Kirby Super Star

"Click on the tagline to study the effects of TMK...the too much Kirby disease."

So you say you have the dreaded ''Too Much Kirby'' disease, and you just can't help it. Or you don't have the TMK disease, but are interested as to what it is and how it works. Well, you've came to the right resource, as I have had this disease for many years...

And it's a good thing.

For the most part, it happens to be a diesase found in many Kirby games, and a majority of the people have been infected with this disease. Only people who didn't like the series will resist this. Everyone else had been infected with this, and they've got a lot of enjoyment out of it. This cart was the first reported case, and from there, the deadly virus spread out to many...

This is a complication cartridge of 8 games in one. But what makes this unique is that with the exception of Spring Breeze (Basically a port of Kirby's Dreamland), every game is different, and are making their home here as there are no cartridges for them. This is one of the better SNES games, and it's basically one of the best Kirby games by far.

And because the stories are varied for each game you play, I'll avoid using this section.

Graphics: 10

Signs of excellent graphics:

Explosive, eye-popping, colorful backgrounds and very Detailed characters
Wonderful animation

Okay, you probably won't literally drool at the graphics, but you probably would do something of that nature just so that you can see how graphically superb at how great this game is. The backgrounds are very detailed and wonderfully designed, making it some of the best graphics to ever come out of the SNES. Proof of this would be water sparkling in the distance, flashing lights, and waterfalls flowing, to name some examples.

The characters are at their finest when in comes to their designs. Kirby has never looked more spectacular on the SNES ever. His expressions are just as cute and hilarious as before. And the enemies themselves are perfect as well. Everything is perfectly animated, and there's little on no slowdown in the cartridge. It has it's share of several cut-scenes throughout most of the games as well. Every one of them perfectly fits the mood as to what's going on.

Audio (Music and Sound): 10

Signs of excellent audio capabilities

Great soundtrack
Wonderful sound effects
Voice acting (Not much of it though)

The Kirby games have some of the best and most memorable soundtracks in gaming I've ever heard, along with Mario, Sonic, the Donkey Kong Country series, and more. Kirby's soundtrack is a mixed bag, but the whole thing is wonderful and mood setting. Classic Kirby themes are in there, such as beefed up versions of Green Greens, Float Islands, and the Battle with King Dedede. The new tracks are excellent too. While the first few themes maintain the ''cute but catchy'' feel, the rest have a serious, darker tone to them, making the game more interesting.

Sound effects are as top notch as can be here. Not surprisingly, many of the classic sounds are in there, such as the 1up jingle. Other sounds such as getting hit, explosions, and Dynablade's cry are basically pushing the SNES to it's full potential in audio department. There's some voice acting, but not much. The voices come from Kirby using the microphone ability. The first time he uses it, it's cute, but the other two times it's being used, your jaw will drop. Great stuff.

Gameplay: 10

Signs of excellent gameplay:

8 (Actually nine) games in one
Contagious two player action
Lots of abilities used in different ways
Hidden secrets

First off, the SNES makes great use of all of the buttons for Kirby. Y sucks in enemies and spits them out, B jumps, and pressing it again while in midair will allow him to fly. A helps him make a helper (More later), L & R allows him to block, X lets him sees how many treasure he has (In the Great Cave Offensive only) Select discards his current ability, and Start, well...no comment. The slide attack is back as well.

He can of course copy abilites by pressing down when he has a special ability in his mouth. But what makes it unique his how they are used. By pressing Start, you'll bring up a move list of sorts, showing the small commands as to how you can use them. Also, abilites are sometimes used for certain tasks. For example, the Fire ability can light torches, the Cutter and Sword ability can cut ropes, and the Hammer and Stone can activate certain switches.

Speaking of abilites, most of the abilites are useful, like Plasma, Suplex, Hammer, Yo-Yo, and several others I won't mention. I have came across ones which weren't worth my while, though. The Wing ability doesn't seem to be that useful, despite the wonderful ''Shuttle Loop'', and oh yes, mirror wasn't that helpful to me either, though it was great when you split into two and killed you enemies. There are a couple of more ones, but you'll find that out for yourself.

Two players can join in the fun. Here, by pressing A, you'll create a helper. The helper is normally controlled by the computer, but if a second player comes along, he'll help out. Your helper basically consists of a likely enemy you've encounter that uses the same ability. There are certain moves with abilities your helper can do and certain moves only Kirby can do. Remember that.

Many of the classic enemies and are here, but new ones are around as well, many with new abilities never seen before. Some show creativity, such as Knuckle Joe, a Karate Master, or Biospark, a deadly ninja. Others show a sense of humor, like Chef Kawasaki (Spelling?), a Twinkie like enemy that throws plates and attacks you with a frying pan. The same applies to the bosses. Many old favorites (Whispy Woods, Kracko and Meta Knight) have returned, but there are new ones, A chameleon who changes color, turns invisible and tries to swallow you Yoshi style, a Fat whale with a pipe, A walking mech, and a computer sends out enemies and and have you fighting them RPG style (I'm not making this up, honest!).

Now, onto the games.

Spring Breeze

This is basically a port of Kirby's Dreamland, but you use abilites. There are some differences, however-Castle Lololo isn't in this game, but Lololo and Lalala are still there. Balooka, the Float Islands boss is gone, and so is the four door boss battle before King Dedede. Some stages have been slightly altered from Kirby's Dreamland as well.

While it's the easiest, it doesn't mean the rest of the game will be. Not only that, but being able to use abilities here makes up for some altered changes from it's Game Boy counterpart. Plus, most of the abilities you'll get are mainly basic and down to earth, but it's just getting started.

Gourmet Race

This is more of a mini-game. You challenge Dedede as to who can get the most food in the three races. The most food wins, of course. You can practice on any of three course before you take him on.

Dynablade

Dynablade is destroying the crops across Dreamland. Here, this is where some of the cooler abilities come into play, such as Yo-Yo, Suplex, Fighter, Plasma, and more. Plus, there are two secret areas with some abilities to access, but for obvious reasons, I'm not saying where they are. Plus, it's a little more harder, but not by much.

The Great Cave Offensive

Now things get a little more challenging and creative, not to mention fun. Kirby stumbles into a cave and has to find 60 treasures total. It is not necessary to find all of them though, you just need to get as many as you can. But finding all of them can be exciting. Some are actually cool and huge on cash (Various gold items, glass slippers), others are worth a chuckle (A Dud, a Frying pan) and others show off wonderful use of Nintendo's inside jokes, such as Samus's logo (From Super Metroid), A turtle shell (From Mario Bros), and the Triforce (From Zelda).

There are four areas of the cave you must get through. Some are easy to get, but others require some thinking on reaching them. The abilities are more than common, so make good use of them.

Revenge of Meta Knight

He's turned to the Dark side and wants revenge. Kirby must board the Halberd (That warship of his) and stop him from conquering Dreamland. I love this one, not just because of the sword fight you'll have with him, but because of the hilarious dialogue between the characters on board (Except Kirby). You're timed on this one unlike the others, but most of it retains the same good old Kirby fun as in the previous games.

Milky Way Wishes

This last game has you going to make a wish to Nova, but you need to get the 7 stars from the planets first. The planets can be done in any order you wish. However, you can't copy enemies abilities here. You're given an alternative way to do this. Hidden are Deluxe Copy abilities, and once you find one, you'll use it forever as many times as you want. Going inside Nova via the starship is fun because you get to shoot enemy ships (It scrolls horizontally).

The Arena

You fight basically every boss and the occasional gauntlet of enemies in this game. There are five tomatoes you need to save, pick from two randomly selected abilities, and use every ability and trick in the book to beat them all. Good luck. A second player (Controlled) will help a lot here.

Megaton Punch

It's more of a mini-game. In a contest of strength, you try to break the concrete and possibly spilt Pop Star in half!!! One or two people can play this.

Samurai Kirby

Another mini game. Once you see a ''!'' appear, hit any button. Quick reaction is the key here.

Whew...

Replay Value: 10

This disease will no doubt take over you. With lots of addictive game play and lots of junk to do, it's pretty much impossible to get bored.

Buy or Leave on Shelf:

It's a must have. True, you'll have the TMK disease, but it's a good thing. It's fun to have, especially with a friend or sibling.

Overall: 10

This contagious virus will spread out and continue to make people addicted to TMK, playing this, and the other games in the series. For the most part, while everything can be beaten in a few days, it'll always pull you back in for more, and you just can't help but play it to death. Oh, and as for a cure? There's none. Once you have TMK, you'll have it forever. But you can always try chicken soup and take two pills with a glass of water...maybe that'll help?

As for an ending quote, insert, or better yet, sing the lyrics to the Kirby cartoon (English lyrics), as I'm too lazy to put them in here. Peace out.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/22/03, Updated 02/22/03