Kirby Super Star (Super Nintendo) Review

Most of the games use the basic Kirby gameplay template - sucking up enemies and copying their powers - and throw some other ideas into the mix. In addition to roughly twenty powers, each power has its own helper character who will aid Kirby in battle. They are summoned by giving up Kirby's current power, creating a helper based on it. Once that is done, there's also the option to change their form by tossing another power at them or making them transform back into a power for Kirby to use. The partner AI is surprisingly competent in most cases but a second player can take control of the helper as well.

The first game is called Spring Breeze and inspired by the original Kirby's Dream Land, which didn't feature Kirby's iconic copy ability. It's fairly short and easy and is really more of an introduction than a substantial part of the overall game. Then there's Dyna Blade, in which Kirby's task is to take down a giant bird with the same name. While it does feature a small world map to traverse, it's not very long or challenging compared to the other games. Meta Knight's Revenge offers a stark contrast compared to Spring Breeze and Dyna Blade; its focus is frenetic action with timed, scrolling levels forcing players to rush through everything as fast as possible, and several boss fights. Meta Knight and his crew commentate and react to Kirby's actions throughout the whole adventure in a pretty amusing way, too.

Possibly the biggest part of Kirby Super Star is The Great Cave Offensive. This adventure is much more open-ended and structured a bit like a maze, with the objective to collect as many treasures as possible, including medals, candy, and gems, or even special items from other Nintendo franchises. The treasures sometimes require some observation of the area, as recklessness can actually cause some treasure to be blocked off by obstacles. Save rooms can be found in every major area and they save Kirby's current position and treasure count, allowing players to quickly return to this mode and continue where they left off.

The last game - which has to be unlocked by completing every other game first - is called Milky Way Wishes. Here, the sun and moon are at war and it's up to Kirby to stop them but unlike the classic type of gameplay, he can actually permanently obtain powers and freely switch between them at any given time. Switching powers is possible either in a menu or on the spot by holding down a button and cycling through them with the d-pad. This means that exploring levels becomes just as important as actually finishing them if the player wants to obtain a wide variety of powers. The stages can be played in any order and it's also possible to revisit them to look for additional powers.

The remaining games are more like mini-games and much shorter than the rest. One of them is Gourmet Race where Kirby races against his rival King Dedede. The goal is to eat as much food as possible while making it to the finish line first, hence the name of the game. Then there's Samurai Kirby and Megaton Punch, two amusing mini-games that only last a few seconds and require timely button presses. Last but not least is the arena which offers a challenging boss gauntlet to tackle, with dozens of enemies and bosses from the game.