An Insatiable Appetite: Ranking Every Kirby Game Released

Ranking the Kirby Series – The Best Games Featuring The Super Tuff Pink Puff

Can you believe the super tuff pink puff with an insatiable appetite is already turning 30? With three adventurous decades behind Kirby, Masahiro Sakurai and HAL Laboratory’s iconic hero has been featured in dozens of games. While there may technically be only 16 mainline entries in his series, the Kirby franchise contains well over 35 video game releases–of course, that number changes depending on the region we are talking about. This is (at least for America and Europe) every Kirby game ever released ranked from the least greatest to the best of the best! Perhaps sweet breeze to soul meter or spicy curry to strawberry cake would be an appropriate metric for our hero…

Editor’s Note: For this ranking, we decided to group together original releases and remakes due to multiple factors. Additionally, the Kirby “games” released on the Broadcast Satelleview add-on and e-Reader are not featured in this ranking.

32. Kirby’s Pinball Land

Kirby’s Pinball Land was the franchise’s first novelty game, a product of its time that may still be worth a playthrough nowadays but is far from being a strong recommendation to any type of fan. Whether you casually play his games or are deep in the lore of Dream Land, Kirby’s on-the-go iteration of the classic coin-eater cabinet is flat-out just Game Boy pinball–and that may not always be the highest compliment even if the game is rather enjoyable. With wonky albeit admirable in-game engine physics for the time, the first Kirby spinoff offers little replayability and minor frustrating control aspects that show their age but still never displeases.

31. Kirby Battle Royale

Being the second to last Kirby game on the Nintendo 3DS, Kirby Battle Royale was met with a mixed reception by fans due to its lackluster gameplay loop and reliance on ideas that failed to break the franchise’s usual spinoff standards. Categorized as a party and brawler game, Battle Royale did a good job at bringing over the world of Dream Land to its merging genre but never worked towards creating anything special with the pink puff’s distinct characteristics. Even in the face of ten game modes and a campaign, Battle Royale rarely catered to the franchise’s vast array of characters as it mostly plays it safe for innocent single-player and multiplayer rounds of entertainment. Kirby Battle Royal is serviceable in short bursts for those looking for a barrage of mini-games but is far from the epic battle its title claims to be.

30. Kirby’s Blowout Blast

A Kirby game that is in 3D? The concept may have sounded a bit unorthodox to the masses before the Forgotten Land was revealed but the pink puff had made a few wild endeavors into the next dimension before–or at least attempted to as many were either canceled or limited by focus. Kirby’s Blowout Blast is the second expanded standalone sub-game that derived from Kirby: Planet Robobot. Disappointingly, this particular spinoff features an interesting idea that is constantly overwhelmed by repetitive level design. If players are ever wondering why the game feels oddly nostalgic though, the majority of Blowout Blast’s content was inspired by Kirby’s Dream Land. Blowout Blast noticeably spotlights characters and areas that were directly featured in the franchise’s debut–which is arguably both appropriate and frustrating when looking at the title’s overall structure.

29. Kirby Fighters Deluxe

Building off of Kirby: Triple Deluxe’s battle mode, Kirby Fighters Deluxe is the pink puff’s own soft Super Smash Bros. styled game. Featuring more fighters, stages, and items than its original sub-game, Deluxe heavily improved upon the foundation Kirby Fighters formally established even if its gameplay speed was still a tad too slow for many’s likings. For a game that is supposed to be played with other people, Fighters Deluxe strangely missed out on including any form of online functionality for its multiplayer. Additionally, the game’s local Download Play required users to either own Triple Deluxe or the title itself–which is a strange departure from not only Kirby’s past endeavors into the wireless form of multiplayer but a rather significant one for Nintendo.

28. Kirby’s Block Ball

In the vein of Breakout, Kirby’s Block Ball has players controlling two or more paddles on the sides of the screen to bounce Kirby between a set of obstacles. If there is one aspect of Kirby’s Block Ball that thrives amongst its competitors, it is how the game continually increases its difficulty while matching the standard curve Kirby’s Dream Land created. Even if it is just another skin of a familiar game, Block Ball made an effort in attempting to utilize some of Kirby’s characters to its advantage. For a game that had to be completely reworked halfway through development, Block Ball deserves more credit than it gets attempting to stray from Breakout’s repetition by adding smaller gameplay additions. Like Kirby’s Pinball Land, the game can sometimes come off as a product of its time–at least it is way longer though!

27. Kirby Star Stacker

Inspired by the likes of Dr. Mario and Tetris, Kirby Star Stacker strongly resonates with its title as players in this puzzle game attempt to earn the most stars possible by stacking blocks featuring Kirby’s animal friends who debuted in Dream Land 2. For a puzzle game on the Game Boy, Kirby Star Stacker is not the finest endeavor the pink puff has made into the genre or revolutionary by any means, but it is a spinoff entry that does its sub-genre justice as it requires some higher-level thinking when playing–if anything the game’s greatest drawback is a lack of mode variety as it adhered to that nostalgic on-the-go arcade-esque highest score design. In Japan, Kirby Star Stacker received an enhanced remake for the Super Nintendo called Kirby no Kirakira Kizzu (which translates to Kirby’s Super Star Stacker).

26. Team Kirby Clash Deluxe

Expanding upon Kirby Planet Robobot’s multiplayer sub-game, Team Kirby Clash Deluxe was the first free-to-start Kirby title that had players working with one another to fend off waves of challenging enemies and bosses. Featuring different “Kirby Classes” (the copy abilities with unique stats) and light role-playing aspects, the Deluxe iteration of the Clash sub-game had plenty of added meat on its bones. While the spinoff does make strategic use of the Nintendo 3DS’ Streetpass functionality, Deluxe upsettingly did not also have any online capabilities–which was quite baffling considering its multiplayer focus yet understandable as Planet Robobot and its spinoffs had been released towards the end of the system’s lifespan.

25. Kirby Tilt ’n’ Tumble

Kirby Tilt ‘n’ Tumble is arguably the most experimental the pink puff will ever be. There is likely no other game in the franchise that will ever attempt to replicate its gameplay style and sense of control. Tilt ‘n’ Tumble was one of the few Game Boy games to utilize the handheld system’s lineup of accelerometer cartridges–ones that were designed with a special transparent pink color too! To control Kirby in Tilt ‘n’ Tumble, the player must lightly move the Game Boy around and flick it to jump. While the control scheme does not always work perfectly due to the Game Boy needing to be held vertically, Tilt ‘n’ Tumble stands amongst a niche category of games that have successfully replicated its ball in a box feeling. Anyone who picks up this spinoff will just feel an added sense of weight to their Game Boy.

24. Kirby Fighters 2

As HAL Laboratory slowly worked away on Kirby and the Forgotten Land, fans were suddenly met with a shadow-drop release of a surprise sequel to Kirby Fighters Deluxe. Kirby Fighters 2‘s next-generation leap in hardware was enough of a reason in itself to give the spinoff series a second chance to gain a larger following. Like the original standalone Deluxe release, the sequel does suffer from a lack of in-game match options but Fighters 2 does contain far deeper mechanics that make its battles more engaging and fixes many of the issues fans raised with the first entry. With the addition of an online and battle tower-esque mode, Fighters 2 offered just enough content to make its larger price point worthwhile.

23. Dedede’s Drum Dash Deluxe

Out of all the sub-games from Kirby: Triple Deluxe that spun off into its own standalone release, King Dedede’s action rhythm-based levels had the most going for it due to one key factor: Kirby soundtracks have always been a banger. If Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun! is the only way fans will get to experience a rhythm game featuring Kirby music on home consoles, then Dedede’s Drum Dash Deluxe is the next best alternative for handheld players. Featuring the great king as he travels across a series of drums while defeating enemies, Dedede’s Drum Dash is an oddly refreshing sub-game for the Kirby series that only got better with its standalone Deluxe release. For a concept so simple, Deluxe can present a surprising amount of challenge for those looking to achieve a perfect score.

22. Kirby’s Avalanche

Kirby’s Avalanche–or rather Kirby’s Ghost Trap for those outside of America, was intended to be the western iteration of Super Puyo Puyo. While it may not attempt to rework Kirby’s formula into any of its game design, Avalanche is a competent puzzle game even if that is only because it reskins Puyo Puyo’s hit entry. If anything, the impressive late Super Nintendo sprite work is by far Avalanche’s most notable aspect as it also builds upon a story where Kirby speaks–and not in short Poyos, but in full sentences! Surprisingly enough, Kirby’s Avalanche is the only Kirby game to not release in Japan–is it fair that we are not talking about Kirby’s Toy Box in our ranking?

21. Super Kirby Clash

Making its way to the Nintendo Switch just two years after the first standalone entry, Super Kirby Clash aimed to be a greater spectacle than its Deluxe iteration despite a lack of significant changes. Super Kirby Clash built upon what Team Kirby Clash Deluxe forged by giving the game a gorgeous graphical overhaul and even more to do. Even if it is a free-to-start game, HAL Laboratory generously provided dozens of Gem Apple codes for fans to lavish in during the sequel’s first year on the eShop–and they will need every piece of currency they can grab. Fans will be kept more than occupied with the game’s slew of additional levels that feature plenty of fun callbacks to some of Kirby’s previous fights. Did you also know that Super Kirby Clash is the most downloaded game in the franchise to date?

20. Kirby’s Dream Land 3

Arguably the weakest chapter in the “Dark Matter Trilogy”, Kirby’s Dream Land 3 offers a gorgeous late Super Nintendo adventure that fell far beneath the shadow of its predecessor Kirby Super Star. When it’s focused on platforming and the animal buddies, Kirby’s Dream Land 3 is thriving from its constantly charismatic atmosphere and variety of characters to utilize. However, when the game takes steps back to spotlight its main collectible system used to unlock the true ending it suffers from unnecessary confusion as it also forgets to highlight its wonderful cast of playable friends. Dream Land 3 could have been an expanded console iteration of Kirby’s Dream Land 2. Had it not been for its additional collecting mechanic and a lack of focus on properly utilizing its extra characters, the game could have without a doubt been the star of the two trilogies it is part of.

19. Kirby Squeak Squad

From upsettingly getting his delectable strawberry cake stolen to defeating an unnatural being of finite power, Kirby Squeak Squad is one of the pink hero’s oddest mainline journeys as the game sticks and strays between the franchise’s usual platforming scenarios. For better or worse, Squeak Squad is the safest adventure Kirby has delved into when making a second big bounce on new hardware as it faced a complicated collaborative development between HAL Laboratory and Flagship. Building upon the refined establishment The Amazing Mirror had and left with high expectations after Canvas Curse’s debut, Squeak Squad had two studios attempting to return to Kirby’s proper formula of adventures while using a handful of the Nintendo DS’s specialties.

18. Kirby: Canvas Curse

Kirby: Canvas Curse was an oddball for the Nintendo DS–and not because of the pink puff’s return to his spherical form for this spinoff. Over the course of its lifespan, game developers challenged the gimmicks of the handheld by figuring out how to get players to love the touchscreen. In hindsight, perhaps the answer was simple as Canvas Curse strayed from the typical trope of giving players a lot to control. Kirby’s first dual-screen spinoff was an engaging delight that was never hindered by its repetition. Fast-paced, stuffed with long levels, and flat-out methodical at times, there is no denying that Canvas Curse has aged incredibly well as a game itself and a system seller. The most unforgettable aspect of the title though is undoubtedly its bizarre American commercials. Seriously, who came up with the idea of Kirby traveling around with a massive finger–and that closing slogan?

17. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse

Kirby and claymation always have been a perfect combination, but the lived-out dream suffers behind a curse. A sequel to the first Nintendo DS touch game was instantly presented with trouble as it was designed for the Wii U–or rather its pesky tablet. On a singular screen, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (or rather, Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush for those in the PAL region) is a legitimate epic; an adorable adventure oozing with HAL Laboratory’s creativity. Even with a tremendous amount of highs though, the problem with the game is how little the player will get to enjoy the visual spectacle it presents as they are focusing on a low-resolution gamepad. If it were not for its asymmetrical burden, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse would be a peak point for the franchise.

Perhaps one day though, Rainbow Curse can be resurrected on Switch and live up to its true glory, but until then its bright colors live under a shadow of despair and an incredible orchestra–seriously, the game has the franchise’s best soundtrack, going as far to remaster an hour worth of classic music remixes for the Soundtrack Selection mode.

16. Kirby’s Dream Land 2

For what was supposed to be the big follow-up to Kirby’s Dream Land, its proper sequel never aimed to be a revolutionary continuation–and perhaps that is its greatest flaw as Masahiro Sakurai’s vision for the character’s future bloomed in Kirby’s Adventure and faltered when returning to his original hardware. While Kirby’s Dream Land 2 did make important contributions to the franchise’s early days, the game was a mix and match of ideas that clearly stemmed from a rising team at HAL Laboratory who was just touching their toes into Kirby’s potential. If anything, Dream Land 2 was a great stepping stone into seeing how Kirby could evolve without his creator. With highlights like the introductions of Kirby’s animal buddies and the first appearance of the villain Dark Matter, Dream Land 2 still manages to be one of the titular character’s stronger outings even if it did not do much.

15. Kirby Star Allies

Slower and tamer than its two ambitious 3DS predecessors, Kirby Star Allies is an enjoyable sendoff for the pink puff’s two-dimensional adventures before he hopped on his warp star to embark on a new future. It may have not been the perfect follow-up fans expected after Kirby: Planet Robobot but there is no denying that the Kirby franchise’s first Nintendo Switch release did have a lot to offer. Kirby Star Allies is far from a complete triumph for the pink puff, yet it’s still a blast keen on acknowledging a wonderful past. Star Allies was the first mainline game in the series to continue its nostalgia overload under a free post-content service model as HAL Laboratory continued to release new playable characters and minor features after the game’s launch. The additional content was certainly worth the wait even if it took so long to come out, but Star Allies‘ consensus had the majority of longtime Kirby fans hoping that the next entry would finally shake up Planet Popstars standards.

14. Kirby Mass Attack

What’s the only thing that’s better than Kirby? Being able to control multiple of him of course! Kirby Mass Attack was an overwhelmingly adorable endeavor back into the franchise’s puzzle routes as HAL Laboratory explored the possibilities of combining the genre with platformers. Once again taking advantage of the Nintendo DS touchscreen, Mass Attack intricately plays around with the idea of flicking hoards of Kirbys around to complete every Kirby game’s usual tasks. With a barrage of star warriors ready for action, Mass Attack also contained quite a few of the franchise’s best sub-games. From an overhead arcade-styled shooter to a thrilling RPG, Mass Attack arguably has more fun activities to partake in outside of the main game.

13. Kirby’s Dream Land

Kirby’s origin point is the name you should know and the real star of the show as many of HAL Laboratory’s core philosophies came from a young Masahiro Sakurai’s directorial debut. Kirby’s Dream Land was born from Masahiro Sakurai and Satoru Iwata’s simplistic genius; the game was their effort to bring more pick-up and play games to Nintendo’s handheld platform that all audiences could enjoy in their own way. To this day, Kirby’s Dream Land is an excellent starting point for casual gamers looking to get into more sophisticated and demanding titles. Short, sweet, and absolutely to the point, Kirby’s Dream Land is a short game that only aims upwards as it teaches players how to utilize a singular move against King Dedede’s entire army. It may be less than an hour long–maybe even a half-hour for skilled players–but Dream Land is nothing but memorable moments until the credits roll.

12. Kirby Air Ride

It may have been panned at the time by critics and fans for its simplicity, but there is no doubt that Kirby Air Ride accomplished Masahiro Sakurai’s dream of creating a one-button game. Had it not been for the game’s underlying deep learning curve and creative approach to handling its in-game machines, Kirby Air Ride would never have garnered the cult following it has today. The pink puff’s racing spinoff soars with players who take the time to understand its meticulous craft; it is not a game to simply button-mash through as it challenges users to find their rhythm and control patterns through clever ques. There is one aspect of Kirby Air Ride everyone who has played it can agree on… get that Kirby derby started and load up City Trail immediately!

11. Kirby’s Adventure / Nightmare in Dream Land / 3D Classics

Outside of making the jump to the third dimension, Kirby’s Adventure arguably took the series’ greatest leap as Masahiro Sakurai’s “Kirbyism” philosophy aimed to redefine what exactly made his creation special. Kirby’s Adventure may of course be primitive in comparison to its later platforming successors, yet its simplicity has never failed to continually please audiences as the game pushed the Nintendo Entertainment System and Kirby to new limits. Malleable to the end, Kirby’s Adventure featured a difficulty that was entirely decided by how players decided to tackle the game; it was their choice whether they chose to use Kirby’s newly introduced copy abilities or his form of combat from the first Dream Land entry.

In 2002, Kirby’s Adventure returned to the spotlight in the form of Kirby Nightmare in Dream Land for the Game Boy Advance–which also featured the first-ever way players could go through a Kirby game as Meta Knight! As if one substantial remake wasn’t enough though, Kirby’s Adventure was later resurrected on the Nintendo 3DS under the “3D Classics” remasters lineup of eShop exclusive titles. With upgraded backgrounds made for stereoscopic visuals and fixed performance issues that hindered the original release, it is undoubtedly the best way to play the Nintendo Entertainment System iteration of the game. As goes the usual with Kirby remakes, the remakes will always overshadow their counterparts!

