Kirby Super Star Ultra Vegeta, what does the scouter say about Kirby’s adorableness level!? Developer: Hal Laboratory Publisher: Nintendo Genre: Adorable Adventure, Kick-Ass Action Video games used to be oh so very simple, and they were fun – no guns, no sex, no violence, just pure, unadulterated fun. Nowadays, it seems to me that a game, or anything for that matter, is only as good as the kill counter goes up. But there was a simpler time, indeed, and it seems as though we’ve become more interested in that simple time as we go on, reminiscing about the days of simple objectives and simple fun. This is no more evident than in a video game remake, and who better than to have some fun with than everyone’s pink friend, Kirby. Kirby Super Star has oftentimes been hailed as one of the best games in the series, so it’s no stretch of the imagination that one of Kirby’s greatest adventures has been ported over to the DS system, completely revamping every aspect of it to better suit it for the modern day and age. Thankfully, old skool (a technical term) fun has been enhanced, as well. Thankfully, the graphics have been improved. While colorful to begin with, the visuals have been updated to a current Kirby standard seen in other GBA and DS games. While this means that it doesn’t look *better*, per say, than other titles, the classic 2D animation and the sheer brilliance of it makes it so sinfully beautiful that it would be almost a shame to bring it into anything other than two simple dimensions, which is why the 3D cinematic that play at the beginning and end of each scenario don’t carry much of the charm that the dimentional challenged, normal graphics do. Beyond this, the character animation remains top notch, and environments always carry an interesting aspect enhanced by a great level of detail. “Trust me, it’ll be fun.†– “Poyo?†Music is always important to any game, and Ultra does not disappoint – each track is a classic Kirby tune updated and remastered to better fit the DS’s speakers, sounding great. Each song is fit well to the current stage, be it fast-paced for Gourmet Race or the adventurous for The Great Cave Offensive, everything sounds great, including the number of sound effects, ranging from Kirby’s footsteps to all of the explosion sounds the world could handle. The gameplay of Ultra is a bit different from other Kirby titles, but the actual Kirby gameplay that made the pink puff so famous remains intact and better than ever. Rather than have on large story mode, Kirby has a number of smaller games to play, each one amounting to the gameplay experience. At first, the simple Summer Breeze is only available, a simple, four-stage game that is really just a tutorial. But, as you complete this, you unlock other games to play, such as Gourmet Race and the Great Cave Offensive. Oh, wait – minigames? Guess they were so minute and pointless I didn’t notice them… While it is an interesting mechanic that gives each game a sense of uniqueness that separates them both from other Kirby games and from other games in Ultra, it’s that sort of separation between the games that gives the entire experience a lacking sort of feel – you can’t help but want one game to be longer, or to feel like you’re being cheated out of a longer game once you finish one campaign, but, at the same time, once you finish one, there are more to be had. It comes down to whether or not you like the disjointedness of the affair in the end, but I personally find it somewhat annoying. However, the simply Kirby platforming remains the star of the show, and Kirby is quite the actor. Kirby’s normal actions don’t bring anything different to the table – he can walk, he can run, and he can jump. But, in addition to the mundane, Kirby has a few unique traits. For one, he can fly, making vertical climbs possible as you just mash that jump button and the adorable marshmallow floats ever upward. However, the most defining ability of Kirby is that of the copy mechanic. Kirby has quite an appetite, leading to some sort of evolution that transformed a simple mouth into a vacuum - as Kirby inhales, anything caught in the instant maelstrom is drawn into Kirby’s gaping maw, stored in his inflated cheeks as the now seemingly violent wisp waddles on. Now, Kirby can eat this item or monster, gaining the effects of whatever he swallowed, giving birth to his copy ability. “Poyo!†– “No, I, Burning Leo, am NOT going into the water! No matter how fun it is!†Say you swallow a fire-based enemy, Kirby gains the attributes of that beast, transforming into a brand new Kirby, complete with fire breath and other fire attacks. With an abundance of abilities to gain, Kirby can utilize the foe’s power against them, using Yo-Yos, jets, hammers and cooking pots to lay waste to all that stand before him, in an ever cute fashion. Thankfully, two things help to mix up this ultimately simple mechanic, the first being that Kirby has an assortment of combos and moves to pull off with each ability, as opposed to a simple, static attack. With the Ninja ability, for example, Kirby can throw kunai for a ranged attack, or do a sliding slash, allowing you to have not just a power, but a move for each situation. The second is that of the helper, spawned out of Kirby’s current ability – this is a sort of doppelganger that transforms into the enemy that Kirby swallowed, giving you a buddy to help you take down enemies and bosses. Between these two additions, things remain simple enough to newcomers, but refreshing enough to those who might of thought as the copy mechanic as somewhat boring. Another notable feature for both newcomers and longtime fans is a surprising difficulty – while the game is largely quite simple and forgiving, later games grow to be very challenging in their own right, something that is actually quite refreshing for those looking or a bit more out of their game. Bosses featured might take a bit of effort to take out, but nothing ever becomes so hard as to put you off the entire game, reaching a perfect balance – Ultra establishes the easy and defines the hard, giving everyone something to do. Holy crap, that fat penguin is really friggen’ fast! As for the game, it depends on what little episode you chose – most stick to the same sort of format while introducing a new sort of element, such as a world-map, an episodic nature or a treasure hunting mix to the normal platforming. Each game is good in its own right, but you’re sure to develop your favorite as you complete and unlock everything… … a task that doesn’t take too long. Let’s face it, Kirby is short, in more than one way – Super Star Ultra is definitely lacking in the ‘length’ department. However, everything is charming and entertaining enough that