4/5 ★ – TNGLiam's review of Kirby Super Star.

"Kirby Super Star" is widely referred to as the best game in the entire Kirby franchise, and with "Super Star Ultra" being my introduction into the series, I have a lot of nostalgia for this game, its graphics, its soundtrack and its gameplay. But upon replaying it, I just see a fairly good game that provides the best feeling experience the series had seen up to this point. I also gave "Kirby's Adventure" a 4/5 rating, and while that game was a journey across seven differently themed worlds and introduced the foundation for everything that would follow, "Super Star" does the same but on a more technical level when it comes to gameplay and aesthetic. "Kirby Super Star" is spread across six smaller games that tell their own story and provide distinct levels of originality and personality. "Spring Breeze" is a remake of the original "Kirby's Dream Land" for the Game Boy, now including copy abilities and refined gameplay for a much better experience. "Dyna Blade" provides a short adventure across the land as Kirby attempts to track down and defeat Dyna Bird who has been destroying all the crops in Dream Land. "Gourmet Race" is the quickest of the bunch, where you race against Kind Dedede for three rounds to get the fastest time. "The Great Cave Offensive" has Kirby fall down into a large expansive cave where he finds himself attempting to find the way out, while also collecting the 60 hidden treasure the game has to offer. "Revenge of Meta Knight" features Kirby's quest to destroy Meta Knight's ship the Halbert as he plans to overtake and rule Dream Land in order to stop their lazy lifestyles. And lastly, "Milky Way Wishes" features Kirby travelling across the cosmos, attempting to gather enough stars to make a wish to the comet Nova in order to stop the Sun and Moon from fighting. My personal favorites are the ladder three, although I'm sure most people would agree. "The Great Cave Offensive" provides a lot to do for the player as they can continue to experiment and explore the cave attempting to find all the treasure, or they can easily mosey on through and finish the cave without collecting a single one, providing great replay value. "Revenge of Meta Knight" provides a nice and quick journey that remains some of the most memorable moments in the entire franchise. Same goes for "Milky Way Wishes" which provides many different level types for you to explore through as you attempt to collect each copy ability, and the story provides a great twist at the end making for one of the most memorable villains in the entire franchise. Not to mention the flying segment in Nova's Heart was short but greatly executed gameplay wise. Speaking of story, with this game being directed by series creator, Masahiro Sakurai, the game features many call backs to "Kirby's Adventure" with the Fountain of Dreams being featured at the end of each level in "Milky Way Wishes" and Meta Knight waiting for Kirby to take a sword before their boss battle, although this time it's not required. The gameplay has been given a major overhaul, not just in terms of control. It mightn't seem like a big deal, but you no longer have to hold up to jump, but instead you repeatedly press the jump button. This was a big deal for me personally as it took a long time getting used to hold up in "Kirby's Dream Land" and then I had to get used to it again in "Super Star", but it feels a lot more natural, especially since tight platforming is almost non-existent in this title. You also no longer loose your copy ability after just one hit, as your health bar is now one long strip, instead of just six singular points, so now only critical hits from enemies will cause you to loose your copy ability, but even then, it doesn't disappear as fast as it did in previous games, so its much easier to get back. Also due to the new health system, enemies no longer die in one hit either, instead requiring multiple hits depending on the copy ability to do the job. This also took some getting use to, but it feels a lot more refined than any of the previous titles up to this point. I previously mentioned the improved aesthetic this game brings to the series. The updated 16-bit graphics of the SNES five years into the console's life really did wonders for providing this game with beautiful graphics and a great art style that really pops out and sticks in your mind. This game also introduces Kirby's "hats" that he dons, each one being unique to each ability. This alone provides its own level of charm that also allows the copy abilities to have somewhat of an identity of their own that lets them be more distinct from each other as well. Not to mention the boss fights this time around have been pumped up in terms of design, originality, and memorability, making for a really good side game that would soon become a staple to the series, "The Arena". While I highly recommend checking this game out and seeing all it has to offer, you might be better playing the DS remake "Kirby Super Star Ultra" as that version provides a load more content and refines the graphics to a more 32-bit modern design. Despite this, the original is still worth playing on its own!!