I’ve always been a major fan of the original SNES Kirby Super Star, and while I was hoping it would eventually hop to the Virtual Console, I was just as pleased to hear about its remake coming to the DS. Soon, though, a bit of unease set in. There’s a level of comfort one can associate with the Virtual Console in knowing their games will be preserved, more or less, but who knows what could happen to a game if it’s being remade. Fortunately, HAL Laboratories has remembered KSS’s charm and secret to success, and done their best to duplicate it here, with good results.
For the uninitiated, Kirby Super Star Ultra is not your average platformer, even for a Kirby game. Instead of one long single-player adventure, the game consists of a number of different single-player modes to play through. Most of them are adventure modes, but there’s the occasional change-up as well; actually, there’s constant changing-up from mode to mode, but I’ll discuss that more in a bit. All of the original content from KSS is still here, though not all of it is accessible right away, of course. You’ll start with Spring Breeze, which is a shorter retelling of the original Kirby’s Dream Land; once that is complete, you’ll unlock several other game modes to play through. The game generally progresses in this manner, completing and unlocking various single-player modes.
KSS veterans are undoubtedly wondering how the two games compare, and I’m glad to say that I could notice almost no difference at all. Again, all the original games are intact; the levels and controls are pretty much identical, and considering the DS’s similarity to a SNES controller, it really does feel like the original KSS was crammed into a DS for the most part. This is not to say the original game was flawless; many people have said that the game is not very difficult, and I have to agree, having breezed through the game’s content with little trouble. It’s as entertaining as it ever was, though, especially if you take your time to complete the more intricate game modes.
What has been improved is the presentation; not only do the graphics all look crisper and cleaner, but the DS’s bottom screen is put to good use, taking all your relevant information and removing it from the upper screen. You may find some extra information you didn’t anticipate, like boss names, or if a certain area is completed fully. The best aesthetic improvement is the inclusion of full 3D cutscenes to help tell the story, and they’re used liberally in some cases, not to mention they give a story introduction to modes that never got it before.
This remake wouldn’t be complete without additional content, and KSSU generally doesn’t disappoint. One feature that was shown off in previews is the new touch-screen minigames; I’ve given all of them a try, and none of them are particularly captivating, but they’re not meant to be. They’re still an entertaining distraction, and interestingly, they’re more difficult than the main game ever really gets. You’ll be using the touch screen exclusively for these games; you can do memory match, you can try some quick-draw action, or you can knock stuff away from you on a conveyor belt. It’s simple fun, like the two mini-games that originally came with KSS (both of which, incidentally, remain in the game as unlockables).
The meat of the new stuff, though, is the four new main modes that are included, which satisfies the guiding philosophy of KSS to a certain extent. Kirby Super Star’s strength lies in the variety inherent in its main game modes; no two of them are truly the same, though Spring Breeze and Dyna-Blade are similar. Spring Breeze is a standard Kirby platformer; Gourmet Race pits you in a race against King Dedede while you eat food; The Great Cave Offensive is a puzzle-ish platformer wherein you collect treasures; Revenge of Meta-Knight features timed levels and heavy bosses; Milky Way Wishes, the final adventure, lets you keep powers permanently and select from them at will; and the Arena is one of the hardest boss rushes in game history. Each game has unique qualities to it, and you’re provided with a variety of gameplay options.
Ultra does its best to continue this, though faltering a tad. Revenge of the King is a more difficult remake of Spring Breeze, with different level design and more and harder bosses; it’s pretty fun, but not something you’ll come back to. Two others, Helper to Hero and True Arena, are both variations on the Arena-style boss rush; the former has you playing as one of many helpers, and the latter includes Ultra-exclusive bosses. The true gem of the bonus content is a game called Meta-Knightmare Ultra. This adventure has you playing through the five original adventure modes as Meta-Knight, and it’s exactly as awesome as it sounds. You speed through the levels, competing for the best time with an optional Blade Knight at your side. As you defeat enemies, a meter fills up that allows you to use special powers, such as speeding up, healing yourself, or using the Meta Tornado Super Destructifying Killamajig. It’s highly satisfying and some of the most fun you’ll have playing through KSSU.
The most fun you can have, of course, is playing through with a friend. KSSU allows a friend to play along with you on another DS, with or without their own copy of the game. If only one player has the game, a second player can control with his own DS while looking on the first player’s screen; if both players have the game, they play co-op as normal. The three touch-screen sub-games are also two-player competitive, though the CPUs can be tough as it is. I never got to try out the multiplayer for Ultra, but I’ve played KSS co-op in the past; I’m a firm believer that two-player co-op is the best way to play pretty much any game, and KSS is a superb example of this. I can only imagine that it’s fantastic, but I cannot give this a legitimate score having not played it myself.
All in all, Kirby Super Star Ultra is an excellent re-representing of a classic SNES game with good additional content. Any KSS fans who lack the game should be sure to pick it up and relive their great memories, as well as anyone who wants a portable version of it. Players who have never played Kirby Super Star may not have the added nostalgia factor, but the fact remains that KSS has always been an excellent, timeless platformer, and KSSU should be played by anyone who loves fun platforming action.
