying once. After every boss battle is a room with the 5 Maximum Tomatoes, two randomly selected pedestals which will grant the player certain powers, the warp star to go to the next boss, and a rectangular area that shows what boss is next and how many bosses there are left. The beginning area allows the player to select a power for Kirby to use that includes almost every power in the game. Five Maximum Tomatoes (they revive your health completely) are available throughout, and disappear when used. The order of bosses is random, except the final boss, Marx.

[edit] Sub games

Samurai Kirby is a timing mini-game similar to Kirby's Adventure's Quick Draw. There are five opponents, which get progressively more difficult. The objective is to attack the opponent at the right time without being too early or too late. Reaction times are based on the 1/100 of a second. The hundredths of a second go by whole numbers (e.g. 24/100 of a second would be displayed on the screen as "24").

Megaton Punch is a timing mini-game. In it, the player must punch a stack of platforms by hitting the mark as close as possible in several different timing mechanics, attempting to cause more damage than the opponent. The best score you can get is 201. Another version was later featured in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror.

[edit] Remake

Kirby Super Star received a remake titled Kirby Super Star Ultra (星のカービィ ウルトラスーパーデラックス, Hoshi no Kābī Urutora Sūpā Derakkusu?^?, lit. "Kirby of the Stars Ultra Super Deluxe") in 2008 for the Nintendo DS. It includes all games found in the original, but adds several new ones. In addition, the game features 3D FMV cut scenes for all of the levels, improves the visuals from Kirby Super Star, and includes additions and modifications to some of the games.

Kirby Super Star Ultra features several new games. The first new levels are the Touch Screen-based sub-games, which include Snack Tracks, Kirby Card Swipe, and Kirby on the Draw. All of these games feature four Kirbys, and the objective in them is to get the most points of the four. In Snack Tracks, Kirby is laying in front of a conveyor belt which is carrying food towards them, attempting to eat the most of the four while the player touches non-food objects to keep them out of Kirby's path. Kirby Card Swipe requires the player to view a certain number of cards with images on them, wait for an image to show on the top screen, and then touch whatever card matches the image shown. Kirby on the Draw requires Kirby to shoot at images that appear in a shooting gallery. Like in many shooting galleries, most images give the player extra points, while some give negative points. There were four new platforming modes which were based on previous games in Kirby Super Star. The first, Revenge of the King, is a more difficult version of the mode Spring Breeze. The second, called Meta Knightmare Ultra was based on Spring Breeze, Dyna Blade, The Great Cave Offensive, Revenge of Meta Knight, and Milky Way Wishes. It features the character Meta Knight in a playable capacity. The latter two new modes are based on The Arena; the first put players in control of Kirby's helper characters, while the latter is a more difficult version of The Arena.

Reviews for Kirby Super Star Ultra have generally been positive, with only a small number of reviews dipping below a score of 70% and approximately half of all reviews resulting in a score of 80% or above.^[2] Criticisms were generally regarding the easiness and the length of the game, with IGN's US review stating "the short and sweet adventure structure actually feels at home on the Nintendo DS, but the slightly easy level of difficulty might make this one a short-lived addition to your Nintendo DS library."

The game was well-received in Japan, selling over 262,000 units in its first week.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Reception

Kirby Super Star sold over 1 million copies in Japan.^[4] It has an average score of 82.1% on Game Rankings.^[3] Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game a review score of 8.62/10.^[3]

Kirby Super Star Ultra has received mostly positive reviews.^[5] Famitsu gave the game a 32/40.^[6] 1UP gave Super Star Ultra an "A-", praising it for its multiplayer and describes it as "excellent", but notes that it is not very difficult and the level design is not as intricate as in the Mario series.^[7] IGN's Craig Harris gave it a 7.9, saying that, while fun, the game is "a bit on the easy side".^[8]

On December 11, 2008, Super Star Ultra became a Famitsu Gold title.^[9] As of January 11, 2009, Kirby Super Star Ultra has sold 1,021,000 copies in Japan.^[10] It is also the ninth best-selling game of Japan in 2008.^[11] It was the fifth best-selling Nintendo DS game of December 2008 in the United States.^[12]

[edit] Legacy

Kirby Super Star was made available on the Japanese Virtual Console in October of 2009. No confirmation has been made of a Virtual Console release elsewhere.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• IGN page
• GameSpot page
• 1UP.com page
• GameFAQs page
• Kirby Super Star guide at StrategyWiki
• Kirby Super Star at MobyGames

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