it’s largely replayable, meaning that you’ll be going back to find all of those treasures again or to best your old times in Gourmet Race. While it won’t take you a long time to achieve 100% completion, it will definitely take you a while to put this one down. In the end, Kirby Super Star Ultra has one major flaw – it’s brief. But, the joy found in the short time you have it is enough to make it stay in your heart for a while to come, even as you beat the game time and time again. Kirby games are a longstanding tradition of being extremely cute, and, well, they are, but it has enough challenge that even mature gamers will find that sickeningly sweet puff to be an actual contender. If you’ve played a Kirby game ever before, you know what to expect – but, if you’ve played a Kirby game before, you wouldn’t want it any other way. Then and now – also known as a surprising lack of screenshots for this game… Presentation, 10/10: Everything is easy to find, everything is stated simply – simple, sweet, and that’s how it really just should be. Graphics, 8/10: Let’s face it – the visuals are aging quick. But that doesn’t mean much anything, other than Ultra providing some of the most refreshing, lively and colorful 2D graphics to be found on a handheld. Sound, 8/10: Kirby has always surprised me for not only having a very strong soundtrack, but for having a great sound effect catalogue, to boot. The only thing holding back this from excellence is the relatively low literally quality of the tunes – everything sounds great, but the quality at which it’s played isn’t enough to wow you. Gameplay, 9/10: Kirby is simple. Simple is fun. Fun is what games strive to be. This fun is built up upon more by just enough differences within the series as a whole and a variety of game types that keep you on your toes. But its this variety that makes each individual experience short lived. Replay Value, 10/10: Remember, Kirby is fun – even if it’s really short, it sort of works in the game’s favor. With each part of the game being just a short part of a greater whole, that means that you don’t have to wade through things you don’t like to get to that one little thing you actually do enjoy. And, because it’s short, you’ll be playing it just to get everything you can out of that full-price title. Total, 45/50: You know what, I like Kirby. There, I said it – in fact, I LOVE Kirby games. They’re not ever amazing, they’re not always beautiful, and they may not always be the most well refined game, but they are just so much stupid fun that you have to keep on playing anyways. But beneath the adorable fun is a surprising amount of challenge and polish, so much so that issues with this game tend to just melt away, as if being swallowed up by some sort of stunted, circular entity… Recommendations Family, "I <3 Wii Sports", gamer: Look at the cover of the game. If you can’t figure out this one for yourself, you seriously need to reconsider the definition of a family. Casual, "I like games", gamer: Thankfully, the game is replayable enough to give you quite a bit of oomph out of that seemingly high price tag – not direct length, mind you, but enough entertainment to last you for a long time. Hardcore, "Gaming is my passion", gamer: Believe it or not, this game is actually pretty hard in some cases, even to someone who’s been playing these games for a while. It’s not the hardest thing or, well, the most “mature†thing to ever come along, but you can always hide it away for your guilty pleasure… You cannot resist. You will be assimilated. And it will be cute. Very cute. ~~~ Let it be said that I love Kirby games. Like, I'm a "I thought Kirby Air Ride was awesome" type of fan. I tried to be as unbaised as possible, but, let's face it - if you haven't already played a Kirby game, it's not as if one review is ever going to change your mind, and if you've already been a fan, you've probably already bought it, perhaps even reserved it. But, yes, I love Kirby. He is adorable and will kill you with your own weapons. He will then eat cheesecake. Is that not the true definition of "bad ass"? ... and Kirby Air Ride is awesome. I don't know how much I've played that game, but, for some reason, getting that Dragoon or Hydra is just the best thing ever. I'd buy the sequel that will never be made, for it would cause the world to explode in a fiery yet adorable finale.
Re: [DS] Kirby Super Star Ultra - 9NineBreaker9 Great review yet again 9NineBreaker9! To be honest I never really got into the Kirby games and as a result have not tried the NDS versions. Will give this one a shot though, you seem to be confident about it. Was looking for a "brief" game anyways. Thanks. By the way, it seems we are the only ones posting reviews these days... ???
Re: [DS] Kirby Super Star Ultra - 9NineBreaker9 Awesome review, 9NineBreaker9! woohoo Kirby I'll definitely try it.
Re: [DS] Kirby Super Star Ultra - 9NineBreaker9 I haven't played any other entry on the DS, as well, excluding this one - I only actually own three games (Kirby 64, Air Ride, Nightmare in Dreamland), but I've played most all of the more modern ones, and l love them all... You're right that it's definitely "brief" - I just finished up any and all lose ties last night (having had a surprisingly busy week at school), bumping up my completion to 100%, and it hasn't been all that long... granted, it took me a while to complete Great Cave Offensive for my lack of treasure hunting skills, but, even at that, it's been an extremely short game. Hmm. We should remedy that. Somehow... VIVA LA REVOLUTION! Er, wait, wrong banner... Why thank you very much. It's a pretty good game (I at least think so, but that might be the biased four-year-old in me), but you might want to try it out on an emulator if your computer can handle it before you throw down 40 USD - full, brand new game retail price - on something that you may not like. While I stand by my reviews, I only end up posting... for the most part... games I actually like, having bought them. I could, for example, go on about Dark Sector, but I don't like it, so it's not even worth it XD But anyways - thanks for reading and replying. And please, don't be afraid to tell me off or correct me on something - I'd rather a honest answer than none at all =3 9NineBreaker9 needs Dead Space B A D L Y.
Re: [DS] Kirby Super Star Ultra - 9NineBreaker9 Tell me about it, can't wait to get a 360 XD. So reviewing seems to be your forte, and yet again, a fantastic one is completed. Unfortunately, I don't have a DS, so I might try it on an emulator. Oh, and don't worry, you and grimsim1 aren't the only ones who have reviews for this month hehehe : Anyway, I congratulate you on another job well done, can't wait for the next.
