Ultra Fun!

Today is the day for a glorious milestone. It’s not a milestone for any of you, though. Only me! Seriously, though. Today I beat my 78th game of the year, meaning I am 3/4th completed with my 108 in 2008 goal! And with like 2 days to spare, too! Not only that, but the game I beat just happens to be the 450th game in my collection. Yes, it was Kirby Super Star Ultra, my recently acquired and thoroughly enjoyed DS game.

To simply review Kirby Super Star Ultra would not only be inadequate, but unfair to the game. There is simply so much to talk about, it could take weeks. So I’ll try to sum it in as few words as possible.

As previously blogged, Kirby SSU is a remake of the SNES Kirby Super Star. And while I enjoyed the original, it is quite literally no more than a shell of its descendant. The first Kirby SS had 6 modes. The first was Spring Breeze, a short mode based on the original Kirby’s Dreamland. It’s only 4 levels, which makes it short and sweet. After that, you play Dyna Blade. It’s similar in nature, but there are 5 or 6 levels instead of 4, plus you fight the giant bird Dyna Blade at the end.

Another mode is the Great Cave Offensive, which is essentially a giant maze with 60 treasures hidden throughout. This is the largest of the original modes, as it can take several hours to find all of the treasures. Following the greatly offensive cave, you get to play Revenge of Meta Knight. Basically, you try and infiltrate the Halberd, Meta Knight’s gargantuan airship, before he can use it to wreak havoc on Dream Land.

But the original doesn’t stop there. You can also play Gourmet Race, a footrace against King Dedede where you try and win the race, but also pick up as much food along the way as possible. And don’t forget Milky Way Wishes. Play through 7 element-themed planets and stop the evil Marx from taking over Pop Star. All of the main modes let you gain helpers, by releasing your absorbed power. In addition, the game has 3 fun minigames.

Now, let’s examine the differences. Kirby SSU has every main mode from the original and 2 of the minigames. Plus, it has THREE new touch-screen minigames, and FIVE new modes. Holy. Crap. This game is huge!

The first new mode is Revenge of the King. Basically, it’s Spring Breeze, but much harder. Plus, King Dedede is… upgraded. When you play it, you’ll understand. The next mode is The Arena. Essentially, it’s the Boss Battles mode from many other Kirby games. But it doesn’t stop there. If you beat The Arena, you unlock The True Arena, a much, much harder Boss Battles mode. This is the part that took me longest to beat. You get to pick any power you want, plus one helper. It may not sound hard, but you have to remember that you have to fight 10 bosses in a row, with one life, and only a few small energy refills, all of which combined would fill your life meter once. Dang. But I finally conquered The True Arena this day!

Anyways, one of the other new modes is called Helper to Hero. It’s pretty much The Arena, but you play as one of the helper characters instead of Kirby. It’s quite fun! And last, but certainly not least, is Meta Knightmare Ultra. Anyone who’s ever played a Kirby game knows how much fun the Meta Knightmare mode is. Basically, you play through the entire game as Meta Knight instead of Kirby. What fun! But how does that work in this game? Well, in Meta Knightmare Ultra, you play through Spring Breeze, Dyna Blade, The Great Cave Offensive, Revenge of Meta Knight, and Milky Way Wishes. All in a row. It takes about an hour. And it’s awesome. That in and of itself could be its own game.

Kirby Super Star was an awesome game as is, but with all the new modes and mini-games, it’s simply incredible. And don’t forget, if you have a friend with the game, you can go through most of the modes 2-player. Wow. Simply amazing. I could go on and on about this game. Suffice it to say that it is a must-have for any DS owner, and an ever muster-have for Kirby fans.

This game has earned a Blatantly Biased: