Better than the original in every way that matters.
Kirby Super Star Ultra is a remake of the original game on SNES ( which was known as Kirby's Fun Pak in the UK). And as a remake, it knocks it right out of the park. This is the definitive way of playing Kirby Super Star, as you'll soon find out. The amount of improvements, upgrades and additions in this game will ensure you will never want to go back to the original. For example...
The controls are more responsive and precise, making every mistake and success your own. No longer will you constantly lose the third round of the Gourmet Race to Deedeedee every time.
Hitboxes are more accurate and easier to read, so you'll no longer take damage from attacks that were clearly nowhere near you, or try to jump up through a thin-platform but accidentally get caught against the corner of a roof (like during the Lobster chase sequence in the original).
The screen is wider than the original, ensuring you won't bump into enemies that are barely off-screen. I took nowhere near as much damage in Ultra as I did in the original.
Cutscenes have been revamped in 3D, and while I miss how some of the originals looked, this is an overall improvement, giving more charm and character to these scenes.
The original Kirby Super Star reused the same generic boss-encounter music for most fights, but in Ultra, there are noteworthy exceptions. For example, Dynablade and Wham Bam Rock now have their own battle themes, helping them stand apart from all other fights and making them more memorable than they originally were.
The Great Cave Offensive, which was already my favourite mode in the original (as I love exploring and collecting treasure in most platformers) is better than ever before, thanks to all the afformentioned quality of life improvements, but it doesn't end there. You can now keep track of which treasure you've collected in what area, and when you collect all the treasure available in an area, it will be marked with a golden star. You can also see which area you're in, ensuring you won't lose your sense of direction.
Similarly, Milky Way Wishes is now a more enjoyable and fair challenge to complete thanks to each stage showing you how many Copy Essences are in a level and which ones you've collected.
The extra modes are also a welcome addition that make completing this game worth every second. Revenge of the King is a harder version of Spring Breeze with some remixed level design, bossfights, new enemies, Kabula as a returning boss from the first game, and the debut of Deedeedee's powered-up form, Masked Deedeedee, making for an epic showdown between Kirby and his old frienemy.
Meta Knightmare Ultra is a returning mode from Nightmare in Dreamland, where you get to play through the entire game as Metaknight, this time with additional powers he can use once you collect enough orbs. This mode would see the debut of the infamously challenging boss Galactaknight, who would make appearances in future Kirby games from here on.
In addition to the two minigames from the original, an extra three are included that use the touchscreen controls.
And lastly, in addition to The Arena mode, a gauntlet where you must face off against all bosses in the game without dying, there now exists the True Arena, where you face the hardest available version of each boss, and the Sol form of the final boss. This, and Sol bosses would be carried over to every main Kirby game after this.
In conclusion, this is an absolute must for any Kirby fan, even if you played the original Super Star. The quality of life improvements over the original, new additions that would later become staples in the series, and extra modes make this game an easy replacement for the original, and a brilliant game for new and old fans.
I disagree vehemently that Super Star is the best game in the series, because from Adventure Wii onwards, we got games that raised the bar even higher and continued to build upon that game's foundation, while also taking features from the Dreamland series. Ultra, on the other hand? I could totally see this being people's favourites. It's definitely in my Top 5. My 3 favourite games (Adventure Wii, Triple Deluxe and Planet Robobot) wouldn't be anywhere near as good as they were if it weren't for the features introduced in Ultra.
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned