Kirby Super Star Ultra is true to the basic Kirby gameplay. That means that you'll control the puffball as he walks, runs, and floats through some meandering levels, swallowing up enemies to steal their abilities, and then fighting bosses who usually supply the means of their own destruction. The classic Kirby enemies and bosses all show up: Waddle Dee, Knuckle Joe, Poppy Bros. Jr, Meta Knight, and, of course, the completely non-menacing, huggable King DeDeDe.
However, many refinements distinguish Super Star from past -- or future -- Kirby games. Kirby can block in addition to his normal repertoire. His abilities also provide him with multiple attacks each: for example, Beam grants him the normal arcing beam sword, but also a cone-shaped running attack, a grab, a downward projectile attack, and a charge attack. And a hat. Kirby can also turn an ability into a partner -- an enemy who follows him around and attacks for him.Most of the games selectable from the main menu -- Spring Breeze, The Great Cave Offensive, Revenge of Meta Knight -- can be thought of as "worlds" in an overarching Kirby game. They feature the same platforming gameplay and controls, but differ in terms of level structure and goal. The Great Cave Offensive sends Kirby on a search for sixty treasures hidden throughout the game, for example; and Revenge of Meta Knight involves a series of timed levels on the way to an epic fight with ... that little squat knight guy.
Other minigames on the collection actually are minigames: a timing-based samurai duel, for example, or an eating competition/ race against DeDeDe. These are fairly fun, but seem like masterpieces of game design compared to the new minigames -- touch-controlled games that, while hard enough to be novel for Kirby, are also not that fun. Kirby on the Draw and Kirby Card Swipe are notable for their difficulty -- not expected in a card-matching game and a shooting gallery, respectively -- but Snack Tracks is notable for nothing. It's irredeemably useless.
The other new content -- variations on the main game modes accessible after completion -- fare better, and add value to a collection that is already worth playing. If you like Kirby at all and have never played Super Star, this is a no-brainer. You'll get through the game in a couple of days, and you may not die even one time, but the experience is just fun from start to finish. After years of disappointing platform games, Kirby Super Star only seems better these days.
Final Score: 8/10
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-08-2008 @ 6:24PM
Nigeria said...
I don't want to moan and be negative, but this really should have been released for the Virtual Console.
It just feels like Nintendo have taken their eye off the ball in regards to the DS. I can only conclude that Nintendo saw they had no real presence for Winter, the busiest period of the year, so they decided to knock something out, anything. It just happened to be Kirby. It feels a little lazy and it gives me a bad taste: it feels like Chrono Trigger, you know.
Having missed out on years and years of Nintendo, and having fond memories of Kirby on the Game Boy, I was really excited to play this game in its pure form on the VC. But we got this instead. I'm not against remakes/releases, but it doesn't feel like there's enough to warrant a full priced DS release in this case.
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10-08-2008 @ 6:50PM
TryToGuess said...
You actually found the new arena to be EASY? Ya must be a more avid gamer than I.
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10-08-2008 @ 6:51PM
Mr Khan said...
I really wish i had time for this, and i kinda do. I'll be done with Wario Land by Friday (nominally, i'm already done, having just uncovered and cleared the last of the stages, but i have a lot of missions and treasures to go, and will take the rest of the week to pick up a few of them), and then it's a long drought between October 11 and November 19, when i get Sonic Unleashed.
I could fill that gap with Megaman 9 and Super Mario RPG, or Kirby Super Star Ultra. Advice?
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10-08-2008 @ 8:44PM
rikki said...
Skip Sonic Unleashed, and play all three. ;D
10-08-2008 @ 8:52PM
Metayoshi said...
If you're a completionist such as myself (and if you LOVED the original Super Star to death), I would suggest Kirby Super Star Ultra first because it does not take too long to 100% it, especially if you are familiar with Super Star. The newer modes that are not the touched based minigames are a more than welcome addition to the games from the original Super Star, and you'll top it off with a newer, much more difficult arena featuring the bosses you face after completing Milky Way Wishes and no maximum tomatoes to heal in between bosses.
You can then get that out of the way (but it doesn't mean you can't come back to it ;D), and then play either Mega Man 9 or Super Mario RPG the rest of the gap.
10-08-2008 @ 7:41PM
elsng said...
Absolutely love this game. Arena is just challenging enough to always be there to challenge myself to complete it.
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10-08-2008 @ 8:24PM
Pre-Pumpkin said...
I wish this game wasn't so short.
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10-09-2008 @ 9:17AM
BlackDS said...
All Kirby games are short. :)
10-08-2008 @ 8:33PM
Tod_htown said...
Well,
This is a great game, I have been a Nintendo freak since the Gameboy and NES days, this game brings back good memories. As far as Nintendo being "lazy", what the hell do you want?! This is what it is: A SOLID remake with a few extras, and at 30 bucks it is a great value. Try pounding a few beers or smoking some crack if you're bored with it....
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10-08-2008 @ 8:48PM
Metayoshi said...
Actually... I do have one disappointment in this game...
It's the fact that Megaton Punch and Samurai Kirby are not 2 player anymore! My cousins and I would play those two games days on end cutting Popstar in half in Megaton Punch and trying to beat that 11 time unit reflex that Meta Knight had at the end of Samurai Kirby.
Otherwise, the rest of this game is pure awesomeness, and it is now my favorite Kirby game of all time since this has the original Super Star AND more.
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10-08-2008 @ 10:21PM
Hamblasto said...
I only rented the original KSS and I regretted never actually buying it. Honestly, I don't mind paying full price for this game, I loved the original so much that I think the remake is worth it.
The only thing I didn't really like were the new cutscenes, they were nice but it just didn't have the charm of the sprite versions.
@ Metayoshi: I also miss 2 player Megaton Punch and Samurai Kirby. My brother and I would spend hours playing both and trying to predict the signal in Samurai Kirby hoping to score a perfect 00 time against each other.
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10-09-2008 @ 9:40AM
Ozzie12187 said...
Hey guys I'm a fairly new reader and just wanted to say I cannot wait to pick this up.
I would pay 10 bucks on VC or 30 on DS. I don't really care because I love Kirby too much to pass this up.
I just have to get through the other 4 Wii/DS games I haven't gotten throuh yet.
Nintendo and HAL definitely need to get a Wii Kirby going into dev if it isn't already. And I want a platformer... none of that Kirby Ball or Kirby Golf BS.
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