Kirby Super Star

This article is about the original game. For its remake, see here.

US box
PAL box
JP box
US logo
JP logo

Kirby Super Star

Title (NTSC)

Kirby Super Star

Title (PAL)

Kirby's Fun Pak

Title (JP)

星のカービィスーパーデラックス (Hoshi no Kābī Sūpā Derakkusu)

- Translates to

Kirby of the Stars: Super Deluxe
星のカービィ = Kirby of the Stars, スーパー = Super, デラックス = Deluxe

Developer

HAL Laboratory

Publisher

Nintendo

Release

SNES^[1]

March 21, 1996

September 20, 1996
January 23, 1997

- Re-release(s)

Wii Virtual Console^[2]

October 13, 2009

May 17, 2010
May 28, 2010
May 28, 2010
Wii U Virtual Console
May 1, 2013

May 23, 2013

May 23, 2013
Super NES Classic Edition

September 29, 2017

September 30, 2017

October 5, 2017

Genre

Collection, Action, 2D Platformer

Mode(s)

Single-player, multiplayer

Rating

^[3]

Platform(s)

SNES
Wii (Virtual Console)
Wii U (Virtual Console)
Super NES Classic Edition

“

Eight games in one? That sounds like fun! This title introduced Copy Ability hats, which changed Kirby's appearance based on which power he was wielding. This game also gave Kirby the ability to transform an equipped Copy Ability into a Helper, which added a new kind of cooperative play to the mix. A Helper could be either controlled by the game's AI or controlled by a second player, and each type of Helper had its own moves.”

— Summary • Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition

Kirby Super Star (released in PAL regions as Kirby's Fun Pak) is a "games omnibus"^[4] of nine small games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) that was released in Japan on March 21, 1996, and was then later released on September 20, 1996 in North America and on January 23, 1997 in Europe. However, the earliest in-game copyright year is given as 1995. In the Japanese version, it is the only year. This indicates that the Japanese ROM data was completed in 1995 and originally planned for release by the end of that year, but was ultimately pushed back.

Kirby Super Star is one of the most popular games in the series. It is the Kirby title that first introduced Helpers. They are enemies turned to allies, and can be controlled by a computer or a second player. Furthermore, Helpers were used to facilitate the game's two-player simultaneous cooperative play, another first in the Kirby series. According to director Masahiro Sakurai, this feature was added at the request of Shigeru Miyamoto.

This game was also the debut of Kirby's "hats," different headgear and appearances that come with Copy Abilities. In previous games, Kirby would only change color or wield a weapon, but now abilities (such as the Fire ability granting Kirby a crown of flames or the Yo-Yo ability granting him a backwards baseball cap) have specific hats. The ability hats return in almost every Kirby game that was released after Kirby Super Star to help differentiate between his abilities and to better symbolize them.

Kirby Super Star was remade for the Nintendo DS in 2008, titled Kirby Super Star Ultra. The game also saw a re-release on the Wii and Wii U Virtual Consoles. Additionally, it is one of the 21 games packaged with the Super NES Classic Edition system.

Gameplay

Kirby retains all of his signature abilities: inhaling, swallowing, floating, sliding and gains the new ability to block attacks.

Helpers

One of Kirby Super Star’s core features is two-player cooperative gameplay: making the entire game playable in multiplayer. If Kirby has a Copy Ability, simply pressing the A button triggers a second player "Helper" character to appear in exchange of current ability.

If a second player is not present, the Helper character is controlled by AI until a second controller is activated by pressing any button.

Health System

Kirby Super Star was the first Kirby game to feature a continuous health gauge, instead of having a discrete number of "vitality bars" as seen in earlier games, and used in newer titles such as Kirby: Squeak Squad, but this is the only time the HP system was used on such an in-depth scale.

The meters don't give the exact amount of health Kirby and the second player have. However, it seems Helpers have less default health than Kirby. Another effect is that most enemies usually require more than one hit to defeat, depending on what ability is used.

The only time attack power can be directly measured is when fighting the Computer Virus boss, as the message system displays how much damage was dealt to a Computer Virus minion. Based on measurements against (unshielded) Virus' minions, powerful abilities include Stone and Wheelie Rider (when controlled by a second player). Kirby's Hammer Flip deals 80 points of damage, while Crash does a one-time 160 points. Performing a Suplex throw and then the Fury Stomp from its moveset right after can do up to 174 points.

Copy Abilities

Kirby Super Star features 25 Copy Abilities in total. Of them, 13 of which are returning abilities from Kirby's Adventure, while the remaining 12 are new abilities introduced in this game. As well as introducing 'hats' to differentiate each ability visually, this game introduced the concept of giving Copy Abilities many moves, instead of just usually one action command like in Kirby's Adventure and Kirby's Dream Land 2.

Beam	Bomb	Cook	Copy	Crash
Cutter	Fighter	Fire	Hammer	Ice
Jet	Mike	Mirror	Ninja	Paint
Parasol	Plasma	Sleep	Starship	Stone
Suplex	Sword	Wheel	Wing	Yo-Yo

Main Games

Spring Breeze

Spring Breeze is a smaller, updated version of Kirby's Dream Land. King Dedede has stolen the people's food, and four Sparkling Stars from the people of Dream Land. Kirby must follow the wind of the Spring Breeze to locate the four stars and make his way to Mt. Dedede.

Sub-games

Megaton Punch

Kirby will face an enemy in a contest to deal the biggest cracks into Planet Popstar. If playing with the computer it will be Bandana Waddle Dee, Knuckle Joe, then Iron Mam.

Samurai Kirby

The player takes on five opponents in a samurai showdown in this reaction timing sub-game.

Characters

The following section contains transcluded content from the Database. Source: (view • edit • help)

Bosses

Mid-bosses

Enemies

Related Quotes

“	Kirby in a jester cap...and a super-cute Kirby at that. Beam Kirby features a Beam ability, acquired by inhaling Waddle Doo, that allows him to shoot a whip-like beam at his enemies. With a wide attack range, this ability is extremely easy to use, especially for taking out enemies in bunches. In Kirby Super Star, this beam can also be charged and fired.”
	— Beam Kirby trophy description • Super Smash Bros. Brawl

“	Kirby when he inhales an enemy who uses fire. Shooting fire from his mouth, Fire Kirby can cook enemies from afar. This ability also allows Kirby to light explosive blocks, fuses, and so on. In Kirby Super Star and Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, Fire Kirby can roll his burning body into enemies as an attack move.”
	— Fire Kirby trophy description • Super Smash Bros. Brawl

“	Kirby when he inhales Plasma Wisps, which glow with a neon green flame. Plasma Kirby can charge the plasma strength up to a maximum level of 5. In Kirby Super Star, your attack--be it a Plasma Laser or a Plasma Wave Cannon--varies with the length of time you charge it.”
	— Plasma Kirby trophy description • Super Smash Bros. Brawl

“	A monstrous bird with white- and rainbow-colored bladed wings and huge talons. Challengers who face Dyna Blade are forced to contend with her speed and armor plating that can reflect any attack. The only weak point is her head. In Kirby Super Star, she's destroying Dream Land's crops, but there's apparently a perfectly good reason for this.”
	— Dyna Blade trophy description • Super Smash Bros. Brawl

“	A well-known boss from the Kirby series. Kracko is a cloud with a big eye and numerous spikes. He threatens Kirby with a number of weapons, including beam and rain attacks. In Kirby Super Star, Kracko first appears as Kracko Jr., continuing his onslaught on Kirby as he grows in size.”
	— Kracko trophy description • Super Smash Bros. Brawl

“	One of Kirby's foes. Those unlucky enough to get too close will get body-slammed with Bugzzy's vicious pincers. He also releases smaller bugs. Kirby can copy the ability to body-slam by inhaling him. In Kirby Super Star, this ability is called Suplex. It's just one of many pro-wrestling moves he can use.”
	— Bugzzy trophy description • Super Smash Bros. Brawl

