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Kirby Super Star

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Kirby Super Star
Kirby's Fun Pak
Boxart
Developer(s)HAL Laboratory
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Designer(s)Masahiro Sakurai
Platform(s)Super Famicom / SNES, Virtual Console
Release JPN March 21, 1996
 USA September 20, 1996
 EU January 23, 1997
Genre(s)Platformer, Action
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer (2 players simultaneous)

Kirby Super Star, known in Japan as Hoshi no Kirby: Super Deluxe (星のカービィ スーパーデラックス, Hoshi no Kābī Sūpā Derakkusu, lit. Kirby of the Stars: Super Deluxe") and in Europe as Kirby's Fun Pak is a platforming video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. It was first released in Japan on March 21, 1996, in North America on September 20, 1996, and in Europe on January 23, 1997. Kirby Super Star is slated to be re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console in North America sometime in 2007.[1]

Kirby Super Star's box art states that the game features eight games in one cartridge. These games offered are mostly platforming-oriented, while others are mini-games.

Plot

Gameplay

Kirby Super Star plays like a standard 16-bit era platforming video game. Kirby can go left, right, up, and down on a two dimensional plane. Throughout each level, Kirby must avoid several obstacles such as environmental hazards or a variety of enemies who mostly have their own attacks. As opposed to previous games in the series' usage of six health capsules, Kirby Super Star features a health meter. When the health meter is emptied, Kirby will lose one life. If he loses all of his lives, the game ends. It is the first Kirby video game that allows Kirby to perform a fairly wide arsenal of attacks with a single copy ability, as opposed to previous games in the Kirby series such as Kirby's Adventure, which only allowed Kirby to do one thing at a time (with the exception of the UFO power). Oddly, Kirby's Dream Land 3 (the next Kirby platform game on the SNES) didn't carry on this aspect of the game; rather, it reverted back to the formula of combining animal friends and single purpose powers that was introduced in Kirby's Dream Land 2. The idea of multiple moves for a single power didn't resurface until Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, which still didn't have the range of moves per power that Kirby Super Star had.

File:KSSarenaDyna.PNG
Cutter Kirby and Rocky fighting Dyna Blade in The Arena

One of the unique features of this Kirby game is the addition of a "helper". The helper is an enemy-turned-friend who follows Kirby around and helps fight other enemies. A second player can use an additional controller to control the helper, making a solo experience into a two-player adventure. The helper also sometimes had abilities that Kirby did not when taken control of by a second player. For instance, if Kirby got a Wheel power and turned it into a helper, Kirby could ride on the helper. While Kirby would die after falling into a pit, a helper character had no such vulnerability. Additionally, with careful playing the helper character could be kept almost immortal since Kirby had the ability to reabsorb and destroy the helper, after which the helper could be respawned in full health regardless of the health level before, the only disadvantage being that the technique leaves Kirby unarmed afterwards since it was necessary to abandon any ability Kirby was holding beforehand. Most of the mini-games have two-player modes as well.

This is also the first game in which Kirby wears different hats that represent the powers he acquires. (For instance, the Cutter hat is a pointed helmet, the Yoyo hat is a backwards baseball cap, and the Fighter hat is a red bandana.)

Kirby Super Star is one of the three international SNES games (outside Japan) that uses the SA-1 chip. The other two are Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and Kirby's Dream Land 3.

Platforming games

There are five main games in Kirby Super Star that follow the platforming mold set forth by Kirby's Adventure and other earlier Kirby games.

File:Kirby super star spring breeze.png
Spring Breeze
Spring Breeze

Spring Breeze is the first game in Kirby Super Star and is a remake of Kirby's Dream Land using Kirby Super Star's gameplay and enhanced graphics. Kirby must make his way to a castle to challenge King Dedede and recapture the food that was stolen from the citizens of Dream Land. Castle Lololo's entire level was removed, resulting in Spring Breeze having one level less than the original Game Boy game. However, Lololo and Lalala were still in the game, as they were the boss of the Float Islands level, unlike they were in the original game. Kaboola, the original boss of Float Islands, was removed from the game entirely rather than being moved to another level.

