Kirby Super Star

"Vaguely inconsistent, but the game by which all other Kirby titles should be judged."

Kirby is the kind of video game character that can melt even the iciest of hearts. He's simple, lives by instinct, adventures only when the time calls and has the amazing power of inhaling foes and transmuting their powers into over 30 weapons of his own. And cute as a button, at that! How can he lose? Well...over the years, he's seen some fairly regrettable failures (Kirby's Air Ride), but for the most part nearly every Kirby title is solid gold or a reasonable substitute. This, let it be known, is the gem that started a true legacy. Sure, Kirby was hip and cool then, but it wasn't until this game rolled out that he TRULY won the favor of millions of newly-converted fans worldwide. Kirby Super Star, a widely coveted platformer and centerpiece of the Kirby canon, has jettisoned to its esteemed echelon for many reasons.

As many know, the game is divided into six (sort of) sections, all of which, sans Gourmet Race, are complete Kirby adventures with no particular overlapping theme. It may seem like a slightly choppy system, but it works surprisingly well. If you're sitting down to play a Kirby game, there's a fairly high chance that you don't feel like reaming through pages upon pages of heartfelt dialogue, complex and convoluted storyline and an overall incoherent connecting plot that adds DEPTH AND MEANING to the game. You just want some simple platforming thrills, and Kirby is willing to comply. Anyway, the problem right off the bat is that some of the games are more fun than others, simply by virtue of how the 'hub' is designed. Kirby Super Star chooses to make its first game, Spring Breeze remedially easy to demonstrate the basics and mechanics of Kirby gameplay. Useful to someone unfamiliar with everything, but a chore to play through for Kirby veterans. Fortunately you can probably plow through this in about 20 minutes if you go particularly fast.

The second game, Gourmet Race, is a rather useless little diversion where you race King Dedede and collect food strewn haphazardly around the racetrack. As unappetizing as eating a hotdog from the ground or a tomato lying underwater may sound, they are your tickets to victory over the tyrannical blue penguin. To be frank I feel this game is just filler to pad Kirby Super Star's overall length and value, but it's no longer than 5 minutes, so once again it won't be any skin off your nose. Game number three, entitled Dyna Blade, is probably the worst of the bunch in my opinion. The quality exceeds that of Gourmet Race and Spring Breeze, but ultimately it's still just a beginner title -- and it's longer than both of them combined, at nearly an hour. Struggle through this and you'll get to the real meat of the game.

Upon finally vanquishing these first three games, we finally come upon the far stronger half of Kirby Super Star. The first title offered up is The Great Cafe Offensive, which is easily my favorite game in the pack. Here Kirby is thrown unceremoniously in the middle of some cave. It's none too difficult to get out, but wait! It would also be in his best interest to collect the fifty treasures tucked neatly away in various nooks and crannies of the cavern, some of which are worth notably more than others. Bizarrely, the cave manages to incorporate just about every other conceivable location as well, which means the action and environments never get boring. There's plenty to do, and it never grows frustrating at all. Once you've completed this, Revenge of Meta Knight is yours for the playing. This is one of the heavier Kirby adventures, and we are treated to the delightful gift of seeing a highly developed cast of villains. Watching their rapport and amusing banter is the highlight of this game, even though the mechanics themselves are Kirby stock-standard. There are some pretty awesome boss battles to be held here, and the last couple of levels are bone-breakingly intense.

Finally, after you've put away Revenge of Meta Knight, Milky Way Wishes awaits. This is the most interesting of the games Kirby Super Star offers by virtue of one new kink: you can't absorb powers! You have to find power podiums, scattered throughout the galaxy, and upon collection you can call on the power whenever you want. The system works to excellent effect, because if the player has a favorite power that they want to run through the game with they can select that instead of getting foisted with crap like Beam or Bomb. After putting away this hefty adventure...well, that's it. A new Arena mode is unlocked, where you have to beat 20 consecutive bosses with a scant selection of powers and six Maxim Tomatoes, but it's not very enriching. There are a couple of other minigames you can play as well, though as with the Arena they only last for so long.

If there's anything wrong with it at all, the game does lack some elements of replay value. You're not gonna want to play it 784 times back-to-back with no sleep, but I could easily see someone sitting through the entire game without stopping. The experience is even more fun with a friend, even though the two-player mechanic was implemented a little sloppily. See, your buddy will be spawned from whatever power Kirby is toting at the moment via creepy energy fission, and player 2 gets to control the runoff. It mostly is functional, but can be a little frustrating because you're playing as the actual in-game enemies and their controls can be very different. The Ninja power, for instance, has extremely slippery play control, but the Plasma power can fly all around remorselessly. Not fair! Player 2 can also teleport to player 1 at the press of a button, which is kind of neat but gives the former player plenty of opportunity to piss his buddy off.

The pitfalls presiding in Kirby Super Star, in the end, are decidedly minor. This is a platformer that deserves to be owned by everyone with a taste for the outstanding. With vivid graphics, ultra-recognizable Kirby tunes, and that infallible pink bundle of love plodding intrepidly through many universes, we have here a title that no sane man can resist. Go, Kirby, go!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/13/05