Kirby Super Star facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kirby Super Star |
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North American box art featuring Kirby with the beam copy ability
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| Developer(s) | HAL Laboratory |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Masahiro Sakurai |
| Producer(s) | |
| Designer(s) | Tsuyoshi Wakayama |
| Programmer(s) | Shigenobu Kasai |
| Composer(s) | Jun Ishikawa |
| Series | Kirby |
| Platform(s) | Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Action, platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Kirby Super Star is an exciting action-platform game that first came out in 1996. It was made by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). In some parts of the world, like Europe, it was known as Kirby's Fun Pak. This game is a special part of the popular Kirby video game series.
What makes Kirby Super Star unique is that it's like getting many games in one! It includes seven smaller adventures, all with Kirby's classic gameplay, plus two fun minigames. Later, an improved version called Kirby Super Star Ultra was released for the Nintendo DS in 2008 and 2009. This remake was very popular and sold nearly 3 million copies! The original SNES game has also been made available again on newer systems over the years.
Contents
How to Play Kirby Super Star
Kirby Super Star is a classic platform game where you move from left to right across the screen. You control Kirby, a cute pink hero, as he explores different levels. Your goal is to avoid tricky obstacles and defeat enemies.
Kirby has many cool moves! He can walk, run, jump, swim, and even slide. His most famous move is inhaling enemies or objects and then spitting them out like powerful bullets. Kirby can also puff himself up to fly for a short time. While flying, he can't attack, but he can let out a small puff of air.
Kirby's Copy Abilities and Helpers
One of Kirby's best tricks is his copy abilities. When Kirby eats certain enemies, he can gain their special powers! For example, if he eats an enemy that shoots fire, Kirby can then shoot fire too. In Kirby Super Star, Kirby can also guard himself to block attacks.
A super fun feature is the Helper system. When Kirby uses a copy ability, he can create a Helper! This Helper is another character that can fight alongside Kirby. A friend can even control the Helper, making it a two-player adventure! Helpers can float just like Kirby, but they only use the power they were created with. If a Helper gets hurt too much, Kirby can give them a new power or turn them back into a power-up.
Staying Healthy and Continuing the Adventure
Both Kirby and his Helper have health. If they get hit by enemies or dangers, their health goes down. If Kirby loses all his health, you lose a life. You can find food in levels to get your health back. If you lose all your lives, it's game over, but you can usually try again!
Exciting Game Modes to Explore
Kirby Super Star is packed with seven main adventures and two fun minigames! Each adventure has its own story and goals, even though they all use Kirby's awesome moves. Some games need to be unlocked by playing others first. You'll need to finish all of them to truly complete the game!
Here's a look at the different modes:
- Spring Breeze: This is a shorter, updated version of Kirby's very first game, Kirby's Dream Land (from 1992). King Dedede has stolen all the food from Dream Land, and Kirby must get it back!
- Dyna Blade: A giant bird named Dyna Blade is causing trouble for Dream Land's crops. Kirby needs to stop this big bird! This mode has four levels and some secret areas to find.
- Gourmet Race: Get ready for a race against King Dedede! In this racing game, you'll zoom through three levels, eating as much food as you can. The player with the most points from food and finishing first wins!
- The Great Cave Offensive: Kirby falls into a huge cave and must explore it to find 60 hidden treasures. This adventure is like a big maze with lots of secrets. Some treasures are fun nods to other Nintendo games, like a piece of the Triforce from The Legend of Zelda!
- Revenge of Meta Knight': This mode tells a story about Meta Knight trying to take over Dream Land with his giant airship, the Halberd. Kirby has to stop him! You'll need to finish each level quickly because there's a time limit. You'll see the Halberds damage as you play, leading to an exciting escape at the end.
- Milky Way Wishes: This is the biggest adventure in the game! The Sun and Moon around planet Popstar are fighting. A tricky character named Marx tells Kirby to travel to nine planets to fix a giant wish-granting comet called Nova. But watch out, Marx has a secret plan! In this mode, Kirby doesn't copy abilities directly. Instead, he finds "Copy Essence Deluxes" that let him choose any ability he wants from a list, and he keeps them forever!
- The Arena: This is a challenging boss rush mode. You'll fight every boss in the game one after another with only one life! You can pick one power-up at the start and get a few chances to heal between fights. If you beat The Arena, you unlock a special sound test to listen to the game's music.
Fun Mini-Games
There are also two quick minigames you can play alone or with a friend:
- Samurai Kirby: This game tests your reflexes! You have to press a button super fast right after a signal appears.
- Megaton Punch: Here, you need to time three button presses perfectly to deliver the strongest punch possible against your opponent.
Creating Kirby Super Star
Kirby Super Star was created in Japan by HAL Laboratory. The game's director was Masahiro Sakurai, who also created Kirby! This was the third Kirby game he directed.
Interestingly, an early version of Kirby Super Star was first made for the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), even though the final game was for the SNES. This prototype helped the team test out ideas easily before putting them into the final game.
Big Ideas Behind the Game
Masahiro Sakurai had three main ideas for Kirby Super Star:
- Two-player fun: He wanted players to be able to team up and play together.
- Fighting game moves: He wanted Kirby's copy abilities to have more cool moves, like those in fighting games.
- Many games in one: He wanted to create a collection of shorter adventures instead of one very long game.
The idea for two-player gameplay came from Shigeru Miyamoto, another famous game creator at Nintendo. He thought Kirby's slower pace would be perfect for a cooperative game. This led to the creation of the Helper system, making it easier for new players to join in the fun.
Sakurai chose the "many games in one" format because many games at the time were very long. He wanted to offer lots of content without players getting tired of one style. This way, players could enjoy different stories and challenges. For example, Spring Breeze was designed to be simple and welcoming for beginners.
Art and Development Challenges
Making Kirby Super Star took three years, which was longer than usual back then. Part of this was because of a game called Donkey Kong Country (1994), which used cool computer-generated (CG) graphics. Sakurai decided to update Kirby Super Star's artwork to use similar CG styles, which meant redoing a lot of the visuals.
The team also had an idea for another game mode called Kagero Mansion, which would have been a spooky puzzle-action game where Kirby couldn't inhale. However, they didn't have enough time to include it in the final game.
Release and Legacy of Kirby Super Star
Kirby Super Star was one of the last games released for the SNES. It came out in Japan on March 21, 1996, in North America on September 20, 1996, and in Europe on January 23, 1997. In Japan, it was called Kirby of the Stars: Super Deluxe.
The Japanese game box was designed to look like a special Paulownia wooden box, which is often used for expensive gifts. This design was meant to show how special the game was.
Modern Re-releases
Over the years, Kirby Super Star has been re-released so more players can enjoy it:
- It was available on the Wii and Wii U through Nintendo's Virtual Console service.
- It was part of Kirby's Dream Collection (2012), a special collection of Kirby games for the Wii to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary.
- The game was also included in the Super NES Classic Edition mini-console.
- Nintendo released it on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System app for Nintendo Classics on December 12, 2019. A special version with secret modes already unlocked was released on June 9, 2022.
Lasting Impact of the Game
Kirby Super Star has had a big impact on the Kirby series and other games:
- Remake: An improved remake, Kirby Super Star Ultra, was released for the Nintendo DS to celebrate the series' 15th anniversary. It added new modes, updated graphics, and cool video scenes.
- Music: Many songs from Kirby Super Star have been remixed and used in other games, especially in the Super Smash Bros. fighting game series.
- The Halberd: Meta Knight's awesome airship, the Halberd, has appeared in many other Kirby games like Kirby: Squeak Squad and Kirby: Planet Robobot, and also in the Super Smash Bros. series.
- Smash Bros. Stage: A huge stage based on The Great Cave Offensive appeared in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It's one of the biggest stages and has "Danger Zones" that can instantly knock out fighters with high damage!
- Grammy Award: In 2021, a musical group called The 8-Bit Big Band won a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for their amazing cover of "Meta Knight's Revenge" from the game!
See also
In Spanish: Kirby Super Star para niños
