Kirby Super Star Ultra

"The perfect Kirby is back and... is there a word for better than perfect?"

1996, I was very young when I first received Kirby Super Star. I had no clue what Kirby was at the time. I put the cartridge into my SNES... I've been a Kirby fan ever since. I sit here now, twelve years later and 18 years old, writing my first review, for Kirby Super Star Ultra!

General info: The original version had 6 games, 2 mini-games a boss mode and a sound test. The remake has all those things and more.

Graphics: The original game WAS for the SNES so you can't expect Halo 3 graphics, but they did improve upon the original graphics in many ways. The most obvious change is that the sprite movies have become fully rendered 3D scenes. Some of the more minor changes include adding 1 or 2 new movies and cleaning up a few sprites, notably Meta Knight, Wham Bam Rock and Capsule J2. Nintendo went beyond what I would have expected an SNES remake to have in the Graphics department. For this I give 10/10 for Graphics.

Music/Sound: The old tunes and sounds return full force with even more brilliance than the first time. Some of the boss tracks have been changed to a song from Air Ride, (see if you can figure out which one) and other songs are totally new! Some of the catchiest songs from any Kirby appear here as well as some remixes of others. Music gets a 10/10!

Gameplay: It's traditional Kirby. Eat lots of food to heal. Use the enemies' powers to reach the end of the levels and obtain secrets. Master each powers diverse move pool and win the day in the boss endurances. Whether collecting treasures, beating a high score or trying to finish faster than ever, you still have as much fun as if you took your time. There's even a two player mode for you to play!
10/10

Control: You have the same Kirby moves as always, but some have a twist. When you copy an enemy you can now make a Helper! A CPU controlled character who will help you fight. You also have a new guard ability that can weaken or block most enemy attacks. The biggest thing involves your copy abilities. There are over 20 copy abilities 95% of which have at LEAST 3 different moves depending on what you want to do. None of them are complicated and many abilities are a melding of abilities from other games. 10/10!

The Games: (From here on I'll go into details about the game that may reveal some spoilers.)

Spring Breeze: A short and easy Kirby game that introduces you to the various aspects of Super Star Ultra. It does get boring after you play the other harder games, but it's still fun just the same. You go through 4 levels each ending with a boss, an amusing scene occurs before each level.
8/10

Dyna Blade: Slightly longer but still fairly easy. Unlike SB, you have an over-world map. Only one boss, plenty of sub-bosses though. There're two secret areas in the game that can be accessed by pressing a giant switch in certain areas. In the secret areas you can practice with many copy abilities.
7/10

Gourmet Race: The name says it all. Eat more food than Dedede and take first in three races. There's also a Time trial mode. I don't care for this one but it's well made so 7/10.

Great Cave Offensive: Go through four levels and find 60 treasures. No over-world map, the bosses stay dead in this one. Some treasures are a real challenge to get while others practically slap you with a fish! This one requires you to use Save Points. 9/10

Revenge of Meta Knight: Ah yes, one of my personal favorites. Play through 7 timed challenges and take down Halberd. This one has you read dialogue between Meta Knight and his minions, some of it's kind of funny. Music gets a bit repetitive near the end.
10/10

Milkyway Wishes: The final game of the original. Play through more than 7 levels and beat the bosses. YOU CAN'T COPY ENEMIES IN THIS ONE! However, you get Deluxe copy abilities that you can use whenever you want! 18 normal and 1 hidden. This game returns to use of the over-world map. There's also a hidden world, it's easier to find in this version though.
10/10

The Arena: A very LONG boss mode, you have a few Maximum tomatoes though. Win this to play the 4 new games!

HEAVY SPOILER WARNING! The following is a review for the New games. If you don't want anything ruined then skip ahead to the end of this.

Revenge of the King: A remake of Spring Breeze, but more intense. The little scenes are different, the levels are a bit different, the enemies are different and the bosses are ALOT harder. Whispy Woods is harder now. WHISPY! A totally new boss is in this one. The easiest is now one of the hardest!
10/10

Meta Knightmare Ultra: Play through 5 of the original games as Meta Knight. As you beat enemies you gain points for abilities such as healing, a helper or the powerful Mach Tornado. The final boss is pretty hard.
10/10

Helper to Hero: Fight 13 bosses as one of 20 copy abilities. The bosses are in a set order though so you can predict who's coming .You only need to beat it once to continue on. Beat it with everyone for a couple surprises. You have 3 MTs. Gets a little repetitive after awhile. Some of the abilities will breeze through, others, may just test your skill as a Kirby player!
9/10

The True Arena: This one's hard. Fight the 10 new bosses in an all out match. The first six matches are randomly ordered. Kabula will remove your helper. Only 6 normal tomatoes. The hardest bosses in the game with almost no healing. May Lady Luck be with you. 10/10

Mini-games: I don't like the new mini games. They're boring and virtually the same thing across the board, but the old ones are great, particularly the samurai Kirby game.
Retro-10/10
New-6/10

*End Spoilers*

Buy or Rent?: Buy it. It's worth it. Bug your friend to buy it. Bug your sibling to buy it. Just don't miss out on a classic! If you rent it, you'll have to go through all your hard work all over again. This is one of the best Kirby games around. A rental just won't cut it!

Replay?: Mid-High. You'll find yourself drawn back to this game, you may not want to go through it ALL again, but you can always replay certain parts! Or, if you just like to watch the scenes, then go to the event viewer. If you only like the music, just go to sound test!

Overall: So many things in this game will just stick in your mind. The variety of the games and the unique powers will really give you a memorable experience. The catchy music will stay with you and you'll find yourself humming it when you least expect it. If you played the original you'll have a burst of glorious nostalgia filled with new experience. If you're new to Kirby Super Star, or to Kirby in general you'll be in for a wonderful time. Even if you HATE Kirby you'll enjoy the game. My only wish is that there was something better than 10 out of 10 on this site.
10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/17/08

Game Release: Kirby Super Star Ultra (US, 09/22/08)