Kirby Super Star

"A plethora of lengthy games make 'Kirby Super Star' one of his most entertaining titles ever..."

Synopsis
Kirby has been known to be the pudgy pink puffball that sucks in enemies and steals their abilities. What Nintendo has done for Kirby in this one, is star him in several interesting side-scrolling games, hence the name ‘Kirby Super Star’. There are, surprisingly nine games in total, each one varying from saving the world, to samurai duels. It is a good thing to say that Kirby Super Star may just have the highest value for a side-scrolling game, with so much to offer, and such a charming bit of humor to boot.

These varying games make ‘Kirby Super Star’ have more extras, more secrets, more fun, more charm and much more of everything that everybody has loved about him. To conclude, a plethora of lengthy games make 'Kirby Super Star' one of his most entertaining titles ever.

Gameplay Elements:
The gameplay in ‘Kirby Super Star’ is rather simple despite the nine games that are put into the mix. Fortunately, the controls are exactly the same for every of the nine scenarios that are offered in the game. Basically, you have the command to eat, which sucks in enemies, the command to swallow, which either inherits abilities or makes Kirby put on a grossed face, and the command to maneuver Kirby and jump (or fly). Pretty basic stuff, but throughout most of your voyages, you'll be utilizing these skills to make Kirby emerge victorious. The excellent part of Kirby Super Star that ultimately makes it an exciting and amusing title, is its ability to turn into so many different types of characters. This truly sets Kirby apart from the rest of the side-scrollers.

The skills that Kirby inherits differ in a big way. There's many original transformations he can turn to, and each of them host their own special abilities that can be preferred through simple button presses. Kirby Stone, for example, can turn into a complete hard rock, that can crush any foes in his path. Once in midair and performing a stone move, Kirby will smash down onto the floor, and this way, damages anything in its way and makes Kirby invulnerable for a moment. Other skills that Kirby easily boasts is the Kirby Ice, where Kirby can emit powerful snow blasts, turn characters into ice and cause ice tremors. Kirby Fire shoots out pulsating fire balls and can turn into rolling blazes. There are so many more skills Kirby can turn into, and while some are more direct than others, they are all very interesting to try out and ultimately enhances the SNES Super Star that is Kirby.

The level arrangements in the nine games are well done. Kirby has a life bar, which determines whether he'll die or not. Once the life bar is degenerated, Kirby will lose and you will be given the option to continue. This, however, gives Kirby an assistant Super Star. Once Kirby inherits an ability, he can press the command once again to generate a small and oh-so adorable Super Star that derives from the skill Kirby learned. These little midget stars accompany Kirby in using their skills to kill enemies and aid Kirby. Again, the skills of different Super Stars vary, and once Kirby has his little assistant, they will use the original skills that they only inherit to helping Kirby. Once again, these little helpers have life bars as well that one needs to administrate. The cutest thing that Kirby does can be seen once he eats a piece of food, as he kisses his little assistant and regenerates both life bars. Very funny, indeed!

Now, onto the games. As mentioned before, there are nine games throughout, and many of them follow the similar tastes. An interesting game worth mentioning would be the treasure hunting one. Throughout Kirby's travels in this game, Kirby will need to find different treasures, collect them and pass the game successfully. Many will indulge in the simple treasures they find, but many ones that are rarer lurk under secret areas that Kirby can access. This game is great treasure hunting fun for everybody. But what makes Kirby ‘Super Star’ especially adorable, is the way they slowly introduce the learning curve to increased heights. Gamers will start off with a relatively innocent learning curve where Kirby simply does the cliché hero saving poor animals/children (or in this case, birds). This game is very easily completed with a deliberate and precise linearity that makes it relatively easy for beginners. As gamers unlock the other games, they will be saving the universe, they will be protecting the planet from evil and so forth. As the situation slowly becomes more dire, the difficulty and ‘secrets and passageways’ in the game become more frequent and increased. This learning curve is extremely welcoming to the game, although the overall difficulty is easy enough to handle.

In the end, gamers can indulge in some of the most engrossing, yet so utterly simple games by accomplishing the bulk of the games. Mini-games include samurai combat, which is a test of speed. Gamers will have to tap a button at a precise moment before the opponent. Others include eye coordination, where gamers have to press a button to determine their strength after looking at a swinging pendulum, matching signs and a speedy bar that determines strength, speed and momentum. Extremely convincing games that will keep you interested for no more than 20 minutes each.

Newer things come in listening to the glorious soundtracks and pitting one against a non-stop amount of bosses. This certain boss(es) fight will force you to destroy consecutive bosses that were difficult to kill (e.g. final bosses) without ever dying. There is even a race! A race, I tell you! Is it not amazing? Kirby will be pitted against another racer to determine who eats what the fastest, the quickest, and attains the finish line the earliest. Extremely fun, extremely addicting and the pink puffball is too adorable to resist.

As said above, for a Super Nintendo game, Kirby Super Star gives extremely lengthy gameplay. So many elements to evaluate, and 9 games to look at, it's hard to downgrade Kirby at all. Extremely impressive (I have used the word Extremely to an extreme degree! ^_^). Yes, Kirby Super Star is that amazing, and it is a shock that they managed to do so well to pack in all these fun stuff into one cartridge. Kirby Super Star can easily be one of the best games to ever be released on the Super Nintendo... ever! 9/10

Visual Presentation:
Very adorable is what I can say about the graphics. The visual presentation is basically what one can expect. Technically, the visual presentation is satisfactory, and very expectant for Kirby's launch date. They are crisp, clear and created very well. Another aspect of visual presentation is the animation. Designing animation for Kirby comes in his inflating bubbly stomach, sparkles when he transforms, chubby jumps and many other adorable animated features. Again, it is nothing amazing, but it is an adorable eye-candy feature.

Kirby's costume designs when he transforms are very well done. As Kirby must inherit the specific skills of the monster he ate, Kirby must attain some sort of resemblance to the skill of the monster. This is very well done. Kirby, once eating a snowman, will look like a fat white puffball with blue hair. Kirby's costume design is, therefore, quite exceptional. Unfortunately, the monsters are rather forgettable. Again, very cartoony and likeable, but forgettable nonetheless. Design in overall is done rather well. Backgrounds and level design are done well to a certain degree, as are the monster designs. Nothing completely original, but above par would be an understatement as well.

In truth, the visual design in Kirby's is very much above average. The cartoon appeal of Kirby makes the game a very enjoyable experience, and although nothing truly exceptional appears through the mix, it is nevertheless very well done visually. 8/10

Audio Presentation:
One of the best I've heard, Kirby's musical repertoire for the streaming 9 games amounts to 50 or more charismatic songs. These songs are very upbeat japanese pop, that plays up a rhythm that will keep you humming for days. For the cheery beginning portion of the nine Kirby games, you'll notice that the rhythm keeps up, keeps quick, and stays in a very melodic tune. As all songs do till this date, songs must loop well. Kirby Super Star, in this respect, will loop endlessly without feeling one moment of annoyance to the playing song. Once the conflicts and difficult areas begin, gamers will enjoy some of the most interesting and encouraging rock-type themes that still maintains a hint of that upbeat japanese pop. Many of Kirby's songs encourage speed, and the music is done extremely well, that in some cases, can rival some game-music composing kings.

The basic sound audio are very well done. Sounds such as Kirby's suction when sucking up a monster is very memorable. The times when Kirby interacts with its partner is priceless and the sound effects that come along with Kirby's magical skill transformation is excellent. For an SNES game, Kirby Super Star has one of the most charming and rhythmic songs I have ever heard! Kirby's audio presentation is done very well, and the soundtrack is remarkable. Again, it is extremely hard to downgrade Kirby's audio presentation, and I have never heard such an excellent repertoire of music in any SNES game until this one! 10/10

Story and Composition:
There are many stories that accompany the game. All of them are forgettable, and none of them truly stand out... none of them ever will. The story is very vague and pretty much, it seems as if it's just Kirby starring in nine movies. Story and composition in Kirby Super Star is very lacking, and the story and composition only comes as a bonus. In other words, Kirby Super Star really can't be evaluated without more information on the basic story.

Therefore, the criteria cannot be determined as it is an unavailable and otherwise vague point of the game that hardly gives mention. Games which present no story or very little are usually omitted from the entire criteria. N/A

Replayability and Extras:
Trust me, this game has a large amount of replayability. With nine games, there is no doubt that you'll be infatuated by a specific one. These games can be replayed even if you have passed it. As well, Kirby Super Star ranks your completion by presenting a percentage out of 100%.

The extra sound collection and the mini-games that are included as the nine games are extras that are very addicting, charming and most of all, fun. For the SNES, Kirby Super Star gives and offers many things through each consecutive completion of a game. This may just be the only reason to get a Super Nintendo, if one needed a reason at all! 10/10

Conclusion
Excellent in every aspect except Story and Composition, Kirby Super Star is a valuable game with much things to look for. The presentations, Audio in particular does extremely well in the end, and overall criteria of both presentations is remarkable. To add to it, the gameplay is fun and engrossing with many aspects and extras that offer addiction. With the nine games, replaying and discovering extras become a crucial role in the game.

Kirby Super Star is probably the one game that truly launched Kirby into stardom, and now, has attained a very important part in Nintendo's growth and development. Although Mario is the official mascot, many have followed his footsteps. Donkey Kong, Link, Samus and the princess in pink, Peach are all renowned for contributing to Nintendo's vast success. Kirby is one of them, and his success in Super Star just may have been the ticket to him being a mascot. It can easily be argued that Kirby Super Star has the largest amount of extras... ever!

How it all adds up!
(average is determined through the importance of the criteria)
Gameplay Elements: 9/10
Visual Presentation: 8/10
Audio Presentation: 10/10
Story and Composition: ---
Replayability and Extras: 10/10
Final Score: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/10/02, Updated 02/09/03