Dr. K's Waiting Room

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Created by Masahiro Sakurai, the disgustingly cute, ever-ravenous Kirby is one of Nintendo’s most popular characters. Accordingly, I’m dedicating most of July to celebrating the pink puff-ball.

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Quick Facts:
Masahiro Sakurai helmed Kirby’s proper 16-bit debut on Nintendo’s industry-changing SNES. Beginning development on the NES, Kirby Super Star was created with three goals in mind: co-op play, expanded attacks, and an omnibus format. The legendary Shigeru Miyamoto requested the addition of two-player co-op and Sakurai was inspired by the ground-breaking graphics of Donkey Kong Country (Rare, 1994). Kirby Super Star was widely praised as one of the best in the franchise and was later remade for the Nintendo DS in 2008, to equally rave reviews.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Kirby Super Star is an eight-in-one collection of mini games and bite-sized adventures where players control perhaps gaming’s cutest videogame character and fly about devouring both enemies and food. Those who’ve never played a Kirby videogame before are in luck as each of Kirby Super Star’s game modes offers an optional tutorial, where players are either told their objective or follow onscreen prompts (against the backdrop of a stage play) to perform Kirby’s signature actions. While each game plays a little different, Kirby’s controls and abilities remain largely consistent, meaning you jump with B (tapping the button to inflate like a balloon and fly across stages), inhale enemies or blocks and spit them out with Y, swim by tapping B, and fire a water spurt when underwater with Y. You make Kirby dash by tapping left or right on the directional pad (D-pad), perform a sliding kick by pressing down and B, and block by holding either that Left or Right triggers. Kirby has way more options to restore his health as stages are littered with foods, from the recurring Maxim Tomatoes to puddings and sweets, alongside 1-ups, though these are sometimes hidden behind star blocks or uncovered by lighting fuses or destroy bomb blocks. Kirby still climbs ladders, uses doors, blasts to new areas on Warp Stars, and drops through certain platforms by pressing down on the D-pad. You must still avoid bottomless pits, spikes, and flaming or electrical hazards as you explore each colourful game mode. Players also still swallow enemies with Y and then press down to copy their abilities. By pausing with +, you can review the assortment of attacks afforded by each ability, with Kirby sporting various new moves and combos. Although Kirby’s animal friends don’t appear, you can press A to ditch your currently equipped copy ability and spawn a friendly enemy to help until their health depletes.

Players can feed this “Helper” to boost their health and even transform them into other enemies by tossing them other copy abilities or having them touch another baddie; a second player can also control the Helper for some two-player co-op action. There are nineteen Helpers to choose from and twenty-four copy abilities, with twelve returning from previous games, a random selection appearing if you swallow two viable enemies at once, and two special, one-use copy abilities appearing in certain game modes. Returning copy abilities include the Beam, Cutter, and Hammer, with the limited use Mike still destroying all nearby enemies, Fire still lighting fuses, and Ice still turning enemies into ice cubes. New abilities see you tossing Poppy Bros. Jr.’s bombs, cooking nearby enemies to produce food, swinging a yo-yo, and blasting around on a jet pack. The developers wisely combined some copy abilities from Kirby’s Adventure (ibid, 1993) into one by incorporating different moves, meaning Backdrop and Throw are combined into Suplex, Fire and Fireball into Fire, and Freeze and Ice into Ice. Kirby can become a ninja and toss shuriken, throw vaguely familiar martial arts moves with Fighter, deal damage with flapping and thrown feathers, and activate special switches with Hammer. He can also hop onto a Wheelie Helper to chase down Meta Knight and blast enemies in a sidescrolling shooter with Starship, dish out rapid sword combos, and crush enemies with Stone. Helpers sport the same attacks as the enemies you fight and are super helpful against bosses, though they can be a bit mindless and can get hurt very quickly. You can always use A to turn them back into an item so you can spit them out, though, and many games feature the option to either select a new copy ability or change your Helper into something more useful.

Initially, only four game modes are available (alongside two sub-games), with each carrying different difficulty ratings and retaining Kirby’s abilities across them all. Long-time Kirby players will immediately recognise “Spring Breeze” as a truncated remake of Kirby’s Dream Land (HAL Laboratory, 1992), reducing the Game Boy title to five levels and having you battle 16-bit redesigns of each boss. Consequently, there are no mini games in this mode and each level is noticeably shorter than on the handheld. You can still fly amongst the clouds, enter doors, swim through caverns, and must avoid spikes and pits but this is literally a breeze with Kirby’s expanded copy abilities and Helpers. “Dyna Blade” is similar, featuring only five levels, but utilises a world map (where mini bosses sometimes appear) and hidden areas to mix things up. These are mostly discovered by destroying star blocks or hitting switches and reach 1-ups, additional copy abilities, or rare candies that make you and your Helper briefly invincible. Each level ends with a goal mini game where you time a button press to be shot by a cannon, cannons blast you about in levels (with you either racing into the right ones or timing button presses to crash through walls), and you also encounter an autoscrolling section on your way to battle Dyna Bird. “The Great Cave Offensive” is a “Metroidvania” adventure where you explore caves and other areas for treasure, which is generally inside chests but is also found behind blocks and such. Sometimes they must be grabbed before they fall down pits or into lava, sometimes you need to dash through doors before they close, and sometimes they’re in hidden areas. You can view your collection with X and earn more points the more of the sixty treasures you find, saving your progress in special rooms and using mine carts to reach new areas. Completing “Dyna Blade” unlocks “Revenge of Meta Knight”, a seven-chapter race to bring down Meta Knight’s Halberd battleship. Each chapter has a time limit, with you restarting the chapter if you fail, and sees Kirby exploring remixed areas, fighting against or being pushed along by raging winds, dodging cannonballs, navigating claustrophobic air vents, and destroying the wings and defences of the Halberd, besting Meta Knight’s loquacious lieutenants as you go.

Finishing “Revenge of Meta Knight” and “The Great Cave Offensive” unlocks the longest and most taxing game, “Milky Way Wishes”, in which you can’t inhale enemies but can grab copy abilities from “deluxe pedestals” and freely switch between them using the D-pad. Players must visit each of the eight worlds, gaining copy abilities to bypass obstacles (frozen lakes, spike pits, an assortment of mini bosses, etc) and retrieve stars. This involves a lot of exploration and backtracking, mainly through door mazes and experimenting with copy abilities, and culminates in a sidescrolling shooter. You can also take on the “Gourmet Race” (either alone or with a friend), which sees Kirby racing against King Dedede in either a three-lap grand prix or individual races. There are no enemies so you’re better off tapping dash, taking shortcuts, and using boost pads to blast ahead since you must not only beat King Dedede to the checkpoints and finish but also eat more food than him along the way. There are also two sub-games, with “Samurai Kirby” essentially a reskin of Kirby’s Adventure’s “Draw” mini game and “Megaton Punch” mimicking Mortal Kombat’s (Midway, 1992) “Test Your Might” bonus round. In “Samurai Kirby”, you must press any button at the right time to get the drop on your foe across five rounds while “Megaton Punch” sees you pressing a button when the power gauge is at its peak, when the aiming reticules are aligned, and when the pendulum swings in the middle to deliver crushing blows to Planet Pop Star. These sub-games come with three different difficulty levels and are largely featured as distractions from the main game as they don’t count towards your 100% completion goal. As ever, enemies constantly respawn, though water and flaming hazards will damage them. There are some instances of vertical traversal or where you’re forced to go to the left, though I didn’t notice icy areas being slippery. Spikes occasionally cover walls, ceilings, and floors or spring up when you go for pick-ups and there are loads of bomb blocks scattered about, some of which hide flaming blocks or bottomless pits.

Presentation:
When I think of classic Kirby, Kirby Super Star is what comes to mind. This is peak Kirby, to me, thanks to its gorgeous, colourful visuals, stellar performance (there’s no slowdown or sprite flickering here), and jaunty soundtrack. All your favourite Kirby tunes are back and better than ever, adding pep and vigour to vibrant areas and casting an ominous cloud over the more serious “Revenge of Meta Knight”. Even the game’s tutorials are whimsical and amusing, and the game includes Mode 7 sprite rotating and enlarging to give bosses an extra edge. Many backgrounds and partially animated cutscenes feature what look like digitised, pre-rendered graphics, giving a greater sense of depth and colour, with some adopting a plasticine aesthetic and others almost a pop-up book look. Kirby has never looked better in 2D than here, being as squishy and adorable as ever but showcasing more emotion than in 8-bit. Not only does the heads-up display (HUD) still comically display any danger he’s in, but Kirby bursts into flames when scorched and changes colour and adopts attire and weapons to suit his copy abilities. This sees him strap on a jetpack, don a jester’s hat. Scream into different microphones, wield a paintbrush and yo-yo, and even wear goggles and use a snorkel when swimming! In recreating Kirby’s Dream Land, “Spring Breeze” offers 16-bit versions of each level’s introduction sequence and also revises the ending, even bolstering King Dedede’s arena with animated spectators (alongside cameos from the Super Mario (Various, 1985 to present) franchise). Each game mode includes a tutorial, introduction, and ending, with Kirby caring for Dyna Blade’s chicks, performing a victory dance with his Helper, flying over forests as your treasures are tallied up, and riding into the sunset after downing the Halberd. “Revenge of Meta Knight” sees Meta Knight’s allies scrambling to muster their forces and defences against Kirby, text boxes peppering the action as you destroy the battleship bit by bit, with the Halberd looming in the background of some levels and Dyna Bird even coming to assist you. It’s a nice touch considering the game’s just a collection of sub-games but really adds to the immersion as there’s a sense of reward each time you play.

While many of the games share familiar thematic areas (forests, caverns, castle, and such), each presents them in different ways (even the HUD changes). “Gourmet Race” has you racing past various locations, for example, in a straight race, though the path often splits into upper and lower paths and is peppered by obstacles and pits. “Revenge of Meta Night” gives returning areas a gloomy aesthetic by presenting them at dusk and having you battle around the windswept exterior and bustling, steampunk-esque interior of the Halberd. “Samurai Kirby” may be set in a single area, but the blood-red sunset, anime visuals, and amusing outfits and weapons used by the competitors make it stand out, almost as much as the braying crowd in “Megaton Punch”. “Spring Breeze” recreates Kirby’s Dream Land with a far more detailed, cartoony 16-bit redesign. You still hop to tropical islands and explore palaces in the clouds, though elements of “Castle Lololo” have been merged with “Float Islands” and “Mount Dedede” is simply a showdown with King Dedede in a boxing ring. “The Great Cave Offensive” offers not just caves and caverns, but crystal mines, wooded areas under thick leaves, an ancient castle, and a beautiful palace garden, each with hidden doorways and areas to loot more treasure. “Dyna Blade” starts in the vibrant “Peanut Plains” and sees you explore the grounds and interior of the ornate “Mallow Castle” and eventually scale “Candy Mountain”, where massive mountains peek from the clouds in the background. By far the greatest visual variety is found in “Milky Way Wishes”, which includes seasonal gimmicks, flooded caves, volcanic areas full of mine carts, and a jaunt through the starship-like innards of the Galactic Nova.  

Enemies and Bosses:
Kirby Super Star sees the 16-bit debut of many of the pink puffball’s most recognisable enemies, though it’s mostly split on how many provide copy abilities and most of them are noticeably durable (largely to justify spawning a Helper or show off Kirby’s new attacks). Waddle Dee and Waddle Doo return, with the latter gifting Beam or Parasol, as are Blippers, the ever-annoying Gordos and Shotzos, and Bronto Burts, who fill the skies when you’re flying over platforming sections. While the sunflowers look cute, they’re actually carnivorous plants, the bear-like Grizzos ram into you on sight, Gator’s pounce with their sharp teeth, and Magical Sweepers float around firing a spread of projectiles. Blade Knights slash with their swords, ninja-like Bio Sparks can toss you even if you’re blocking, and Bombers walk around and explode to damage everything in sight. Poppy Bros. Jr.s return, sometimes balancing on apples and tossing either bombs or boomerang-like projectiles, as do the explosive Scarfys (who now adopt a more sinister visage when chasing you) and snowman-like Chillys, who freeze you with their icy aura. Plasma Wisps float about firing needle-like projectiles, Wheelies race across the ground, Knuckle Joes rush in to pummel you, and Birdons flap overhead shooting their feathers or dive-bombing you. Be sure to keep your distance or quickly attack whenever you see a Tac as these mischievous thieves will either steal your currently equipped copy ability or make off with your Helper, sentient microphones wander about spitting harmful musical notes, and you’ll be left completely vulnerable if you swallow a Noddy as they briefly put you to sleep. Enemies appear across most game modes, quickly being mixed and matched to add additional variety and copy abilities and even getting a palette swap in some games, though it can occasionally be difficult to make out who is an enemy and who is your Helper if you’re not paying full attention.

