Kirby Super Star, known as Kirby's Fun Pak in PAL regions, is a 1996 collection of platform games created by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is part of the Kirby video game series made by HAL Laboratory. The game was marketed as a set of eight games: seven short games with similar play styles and two mini-games.

An improved version called Kirby Super Star Ultra was released for the Nintendo DS in 2008 and 2009. It was well-received by players and critics and sold nearly 3 million copies. The original game has also been made available for download multiple times.

Gameplay

Kirby Super Star is a side-scrolling platform game. Like other games in the Kirby series, the player controls Kirby, the main character, to complete levels while avoiding obstacles and enemies. Kirby can walk, run, jump, swim, crouch, slide, and inhale enemies or objects to spit them out as bullets. He can fly for a short time by inflating himself; while flying, Kirby cannot attack or use other abilities, though he can release a weak puff of air. By eating certain enemies, Kirby gains copy abilities, which are power-ups that let him use the enemy's special powers. In Kirby Super Star, Kirby can guard himself to block weak attacks.

If Kirby uses a copy ability, he can summon a Helper, a character that can be controlled automatically or by another player. Helpers can float continuously, but they can only use the copy ability they were based on. The player can change the Helper’s form or turn it into a power-up if needed. Player characters lose health when hit by enemies or hazards. If a Helper loses all its health, the player has a short time to give it a new power before it disappears. If Kirby loses all his health, the player loses a life. Health can be restored by eating food found in levels. Losing all lives ends the game.

Kirby Super Star includes seven smaller games: six main games and one supplemental game, plus two minigames. Most games use the same basic mechanics but have different stories and goals. Some games must be completed to unlock others, and all must be finished to complete the game.

• Spring Breeze: A shorter version of the first Kirby game, Kirby's Dream Land (1992), with improved gameplay from Kirby Super Star. King Dedede stole food from Dream Land, and Kirby must reach his castle to challenge him. Some levels from the original game were combined, and some boss fights were removed.
• Dyna Blade: Kirby must stop Dyna Blade, a giant bird, from damaging Dream Land’s crops. The game has four levels to clear before fighting Dyna Blade. There are also two secret areas and a mini-boss that moves across the world map.
• Gourmet Race: A racing game where Kirby races King Dedede while eating as much food as possible. The game takes place across three levels of different lengths. Players earn points for eating food and bonus points for finishing first. The player with the most points after all levels wins. Players can race King Dedede, a "ghost" (their best race attempt), or race alone for the fastest time.
• The Great Cave Offensive: A Metroidvania-style adventure where Kirby explores a cave to find treasure. Sixty treasure chests are hidden in four areas. Some treasures reference other Nintendo games, such as the Triforce (The Legend of Zelda), Captain Falcon’s helmet (F-Zero), and Mr. Saturn (EarthBound). Others reference valuable items from role-playing games, like Orichalcum.
• Revenge of Meta Knight: A story-driven mode where Kirby stops Meta Knight, who tries to take over Dream Land and end its "lazy" lifestyle using his airship, the Halberd. Each level has a time limit, and the player loses a life if they fail to finish in time. The Halberd takes damage after each level, and a meter shows its condition. The player fights multiple bosses, and the mode ends with a chase to escape a falling Halberd.
• Milky Way Wishes: The largest mode in the game. Because the Sun and Moon around planet Popstar are fighting, a jester-like creature named Marx tells Kirby he must travel across nine planets to restore a giant wish-granting comet-clock called Nova. Marx plans to control Popstar using Nova, but Kirby stops him. Unlike other modes, Kirby cannot use copy abilities here. Instead, he collects "Copy Essence Deluxes," which let the player choose a copy ability from a list and keep it permanently. The mode also includes scrolling shooter levels.
• The Arena: A boss attack mode where the player fights every boss in the game with only one life and a free power-up at the start. The player can restore health up to five times between rounds and gets two random power-ups. Completing The Arena unlocks a sound test.
• Sub-games: Two minigames that can be played alone or with others. They include Samurai Kirby, where players press a button after a prompt, similar to Wild Gunman (1984); and Megaton Punch, where players time three button presses to throw a stronger punch than their opponent.

Development

Kirby Super Star was created in Japan by HAL Laboratory and directed by Masahiro Sakurai, the designer of Kirby. It was the third Kirby game he directed after Kirby's Dream Land and Kirby's Adventure. Even though Kirby Super Star was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), its prototype was first made for the original Nintendo Entertainment System. Sakurai said the prototype was nearly finished and some animations in the final game were very similar to those in the prototype. The prototype was used to test ideas before adding them to the final game. Sakurai explained that having the game working on an internal version made it easier to develop new ideas. HAL Laboratory's president, Satoru Iwata, had little involvement in the game, and Sakurai led its development.

For Kirby Super Star, Sakurai had three main goals. One was to include two-player cooperative gameplay, another was to add actions similar to those in fighting games, and the third was to use an "omnibus" format. The idea of cooperative gameplay came from Shigeru Miyamoto. Sakurai wanted to hear from Miyamoto before planning the game's foundation and other important details. Sakurai and Iwata visited Kyoto, where Miyamoto told them he wanted cooperative gameplay, which was rare in side-scrolling platform games. Miyamoto had long wanted to create a cooperative game in his Super Mario series but could not until 2009 because of the fast pace of those games. Kirby, being slower, made it easier to add cooperative play. Sakurai thought about this and created the idea of a main player and an assisting player, which led to the introduction of Helpers, a feature that helped less experienced players.

