Kirby Super Star Ultra

"This remake of the beloved Kirby title Kirby Super Star included the original games with updated graphics, a new storyline, and several new games. Among these new games were stylus-controlled minigames. Many of this title's games allowed several players to play together. Beating certain games unlocked special bonus content, including a hilarious blooper reel!"

- Summary

Kirby Super Star Ultra, known in Japan as 星のカービィ ウルトラスーパーデラックス (Hoshi no Kābī Urutora Sūpā Derakkusu, meaning Kirby of the Stars Ultra Super Deluxe), is the third game released for the Nintendo DS. A remake of the 1996 Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) platform game Kirby Super Star, it includes all games found in the original, but adds several new ones. In addition, the game features 3D FMV cutscenes for all of the levels, improves the visuals from Kirby Super Star, has more bosses, and adds to/modifies the gameplay in some ways.

This remake features several new games. The first new levels are the sub-games, which include Snack Tracks, Kirby Card Swipe, and Kirby on the Draw. All of these games feature four Kirbys, and the objective in them is to get the most points of the four. There are also four new platforming games, though two of them are remakes of earlier games. The first is Revenge of the King, a harder version of Spring Breeze. It has modified level layouts, several new enemy designs, and several features from Kirby's Dream Land (such as the boss Kabula, formerly "Kaboola"), that Spring Breeze (a remake of Kirby's Dream Land) did not include. The second is Meta Knightmare Ultra, where the player controls Meta Knight through all of the original games (excluding Gourmet Race and The Arena): Spring Breeze, Dyna Blade, The Great Cave Offensive, Revenge of Meta Knight, and Milky Way Wishes. The third new sub-game is Helper to Hero, which is a remake of The Arena where the player controls one of the helpers that appear in the game. The final new sub-game is The True Arena, which contains all bosses from the remake. After The True Arena has been beaten, a Special-Edition Blooper Reel can be viewable in the Theater.

Sub-games
All of the classic sub-games have returned (though the classic sub-games need to be unlocked). Also, Gourmet Race can now be played with two players (the second player is Yellow Kirby).

New sub-games

 * Revenge of the King: King Dedede wants revenge on Kirby for beating him back in Spring Breeze. The game is a recreation of the Extra Mode in the original Kirby's Dream Land, although abbreviated (similar to the Spring Breeze sub-game), a new stage (Mt. Dedede Sky), with a different final stage (ending with a fight against King Dedede with a mask and a metal hammer).
 * Meta Knightmare Ultra: Play the entire game as Meta Knight (though only the adventures Kirby experienced in the original Kirby Super Star, and he even has to fight his own minions and destroy his own ship!). In this sub-game, Meta Knight retains most of his moves from Revenge of Meta Knight, but in an unusual fashion. He may use only his sword, but there are abilities that the player can use by touching them on the touch screen. The game records the player's best time for their run of each game in Meta Knightmare Ultra. The game has various changes to some modes, such as blocking access to some rooms, and a different plot. At the end of the sub-game, Meta Knight wishes to Nova to fight Gamble Galaxy's greatest warrior.
 * Helper to Hero: An endurance challenge where the player can play as any and every helper, and the final boss is a pair of Wham Bam Rock, and the Wham Bam King, Wham Bam Jewel. Beating it with all helpers will unlock at a cutscene showing the original cutscenes from Kirby Super Star.
 * The True Arena: A harder endurance challenge that has all the bosses from Revenge of the King (except Bandana Waddle Dee, who was fought in The Arena), and the four new bosses as the Final Four, Masked Dedede, Wham Bam Jewel, Galacta Knight, and the revenge of Marx—as the dreadful, evil, and incredibly deadly Marx Soul. Beating The True Arena unlocks the Movie #34: Special Edition Blooper Reel in the theater, which twists and makes fun of previously-seen cutscenes before The True Arena is unlocked.
 * Kirby Card Swipe: a sub-game that seems to be based off a Japanese card game called Karuta. It's a sub-game that tests the player reflexes. On the touch screen, several cards will be revealed to the player and the goal is to be the first one to tap the matching card that shows up on the top screen. The player will get disqualified if they tap too early, so they have to wait until the card is shown.
 * Kirby on the Draw: It is a cowboy-themed fast-paced shooter sub-game where Kirby needs to take out as many targets as he can for points. He has eight rounds of ammo before he runs out, but the player can reload by tapping the bottom of the screen. Bombers will appear, which Kirby needs to avoid because they will give him negative points.
 * Snack Tracks: It is another frantic little sub-game where Kirby sits at the bottom of a conveyor belt and tries to eat as many food items as he can. The items will start scrolling down from the top screen, so Kirby can look ahead to see what's coming next. Bombs can be tossed around, and tapping them will knock them into another lane. Bugs and rocks will also come up, but because Kirby doesn't seem to digest those very well, the player quickly needs to tap them to get them out of the way before they reach Kirby's mouth. Halfway through the game, the lanes will also change to keep Kirby on his toes.

Reception
Kirby Super Star Ultra has received mostly positive reviews, but many reviewers noted that the game wasn't very difficult. 1UP gave Kirby Super Star Ultra an A-, praising it for its multiplayer and describes it as "excellent", but notes that it is not very difficult, and the level design is not as intricate as in the Mario titles. IGN's Craig Harris gave it a 7.9, saying that while fun, the game is "a bit on the easy side". Popular Japanese gaming magazine Weekly Famitsu gave it a 32/40, meaning all four reviewers gave the game an average score of 8/10.

Trivia

 * In the opening FMV intro, there is a rare chance that Kirby will wink at the player as he flies by on his Warp Star. He does a back flip on his star instead of a loop, and an island will also appear in the water as Kirby flies past it. Also, after beating Meta Knightmare Ultra, the Meta Knight version of the intro may play instead.
 * Occasionally, on the title screen, Kirby will make different faces.
 * A lot of the music in this game are remixes (or were remixes before, if Kirby Super Star is counted) of themes from other Kirby games:
 * The music for Snack Tracks is a sped-up version of the factory music of Shiver Star from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.
 * The music for the rest area in Helper To Hero is a slower, calmer remix of Ripple Star's level select theme from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.
 * The boss theme for Dyna Blade and Wham Bam Rock/Jewel is a remix of Castle Lololo's theme from Kirby's Dream Land.
 * The theme of Spring Breeze for this game is a remix of Kirby's Dream Land ' s title screen music.
 * The music that plays in the blooper reel is a remix of the music that plays during the introduction to Gourmet Race.
 * Depending on what Helper (or lack thereof), Kirby's victory dance will be altered.
 * This is one of only five Kirby games in which the final boss comes back as an undead form in the same game (Marx comes back as Marx Soul in The True Arena as the true final boss). The others are Kirby: Canvas Curse, Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Kirby: Planet Robobot.
 * Just like the original game, one can see more Nintendo characters such as Mario, Peach, and Wario while facing King Dedede in Spring Breeze. The original arrangement of such characters remains in Megaton Punch.
 * The Meta Knight symbol was altered in the remake - it now resembles the Galaxia Sword in the shape of an "M." In addition, it is more prominently displayed on the Halberd.
 * This Kirby game has been so far the only one with a blooper reel.
 * All sub-games unlocked at the beginning of the game (Spring Breeze, Dyna Blade, Gourmet Race, and The Great Cave Offensive) are pinned to the corkboard with yellow pins. Sub-games that are teased at the beginning of the game (Revenge of Meta Knight and Milky Way Wishes) are pinned with blue pins. All sub-games unlocked after these (The Arena, The True Arena, Helper to Hero, Meta Knightmare Ultra, and Revenge of the King) are pinned with red pins.
 * On the North American and Australian box arts, the title "SUPER STAR ULTRA" appears in lights behind Kirby. Each word is the same size and length, despite the fact that the word "star" is shorter than "super" and "ultra." As such, there must be a space in the middle of the word, making the background text "SUPER ST AR ULTRA."
 * Kirby Super Star Ultra is one of the five Kirby games that has never been released as a permanent digital download; the others are Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble, Kirby Air Ride, Kirby Slide, and Kirby's Dream Collection: Special Edition.
 * Ironically, Kirby Super Star Ultra retains its name in Europe and Australia, despite the original Kirby Super Star being renamed Kirby's Fun Pak for European and Australian countries. Otherwise, the game would have been called "Kirby's Fun Pak Ultra".

Magazine Scans

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