Dyna Blade

Dyna Blade, along with Milky Way Wishes, are the only games in Kirby Super Star to use an overworld map. A giant bird, Dyna Blade, is causing a ruckus and ruining Dream Land's crops, and Kirby must travel to the mountain where it lives to stop it. The game contains two secret levels, which allow Kirby to choose from most of the game's powers. These levels are accessed by finding hidden switches, like in Kirby's Adventure.

The Great Cave Offensive

The Great Cave Offensive is the fourth game in Kirby Super Star. In it, the player must collect many treasure chests strewn throughout a mysterious cave. There are many different rooms containing hidden treasure chests with prizes that raise the player's score and completion rate. This game has usually been compared to Metroid in terms of gameplay, due to the interconnected rooms and the necessity of backtracking. There are a total of 60 different treasures to find in this game, some easier to find than others. It may also have been the inspiration for Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, which plays very similarly.

Revenge of Meta-Knight

Revenge of Meta-Knight is the fifth game in Kirby Super Star. In it, Kirby attempts to destroy Meta Knight's ship, the 'Halberd', before Meta Knight can take over Dream Land.

Throughout the game, the crew comments on Kirby's ongoing destruction of their ship with rising alarm. To complement the hectic pace of this game, each area has a time limit, which will cost Kirby a life if it hits zero.

Kirby starts off at the Halberd, but when Kirby is blown away by the Heavy Lobster, he lands in the Orange Ocean. However, he eventually meets Dyna Blade again, who aides Kirby in getting back onto the Halberd.

Milky Way Wishes

Milky Way Wishes is the final major game in Kirby Super Star. In it, the Sun and Moon around planet Popstar are fighting, and Kirby must travel to different planets and defeat the boss at the end of each one in order to reach the giant machine NOVA, who Kirby hopes will help stop the unfortunate quarrel.

Unlike the other platform games, Kirby can't copy the abilities of enemies he inhales (except for the limited-use abilities, like Crash or Cook); instead, he collects "Deluxe Ability Pedestals". These are platforms with abilities on them that, once in Kirby's possession, can be recalled at will. In this way, the player can adapt to most situations by switching to a useful ability, hence it is important to gather as many Deluxe Ability Pedestals as possible.

Near the end of this game is also an arcade like battle in the NOVA machine and in the “Heart of Nova” which is also a battle opponent in the Arena and a battle with Marx.

Other games

These games are not continuous platform-style adventures, and as such are classified as minigames.

Gourmet Race

The Gourmet Race game is a race against King Dedede incorporating platform elements. The player has to beat King Dedede to the finish line using any means necessary, including special abilities, while also consuming more food than Dedede along the way. There are 3 different levels and in each you can race your own “bubble” (which is your previous try) or race King Dedede.

Samurai Kirby

Samurai Kirby is a timing minigame, very similar to the minigame "Quick Draw" in Kirby's Adventure. In the single player mode, there are five progressively harder opponents. Human players are required to quickly react to a symbol that appears on the screen, and the opponent with the quickest response time wins the round. Computer players always respond with set intervals based on the game difficulty chosen and the character the AI represents. Samurai Kirby was brought back as a subgame in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land.

File:Kirby super star megaton punch.png
Megaton Punch
Megaton Punch

Megaton Punch is another timing mini-game, similar to Samurai Kirby. In it, the player must attempt to perfectly match the peak of an oscillating meter, the superimposition of two floating crosshairs, and the downstroke of a pendulum to the press of a button on the controller. Points are awarded based on the accuracy of the timing. A powerful punch will consequently put a crack in the world of Popstar. Megaton Punch was later brought back as a subgame in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror.

The Arena

The Arena is an extra game and is an endurance challenge. At the game's beginning, the player starts in a room where any ability may be accessed. From then on, the player must go through nineteen battles with only one life, a couple of random abilities that are offered between battles, and five Maxim Tomatoes, which completely restore Kirby's health. These battles include sixteen boss battles, two battles against teams of minibosses, and a battle against a single, stationary Waddle Dee.

Presentation

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References to other media

References

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