Sakurai explained that he chose the "omnibus" format because he noticed many games at the time took too long to complete. He wanted to offer many short, unique scenarios instead of one long game. Each scenario had its own story and gameplay style. This format allowed players to enjoy different types of content without getting tired of one style.

To include fighting game-like moves, Sakurai made enemies stronger. He said the main player would attack while the Helper watched. He also expanded Kirby's copy abilities so players could perform multiple actions with the same button, similar to fighting games. Kirby Super Star was the first game in the series where Kirby's appearance changed based on his copy ability. The omnibus format was chosen because many SNES and NES games were long and expensive. Sakurai wanted Kirby Super Star to be different, with shorter sections that appealed to both new and experienced players. The first mode, Spring Breeze, was a remake of Kirby's Dream Land and was designed for beginners. The name "Spring Breeze" came from a quote in the Dream Land manual that described Kirby as a youth who arrived with the spring breeze. Originally, Sakurai planned to remove copy abilities to teach beginners but decided not to.

Development of Kirby Super Star took three years, which was longer than usual for the time. This was partly because of Rare's Donkey Kong Country (1994), which used computer-generated (CG) graphics. Sakurai believed using CG would improve the game, so the team redesigned the artwork halfway through development. HAL's schedule also contributed to the longer development time. Sakurai planned to add a mode called Kagero Mansion, a horror game with action and puzzle elements, but it was removed due to time limits. HAL also planned to add a move that let Kirby create an explosion while guarding but cut it. The game's original working title was Kirby of the Stars: Active, which suggested the game would be more active and proactive. The final title, Kirby Super Star, was chosen by Shigesato Itoi, creator of the Mother series. Sakurai said the title showed how full of content the game was.

Release

Kirby Super Star was one of the last games made for the SNES, released three months before the Nintendo 64, the system’s successor. Nintendo released the game in Japan on March 21, 1996, in North America on September 20, 1996, and in Europe on January 23, 1997. In Japan, the game’s title is Kirby of the Stars: Super Deluxe, while in Europe, it is Kirby's Fun Pak. The Japanese packaging was designed to look like a Paulownia wooden box, an idea from Itoi. In Japan, expensive sake and silverware are often sold in Paulownia boxes; the team believed this packaging would show that the game was special. Sakurai noted that while the box seems unrelated to the game, it represented the spirit of Kirby Super Star and praised Itoi’s idea.

The game was later released on the Wii and Wii U through Nintendo’s Virtual Console service. The Wii version was available in Japan in October 2009 and in the West in May 2010, while the Wii U version was released globally in May 2013. It was also included in Kirby's Dream Collection (2012), a 20th-anniversary compilation of Kirby games for the Wii. Kirby Super Star is also part of the Super NES Classic Edition. Nintendo made the game available on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System app through its Nintendo Classics service on December 12, 2019. A special version with unlocked secret modes was released later on June 9, 2022.

Reception

Kirby Super Star was very successful both with critics and players, selling over one million copies in Japan. It received good reviews from the website GameRankings and is considered one of the best games in its series. Four reviewers from Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the game's large amount of content, two-player mode, graphics, and Kirby's ability to copy powers from enemies. Captain Cameron from GamePro gave it a perfect score of 5 out of 5 for sound, control, and fun, and a score of 4.5 out of 5 for graphics. He said, "The perfect execution of the varied controls leads to simple-but-charming fun." Nintendo Life praised the "impressive" musical score and "colorful" visuals in its review of the Virtual Console version.

Electronic Gaming Monthly named Kirby Super Star a runner-up for Side-Scrolling Game of the Year (losing to Guardian Heroes). Gamesradar ranked it number 19 in their list of "The Best SNES Game of All Time." In 2018, Complex listed Kirby Super Star at number 51 in its "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time." IGN placed it 47th on their "Top 100 SNES Games" list and called it an incredible game with great value.

Legacy

Kirby Super Star Ultra was created as an improved version of Kirby Super Star to mark the series' 15th anniversary. The remake includes all the game modes from the original and adds four new ones. It also features updated visuals and videos that look like real-life scenes.

The remake includes four new game modes, three new mini-games, and additions to the main game, such as new enemies and sub-bosses. It was released in North America on September 22, 2008, and was well received by critics and players. It sold nearly three million copies worldwide.

Many songs from Kirby Super Star were reused in other games, such as the Super Smash Bros. series. For example, the Nintendo 64 version of Super Smash Bros. included a new version of the Gourmet Race theme as Kirby's theme song.

Meta Knight's ship, the Halberd, appeared in several games, including Kirby: Squeak Squad, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Kirby: Planet Robobot, and the Super Smash Bros. series.

A stage based on The Great Cave Offensive appears in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. This stage is one of the largest in the game and can support up to eight players. It includes a special feature called "Danger Zones," which are hazards that knock out players whose damage levels exceed 100%. This stage was also included in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

In 2021, Charlie Rosen and Jake Silverman arranged the song "Meta Knight's Revenge" for The 8-Bit Big Band. Their version of the song was nominated for and won the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella.