Even though I've never played Super Star Ultra, this game has always been around in my mind. I always wanted it as a kid, but I was never able to get it. And after all this time, I finally was able to experience this game, and god, I loved it.
I love how this game is structured. Instead of one large game, it's split into 8 smaller games, each with fun spins on the general formula. And because of that, I think it's best to structure this review by looking at each individual game.
Spring Breeze is reminiscent to the original Kirby game for me, 4 levels with bosses at the end of each. I found it to be simple, but really fun! I love how you can create buddies based on the copy abilities you can obtain. And for something that feels reminiscent to the original Kirby that has Copy Abilities included is really fun.
Gourmet Race, is as its name implies, a racing minigame. And I found it to be pretty fun! I really enjoyed how it wasn't just "get to the end to win", as you had to collect more food than King Dedede on top of it. It's pretty quick to beat, but I enjoyed the about ~5 minutes it took me.
Dyna Blade is also like other Kirby titles, but instead of going immediately to the next level, you have an overworld. It was really nice too! You can find secrets in levels to unlock copy ability rooms, and sometimes enemies appear on the overworld. It was pretty neat, and the fight against Dyna Blade herself was really fun.
The Great Cave Offensive is the first that really takes things into a wildly different direction. Instead of going through specific levels, you're in one massive level looking for treasures. And I absolutely love it! I tried my best to get every treasure I came across, and that resulted in me finding 33 of the 60 total treasures. There was a lot I didn't find, and that sense of exploration is amazing to me.
Revenge of Meta Knight has such a small change, but that change entirely changes how you interact with the game. That one change is just giving this game a time limit. It creates this sense of tension, as you need to finish the level as quickly as possible. And the bosses, especially Meta Knight, were all really fun. The Halberd was a great set piece too.
In the original Super Star, Milky Way Wishes was the last game you could play. And god, it has such an interesting idea to boot. The fact you can't copy abilities from enemies, and instead you have to find copy abilities in levels is really fun! The remixed ideas of previously fought bosses is really good, and god. Marx is so cool.
Now, originally I was planning to stop here, as I thought the things after Milky Way Wishes was postgame. However, a friend properly convinced me to continue, and god, I'm glad they did.
Revenge of the King is in the best way to describe it, a remixed, and harder version of Spring Breeze. I really like the remixed versions of previously explored levels, and I love the new versions of the bosses in each level too. Though without a doubt, what made this segment for me was the fight against Masked Dedede, the general presentation of it was so good, it really put the cherry on the cake.
And last but not least, the creme de la creme, is Meta Knightmare Ultra. Playing through the levels of Spring Breeze, Dyna Blade, Great Cave Offensive, Revenge of Meta Knight, and Milky Way Wishes, all back to back, as Meta Knight. Meta Knight feels so damn good to control, and the stuff you can use with Meta Points is so cool, though I really only used them to heal. Trying to beat each level as quickly as possible was really fun. And god, Galacta Knight was so damn worth it. Meta Knightmare Ultra and The Revenge of the King easily pushed this game from a 9 to a 10 for me.
I absolutely loved Kirby Super Star Ultra. I think this may just be my favorite Kirby game. I love the unique ideas each segment of this game has, especially the ones added within Ultra. I can't recommend this game enough.

Reviewed on Jul 05, 2023


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