Basic Game Information
About Kirby Super Star
Kirby Super Star (Known as Kirby Super Deluxe in Japan) is a SNES game starring Kirby in 8 individual sub-games.
The game's title is commonly referred to as KSS, SDX or スパデラ (supadera).
Any% starts on file select from a clear file, and ends on defeating Marx.
100% starts on file select from a clear file, and ends after The Arena "Clear" text finishes scrolling.
In the Kirby speedrunning community, KSS is notorious for being a difficult speedrun compared to the rest of the Kirby series. The game has a high skill ceiling and has a lot of fast-paced gameplay. In addition, KSS is very RNG-heavy. Battle Windows and Marx have the potential for ending runs late in the game, and Great Cave Offensive Any% is a high reset area due to a string of potential RNG-related time losses. Getting a top time in Kirby Super Star requires immense dedication and is not for the fainthearted.
For those who want a casual speedrunning experience and aren't aiming for top times, Kirby Super Star is a great speedrun to try. Despite the seemingly overwhelming amount of tricks there are to learn, they are only optional and are not necessary to get enjoyment from KSS speedruns. There are many beginner-friendly routes that co-exist with the difficult ones, and there is no shame in taking routes that are easier to digest for those who are just looking for more replay value out of KSS.
In addition to its difficulty, KSS is known for being a very unstable game, having several glitches that can crash the game and completely wipe all save files. For all of the glitches in Kirby Super Star, see Glitches.
In original releases of Kirby Super Star, there are flashing lights that take up the entire screen after any boss is defeated. Please be cautious if you are vulnerable to flashing images.
Controls
For most Super Nintendo platformers, the B button is mapped to jump while the Y button is mapped to another action. Kirby Super Star is no different, as Kirby uses B to jump and Y to inhale / use an ability.
Pressing A will take Kirby's current ability and summon a Helper. If Kirby does not have an ability, Kirby will use his "Suppin Beam", which turns Helpers into an ability item. Pressing A while wielding an ability and having a Helper present will cause Kirby to throw his current ability as an ability hat.
The X button has multiple use cases depending on sub-game. Pressing X in Great Cave Offensive will open the Treasure Menu, and pressing X in Milky Way Wishes will toggle the ability switcher. The X button does nothing in any other sub-game.
The L and R buttons allow Kirby to guard, which lowers damage taken and cancels knockback from enemies.
Note: Kirby Super Star Ultra uses a different control scheme, using A to jump and B to attack. Be mindful that KSS uses a different control scheme from KSSU.
"Using the Controller" from the Kirby Super Star Manual
Game Version
Playing Kirby Super Star in Japanese is the fastest language due to text scrolling speed in Revenge of Meta Knight and Milky Way Wishes.
Playing on any future official releases of the game (ex. through Virtual Console or Nintendo Switch Online) is allowed. For unofficial emulators, ZSNES & SNES9x 1.43 and lower are banned. If using emulator, we ask that you include the emulator version in your run submission.
There are multiple versions of the Japanese version of the game. The differences aren't significant, but 1.0 and 1.1 versions have a bug that can crash the game during Nova if pressing up+down/left+right at the same time. If you are worried about this, we recommend searching for a 1.2 cartridge (for more information, see identifying cartridge versions).
- If you are playing on Virtual Console or Switch Online, the game version will always be 1.2
- If you are playing on English, the game version will always be 1.2
Virtual Console and Switch Online are the fastest versions of the game due to lag reduction, as the game will slow down in certain sections on the original SNES release. However, if going for a time in the top 10, we highly encourage that you play on original hardware, as it preserves the integrity of the leaderboard.
For more information on game versions, see Version Differences.
Unlock conditions for each sub-game
The following games are unlocked at the start of the game, along with commonly used abbreviations:
- Spring Breeze (SB)
- Dyna Blade (DB)
- Gourmet Race
- Great Cave Offensive (GCO)
- Samurai Kirby
- Megaton Punch
The following games need to be unlocked:
- Revenge of Meta Knight (RoMK) - Clear "Dyna Blade"
- Milky Way Wishes (MWW / Milk) - Clear "Great Cave Offensive" and "Revenge of Meta Knight"
- The Arena - Clear "Milky Way Wishes"
- Sound Test - Clear "The Arena"
In any%, only DB, GCO, RoMK, and MWW need to be cleared. Spring Breeze and Gourmet Race are not included.
Conditions for a 100% save file
Achieving all of the following in the chart below will result in a 100% save file. You can tell if you have cleared each mode by viewing the stars on the file select screen. A game will have a ribbon next to it when selected on the corkboard screen if it is cleared.
| 1: Spring Breeze (11%) | |
| Clear stages 1 - 3 | 2% for each stage (6% total) |
| Defeat King Dedede | 5% |
| 2: Dyna Blade (15%) | |
| Clear stages 1 - 4 | 2% for each stage (8% total) |
| Find two secret stage switches | 1% for each switch (2% total) |
| Defeat Dyna Blade | 5% |
| 3: Gourmet Race (6%) | |
| Win Grand Prix Mode | 6% |
| 4: Great Cave Offensive (22%) | |
| Obtain all 60 treasures | 1% for every 4 treasures obtained (15% total) |
| Defeat all four area bosses | 1% for each boss (4% total) |
| Escape the cave | 3% |
| 5: Revenge of Meta Knight (18%) | |
| Clear Chapter 1 | 1% |
| Clear Chapters 2 - 6 | 2% for each Chapter (10% total) |
| Defeat Meta Knight | 3% |
| Escape the Halberd | 4% |
| 6: Milky Way Wishes (25%) | |
| Clear all 7 stages | 1% for each stage (7% total) |
| Obtain all 19 Copy Essence DX's | 1% for every 2 obtained, 1% for the 19th ability (10% total) |
| Defeat Heart of Nova | 2% |
| Defeat Marx | 6% |
| EX: The Arena (3%) | |
| Win The Arena | 3% |
What is not included in file percentage?
- Mini-Games (Megaton Punch and Samurai Kirby)
- Defeating Iron Maam (World Map enemy) in Dyna Blade
- Visiting the Secret Stages in Dyna Blade
- Playing Time Attack in Gourmet Race
Unspecified Actions
Actions that are not explained in the game itself.
Save Data Erase
Pressing the Select button on the data selection screen will bring up a confirmation screen for data deletion.
Soft Reset
Press L + R + Start + Select at the same time to reset the game.
Leave a Milky Way Wishes stage
Open the pause menu and press L or R to exit the stage. (This only works on stages that were previously cleared)