“	Kirby Super Star on the SNES was the first Kirby game where two players could team up.”
	— Multiplayer Kirby Tip • Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Staff

Main article: List of Kirby Super Star Staff

Trivia

Despite claiming to be "8 Games in One!" Kirby Super Star actually contains nine games. The Arena is likely the unmentioned ninth game, which is also not mentioned in the instruction booklet.
Due to limitations, many of Kirby's Copy Ability hats are recolors (some of which were redesigned in later releases):
- Beam and Mirror wear jester hats and carry wands.
- Sword and Bomb wear elf hats.
- Fire, Plasma, and Ice wear headdresses.
- Ninja and Stone wear samurai helmets.
- Fighter and Suplex wear headbands.
- Wheel and Yo-Yo wear backwards caps.
- Parasol and Hammer lack hats altogether.
- Copy, Crash, Cook, Mike, and Paint all have Kirby flashing white when not performing their attacks.
The music for the Trial Rooms and the rest area for The Arena is a remix of the music used in the main room of Mt. Dedede from Kirby's Dream Land.
When Kirby Super Star was released on the Wii U eShop in Europe, the version released was not European, but instead North American. This was the same with the European release of the SNES Classic Edition.
In the Music Room in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Kirby Super Star is represented by an image of Kirby in front of a striped background. This resembles the Kirby Super Star Ultra logo.
When playing amiibo tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits, if the player taps an amiibo product to the Wii U GamePad, there is a chance to unlock a demo of Kirby Super Star.
Concept artwork seems to suggest that additional Copy Abilities were considered for Kirby Super Star. These included Tonosama (feudal lord), Satellite, Summon, Donate, Grenade, Card, Flower, Rush, and Mantle.^[5]^[6]
Although Kirby creator Masahiro Sakurai's favorite Copy Ability is said to be Beam, he has stated in a Twitter post that his favorite abilities in Kirby Super Star are "hand-to-hand" abilities like Fighter and Suplex.^[7]
The boss theme of this game was remixed for Level 1 of the Scope Shot sub-game in Kirby's Return to Dream Land and the music that plays during the battle against DX mid-bosses in Kirby: Triple Deluxe.
An in-game reset can be activated by holding L, R, Select and Start at the same time.
Kirby Super Star, despite being intended for an SNES release from the get-go, actually began development on the original NES. This unreleased prototype was used for internal purposes only, as a way of finalizing all the ideas that would go into the final product. This can be seen with the NES sprites for the Yo-Yo and Cutter abilities, which were released to the public over 20 years later in an issue of Famitsu: the sprites shown look nearly identical to their counterparts in the finished product. Director Masahiro Sakurai stated that this type of development style is beneficial to him, as the starting step of finalizing all of a game's ideas via an internal prototype makes the rest of development significantly easier.
According to Sakurai, the use of pre-rendered 3D graphics in Kirby Super Star was a direct influence from Rare's massively successful Super Nintendo game Donkey Kong Country. Creating and implementing HAL Laboratory's own 3D graphics significantly extended the development time of Kirby Super Star, which ended up being three years.^[8]
An additional sub-game with puzzle elements and a horror theme, Kagero Mansion, was originally planned to appear in Kirby Super Star. It never entered development due to time constraints. It was entirely unknown to the public for over 20 years, until Sakurai described it in an interview held to commemorate the release of the Super Nintendo Classic microconsole (which includes Kirby Super Star).
Kirby Super Star appears as a Masterpiece in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. The trial begins in The Great Cave Offensive and players have three minutes to play before the trial ends.
In Japan, Kirby Super Star was packaged in a box made of Paulowina wood. This wood is culturally significant in Japan, being used to store valuable objects. As such, Nintendo used this packaging to comment on the value of the game.
- The disc case for Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition hearkens back to this, as its design is printed to look like Paulowina wood. Nintendo wanted to convey that it too was a valuable game.