Many recognisable and recurring mini bosses plague Kirby’s Super Star, acting as mid-game obstacles and gifting special copy abilities upon defeat. The brutish Bonkers still swings his massive hammer and tosses explosive coconuts, though you one in “The Great Cave Offensive” places you in an arena with a bomb block that must be avoided or you’ll both perish! Bugzzy is as annoying as ever, charging with its pincer-like mouth and either repeatedly slamming you into the ground or swoop from above, Mister Frosty and Poppy Bros. Sr. both toss ice cubes and bombs, respectively, though I found Mr. Frosty a complete pushover with the right copy abilities and you sometimes fight two Poppy Bros. Sr.’s at once! Meta Knight’s goons plague you throughout “Revenge of Meta Knight” attacking in at least twos (though they share a health bar) and often fought in gauntlets. These guys teleport in and swing axes, toss tridents, wielding a mace, or spin a javelin like helicopter blades but, even with their numbers, they’re a joke compared to Kirby’s Adventure and easily decimated with copy abilities like Cutter. Kracko Jr. also returns in “Bubbly Clouds”, swooping around and dropping either bombs or Waddle Dees, though it’s barely a nuisance. Iron Mom and Jukid round out the new mini bosses, with the former being an armoured fighter who throws long-range punches or pounds the ground and the latter being a martial artist who launches fireballs or tries to grab you. You’ll also fight the Heavy Lobster a couple of times in “Revenge of Meta Knight”. Though the first fight is cut short by Kirby being blasted off the Halberd, the second sees you being chased through an autoscroller full of blocks and then battling it as it rockets across the ground, attacks with its pincers, and takes shots at you.

“Spring Breeze” presents 16-bit versions of every boss from Kirby’s Dream Land except Kabula. Whispy Woods looks better than ever, still attacking with puffs of air and by raining apples, and you even fight two at once in “Revenge of Meta Knight” for an added challenge.  Lololo and Lalala are easier than ever thanks to the increased screen size making it much easier to hop between each level and attack them from behind as they pass and even Kracko is somewhat easier thanks to Kirby’s copy abilities. Kracko’s still got a large hit box, though, and fires a spiralling eye beam and deals damage by raining on you. King Dedede is as predictable as ever, still diving, swinging his mallet, trying to splat you with his butt, and looking to inhale you, though he proves quite spritely in “Gourmet Race”. Likewise, your final showdown with Meta Knight echoes Kirby’s Adventure, with him offering you a sword for a fair fight and attacking with a flurry of stabs, a downward thrust, and a spinning attack. He also sports a tornado spin, an energy wave, drops plasma balls, and swoops at you as you race to escape the crashing Halberd. To reach him, you must destroy the Halberd’s massive twin cannon and central reactor, with the former attacking with cannonballs and an extendable hand and being attacked in stages and the latter only being damaged by tricking the nearby laser turret into blasting its shield. Upon scaling “Candy Mountain”, Kirby and his helper battle the mechanical bird Dyna Blade, who sports an extendable neck and squeezes you with its talons. Mode 7 also allows Dyna Blade to attack from the background, a feature mirrored by the monstrous Fatty Whale. This massive, pipe-sucking foe causes rocks to rain from above and kicks up a huge wave from the background, causing damage by sheer size alone (much like Dyna Bird).

“The Great Cave Offensive” may boast the quirkiest and most interesting bosses. The elusive Chameleo Arm, for example, camouflages itself, tries to eat you, and spits paintballs (which you can swallow to get the powerful, single-use Paint copy ability). Wham Bam Rock emerges from the shadows and attacks with his disembodied, rocky hands, looking to crush you, squeeze you, and flick you about. He also causes rocks to fall (which you can use as ammo) and tries to punch you, though his vulnerable face is a largely stationary target. However, it’s the Computer Virus who is the most amusing boss of “The Great Cave Offensive”, in my opinion. This battle is as a parody of turn-based role-playing games and sees dialogue boxes comment upon the attacks and strategies. The boss shifts between three forms (five in the unlockable “Arena”), beginning as the unassuming Slime, transitioning to a marionette, and ending with a witch who uses elemental attacks to burn or freeze you. In “The Arena”, it also becomes a knight and a daunting red dragon that causes blades to rain across the screen, powers up its attacks at the cost of a turn, and flaps its wings to send you flying. “Milky Way Wishes” concludes with you blasting through the Galactic Nova, destroying its defences and attacking the pillars protecting its nucleus. You must destroy these on your first pass or you’re forced back through the stage, which makes it harder to hit your target. Succeed and Kirby battles the bizarre, jester-like creature Marx against a cosmic backdrop. Marx teleports about dropping seeds that sprout into thorned vines, energy balls that freeze you, and eventually summoning a devastating black hole that you must frantically fly away from to avoid. However, as you can freely cycle through every copy ability, it’s not too troublesome to avoid Marx’s attacks and deal damage, especially in this version of the game.

Additional Features:
Indeed, the Nintendo Switch Online’s save states and rewinds are super useful in Kirby Super Star, allowing you to easily rewind to undo any mistakes, though it’s the “SP Version” that’s most helpful. This lets you play a 100% complete save file, skipping over the tedium of “Milky Way Wishes” to tackle Marx without issue. If you’re playing legitimately, however, you must complete the six main game modes (not including the sub-games). This means besting each level of “Spring Breeze” and “Revenge of Meta Knight” and outpace King Dedede in “Gourmet Race” each time, neither of which are too difficult. However, “Dyna Blade” hides two big switches needed for an additional 2% (1% per switch) and you must locate all sixty treasures in “The Great Cave Offensive” and clear every planet in “Milky Way Wishes”, obtaining each Copy Essence Deluxe and defeating the final bosses. Completing this unlocks “The Arena”, which is essentially a boss rush mode that sees you battle every boss in succession, replenishing your health and choosing new copy abilities after each, and unlocking the game’s sound test once you succeed. If you’re playing the Nintendo DS remake, there are a few changes, such as the sub-games needing to be unlocked, three new sub-games, and four new game modes (including one where you play as Meta Knight).

Final Thoughts:
I’ve played Kirby Super Star before, mainly on emulators and a little bit on the SNES Mini, but this is the first time I’ve sat down and played through the entire thing. Still, when I think of Kirby, this is the game I think of. Despite being a collection of disparate game modes with no singular narrative, this may very well be the best Kirby videogame of his classic era. Everything looks, sounds and plays incredibly well, with the visuals really popping and giving everything a vibrant, cartoony look that adds to Kirby’s adorable, whimsical charm. I loved seeing Kirby change colour and appearance with each copy ability, and spawning a Helper to fight alongside, with the system adding a fair bit of strategy as you don’t want to get cut short with a lesser copy ability against certain bosses. Each area oozes charm, with the game beautifully mixing pre-rendered graphics with cartoonish sprites and interesting colour palettes to deliver a visual treat. I especially enjoyed the little tutorials and introductions, and the bite-sized 16-bit do-over of Kirby’s Dream Land. I think “Revenge of Meta Knight” was my favourite game mode as I’m a big fan of the brooding anti-hero and I liked the sense of danger added in the aesthetics, the environment, and the ticking clock. “Spring Breeze” was a close second, beautifully recreating Kirby’s first outing but in truncated fashion, while “Dyna Blade” added a bit more in its world map and remixed aeras. “The Great Cave Offensive” was a fun chance to explore in new ways, though those who like searching high and low will probably get more out of it. The same is true for “Milky Way Wishes”, which I found largely tedious due to the backtracking and trial and error required. Luckily, the “SP Version” eases these issues, allowing you to experience everything the game has to offer…and there’s a fair bit here, especially if you have a friend to play with. I’d wager the Nintendo DS version is even better thanks to the superior hardware and additional game modes, but Kirby Super Star is still well worth your time for his masterfully it adapts and expands upon Kirby’s core mechanics and how beautifully it brings his quirky world to life.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Did you own Kirby Super Star on the SNES or did you first experience it on the Nintendo DS? Were you a fan of the colourful visuals and quirky sprites? What did you think to the new Helper gimmick and which game was your favourite? Did you ever find all the treasures and battle Max? Which of the many bosses was your favourite and did you ever best “The Arena”? Is this your favourite Kirby videogame? Share your memories of Kirby Super Star below and support me on Ko-Fi to recommend other Kirby videogames for me to review.