10. Kirby’s Dream Course

Birthed from the franchise’s most experimental phase of side projects, Kirby’s Dream Course is an absolute knockout of a spinoff. Despite retooling Kirby’s signature mechanics significantly, Dream Course sticks to the franchise’s philosophies as it retains its heart and soul with miniature golf-inspired playgrounds of calculation. Like actual mini-golf, once players put enough practice into the title and begin scoring perfect swings there is no doubt that Dream Course’s precise gameplay will captivate them. It’s such a shame the game’s Nintendo 64 sequel was canceled along with any plans for a follow-up, but perhaps one day Kirby fans will get to see Dream Course return with some new iteration or inspired sub-game!

9. Kirby & The Amazing Mirror

Before Return to Dream Land hit the scene, Kirby’s first four-player adventure saw its debut on the Game Boy Advance. While the time’s technical limitations and hardware barriers may have held it back from reaching its true potential, Kirby & The Amazing Mirror is incomparable to any of the franchise’s other platformer entries. The game was built to be an open-ended experience giving players the option to choose whether they would like to work together to complete their adventure or divide and conquer. The game may still be impractical to play with others by today’s standards but those who gather all the cartridges and cables necessary will be in for a magical experience. For better or worse, there is no other multiplayer Kirby game like The Amazing Mirror.

8. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards was a gentle turning point for Kirby that made promising teases in a time when fans were feeling ready for something larger in scope. Kirby’s first title brought to life with a three-dimensional atmosphere offered an evolution that would not pay off for years to come as HAL Laboratory’s stream of games pivoted in Dream Land slowed down. When the mainline entries faced a troubling direction without Masahiro Sakurai and some of the original development members for a period of time, The Crystal Shards stood tall as a prime example of how HAL Laboratory could innovate with what already worked. Transitioning to a 2.5D formula for only one entry, The Crystal Shards has always found itself in a wonderful situation of being distinctively a unique Kirby platformer in terms of look and feel as it stands out like a sore thumb from almost all of its competitors on the Nintendo 64. Perhaps after the release of the Forgotten Land, The Crystal Shards will be able to make a grand comeback once it hits Nintendo Switch Online this year as it can potentially ride Kirby’s latest hype.

7. Kirby’s Dream Collection

Kirby’s Dream Collection stands as one of gaming’s greatest compilation packages to ever be released. Celebrating the pink puff’s 20th-anniversary milestone, Dream Collection created a fantastic anthology of games, music, and artwork for fans of Kirby to indulge in. On top of the already six notable mainline games to play, Dream Collection took Kirby’s celebration to the next level by including a soundtrack CD, a physical artbook, original bonus game modes based on Kirby’s Return to Dream Land, three of the best episodes from the Kirby Right Back at Ya! anime, and an interactive series timeline! Do we consider the Olympics and Barack Obama canon to Kirby’s universe after this entry? There is no better bang for your buck than Dream Collection.

6. Kirby: Triple Deluxe

Like the Dreamstalk that Queen Sectonia planted upon her arrival to Dream Land, Kirby: Triple Deluxe continually amped up its offerings with every world the pink puff faced as he climbed high through the atmosphere to save his longstanding rival and home. Triple Deluxe made the most of its hardware, game mechanics, and design opportunities when the franchise turned back to its single-player adventure roots during the early days of the Nintendo 3DS. Between the hypernova feature, darker storytelling implications, and the chance to finally helm the hammer of the great king, Triple Deluxe gave Kirby fans plenty of surprises while answering plenty of dreams. Most impressively though, Triple Deluxe aimed to expand upon the franchise’s core philosophy for sub-games. Out of any Kirby mainline game on this list, Triple Deluxe definitely has the most interpretable name; it’s Kirby’s first handheld game featuring 3D visuals, it has stereoscopic features, and it flaunted three relatively busy game modes.

5. Kirby’s Epic Yarn / Extra Epic Yarn

Created in collaboration with developer Good-Feel, 2010’s Kirby’s Epic Yarn knitted together the perfect spinoff for the pink puff as Dream Land’s hero teamed up with Prince Fluff to take on a crafty new threat. All of the Kirby franchise’s best spinoffs fall in line with the idea that the mascot’s malleability can be used to create fresh, fun, and innovative experiences, and Epic Yarn did just that. Good-Feel’s game reinvented Dream Land by taking Kirby into new directions as he ditched his signature copy abilities for a more traditional platforming moveset. The developers utilized Pop Star’s wildly different iteration to create scenarios that Kirby and his foes could not experience before because of their prior world’s restrictive design.

While it may not also be the most mind-blowing rerelease, Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn for the Nintendo 3DS does deserve to be recognized for its additional features and excellent porting job. It may not look as classy and cute as its higher-quality Wii counterpart, but the game was given a heavy dose of justice on the underpowered handheld. The 3DS may have left the market with a soft firework rather than an explosive finale, but at least Kirby ushered out the system with one last stroke of excellence from his critically acclaimed catalog.

4. Kirby’s Return to Dream Land

After years of facing mainline development troubles, Kirby finally returned to his console roots with Kirby’s Return to Dream Land on the Nintendo Wii in 2011. Keeping up with its console’s initiative of being a party machine, Return to Dream Land marked the first time in the franchise’s history where up to four players could simultaneously play together on one system–and as different characters too! Like other multiplayer platformers, Return to Dream Land may be an incredible solo adventure but it will forever stand as a multiplayer must-play for the series. Between its offerings of immersive levels, puzzles for completionists, epic soundtrack, and cast of characters, Kirby’s proudest Wii adventure knew how to build upon its classic formula. Most importantly though, Return to Dream Land is every Kirby fan’s lesson to never allow innocence to deceive them–if you know what we mean, you’ve learned!

3. Kirby and the Forgotten Land

The only aspect of Kirby and the Forgotten Land that keeps the newest entry from getting ahead of the next two entries on this list is the title’s post-game content and story–which are great, but certainly not the franchise’s peak. HAL Laboratory had a lot of weight on its shoulders ensuring that their beloved mascot would finally get a legitimate next-generation treatment on the Nintendo Switch. Kirby’s anticipated leap into a new direction and dimension is nothing short of delightful. The Forgotten Land absolutely delivers with versatile gameplay and noticeably well-designed levels but can fall behind from where the franchise’s best surprisingly flourished. Ultimately, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a series highlight that absolutely every fan should experience as the iconic pink hero remarkably merges into his next dimension–it also stands as a perfect entry into Kirby’s universe. It is without a doubt the most entertaining entry to play as the copy abilities have been geniusly translated into a new structure and the multiplayer coop is, as always, an absolute blast.

2. Kirby: Planet Robobot

The only thing better than Kirby and his copy abilities is Pop Star’s hero piloting a massive alien robot armor that takes after his distinct appearance and powers. The final mainline Kirby entry on the Nintendo 3DS was the pink puff’s true final triumph for the system as the dedicated portable system slowly braced for its end while the Switch’s launch lingered. Kirby: Planet Robobot was yet another peak culmination for HAL Laboratory’s mascot in all directions. The game continually upped Triple Deluxe’s antics as it aimed to be grander in atmospheric scale and more aspiring with its cohesive platforming and storytelling. Planet Robobot noticeably is the franchise’s first entry where HAL Laboratory’s love for their characters deeply extended into the game’s lore and narrative through text. Even if their story is mostly found in pause screen notebook-styled entries and secret optional cutscenes, Susie and President Haltmann uphold the best character arcs the franchise has ever had to offer.

1. Kirby Super Star / Super Star Ultra

Kirby Super Star is not just Masahiro Sakurai’s magnum opus of the Kirby franchise, it is also HAL Laboratory’s when talking about the game’s handheld remake, Kirby Super Star Ultra for the Nintendo DS. From the Gourmet Race to The True Arena, both iterations of the classic game are one heck of a package as they offer all sorts of journeys and challenges for players to face with up to two players–a series first that should never escape Kirby’s identity of friendship. Even after 25 years, Super Star’s impressive scope and imagination have never deteriorated against its impressive successors. From its artistic direction to its aspirations to continually modernize Kirby to its era’s expected game design standards, Super Star and its remake have not aged a day.

From Marx to Galacta Knight, Super Star’s releases spearheaded the most lovable characters and elements of the Kirby franchise as it continually climbed to greatness. Aside from a stark visual upgrade and even more modes in the Nintendo DS remake, the two versions of Kirby Super Star are definitively the franchise’s best adventures. No matter whether you choose to explore the milky way of wishes on a massive television with the Super Nintendo or on-the-go with a Nintendo DS, Kirby Super Star and Super Star Ultra are Kirby’s perfect extravaganza of adventures packed to the brim with every reason we love the pink puff–but seriously, you should go with that remake if you can because the extra content is stellar!

Happy 30th, Kirby! Here’s to many more years of our hero from the stars.

READ MORE:
Ranking Every Mainline Kirby Game / Ranking Every Kirby Spinoff Game