Editing Kirby's Star Stacker (Super Famicom)

{{Good}}{{Infobox-Game
|title=Kirby's Star Stacker
|image= [[File:KSSS Box.jpg|200px]]
|caption=Japanese box art for '''''Kirby's Star Stacker'''''.
|developer=[[HAL Laboratory]]
|publisher=[[Nintendo]]
|designer=
|released='''Super Famicom'''<br>{{Released|Japan|February 1, 1998 ([[wikipedia:Nintendo Power (cartridge)|NP]])|Japan|June 25, 1999 (package)}}<br>'''Virtual Console (Wii)'''<br>{{Released|Japan|January 5, 2010}}<br>'''Virtual Console (Wii U)'''<br>{{Released|Japan|May 8, 2013}}<br>'''Virtual Console (New 3DS)'''<br>{{released|Japan|November 28, 2016}}<br>'''SNES: Nintendo Switch Online'''<br>{{released|Japan|July 22, 2022|NA|September 5, 2023|Europe|September 6, 2023|Australia|September 6, 2023}}
|platforms=[[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super Famicom]]<br>[[Wii]] <small>([[Virtual Console]])</small><br>[[Wii U]] <small>(Virtual Console)</small><br>[[Nintendo 3DS|New 3DS]] <small>(Virtual Console)</small><br>[[Nintendo Switch]] <small>(SNES: Nintendo Switch Online)</small><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Q8T2KOVoY NES & Super NES - July 2022 Game Updates - Nintendo Switch Online (JP)]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDB_vr-0KJs Game Boy, NES, Super NES – September 2023 Game Updates – Nintendo Switch Online]</ref>
|language={{languages|jp=y}}
|predecessor=''[[Kirby's Dream Land 3]]''
|successor=''[[Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards]]''
|strategywiki=Kirby's Star Stacker
}}{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Kirby's Star Stacker'' (Super Famicom)}}
{{about|the Super Famicom version|the Game Boy version|[[Kirby's Star Stacker (Game Boy)]]}}
'''''Kirby's Star Stacker'''''<ref>Name and qualifier taken from ''[[Kirby's Dream Buffet]]''.</ref> (originally referred to as '''''Kirby's Super Star Stacker'''''<ref name="super">[http://web.archive.org/web/19980205054941/http://www.nintendo.com/snes/gamelist.html Super NES Game List]</ref> and sometimes transliterated as '''''Kirby no KIRAKIRA KIDS'''''<ref name="hal">[https://www.hallab.co.jp/eng/works/detail/002729/ HAL Laboratory official website (English)]</ref>) is a puzzle game of the [[Kirby (series)|''Kirby'' series]] that was released on the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super Famicom]] in Japan. It was first released in 1998 through the [[wikipedia:Nintendo Power (cartridge)|Nintendo Power]] flash service, but eventually saw a physical release a year later in 1999, being the last ''Kirby'' game released on the console. It is an enhanced remake of [[Kirby's Star Stacker (Game Boy)|''Kirby's Star Stacker'' for the Game Boy]]. It was later ported to the [[Virtual Console]] for [[Wii]], [[Wii U]], and [[Nintendo 3DS|New Nintendo 3DS]] in Japan only, and on [[Nintendo Switch|Nintendo Switch Online]] worldwide, with the latter being its first international release (though it is only available in Japanese<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-sspyPrnKs Play Kirby's Star Stacker and more with Nintendo Switch Online!] - Nintendo UK on YouTube</ref>).

==Story==
One starry night, an alien creature named [[Mr. Star]] zooms past [[Dream Land]]. [[King Dedede]] spots him in the air and blasts him with a cannon, causing Mr. Star to split into several pieces and fall to the ground. The principal piece of Mr. Star falls on Kirby's head, as he was out stargazing from a teepee. After learning of his predicament, Kirby and his [[Animal Friend]]s help Mr. Star find his pieces again, each of which is kept by a different denizen of Dream Land.

One-by-one, Kirby and his friends trounce the baddies who were holding Mr. Star's pieces, culminating with King Dedede himself. Once Mr. Star is whole again, he returns back out into space. Shortly after, a witch named [[Gryll]] appears from where Mr. Star left to present the final challenge to Kirby.

<gallery>
KSSS Intro cutscene 1.png|Mr. Star passes by Planet Popstar.
KSSS Intro cutscene 4.png|King Dedede blasts Mr. Star.
KSSS Hit in the Head cutscene.png|Mr. Star hits Kirby's head.
</gallery>
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==Gameplay==
[[File:KSSS Lovely match.png|thumb|150px|left|Kirby and [[Lovely]] face off in the [[Story Mode]].]]
[[File:KSSS Time Attack gameplay.png|thumb|150px|left|Gameplay of the Time Attack mode.]]
Due to being a remake of the [[Game Boy]] original, ''Kirby's Star Stacker'' plays largely the same way. The player is given a game board which fills up with various types of blocks that fall from above in a similar manner to ''[[wikipedia:Tetris|Tetris]]''. The main objective is to clear these blocks by lining them up in the correct ways. The main method of doing this is by placing two of the same type of "Friend Block" (resembling Kirby's [[Animal Friend]]s [[Rick]], [[Kine]], and [[Coo]]) in-between one or more [[Star Block]]s. The number of Star Blocks removed then determines how many "stars" Kirby has "stacked", which is the main scoring mechanic in the game. Blocks fall in pairs with random types inset, which can be steered using the Control Pad until they land on the blocks below, whereupon they break apart if one side is still hanging over an empty space. In addition to the above blocks, there are also two other types: Hard Blocks and Bomb Blocks. Hard Blocks can be turned into Star Blocks when sandwiched between two matching Friend Blocks, and placing a Bomb Block between two Friend Blocks will remove all blocks on the same row.

In order to achieve greater numbers of star points, Chains have to be utilized; if destroying a group of blocks leads to a chain reaction of other groups being destroyed, this counts as a Chain. Every Chain that is achieved causes a group of stars to fall into gaps between blocks and be added to the star point counter, their number starting at two but increasing with each Chain, up to a maximum of twelve. If these stars end up sandwiched between Friend Blocks when they land, they turn into Star Blocks, causing another group of blocks to be destroyed and the combo to continue; stars that land in positions where it would not be beneficial for them to transform into blocks simply disappear.

Depending on the game mode being played, there may be additional rules and conditions, but generally speaking, the player can continue to place down blocks so long as the two middlemost columns are still open at the top, and new rows of blocks will continually appear from below, pushing the others up. If either of the two middlemost columns reaches all the way to the top of the screen, the game is over.

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==Modes==
[[File:KSSS_Menu_Game_Modes.png|thumb|200px|The games modes menu.]]
In the game there are 5 modes, as follows:
*'''Challenge''' - An endless mode in which the objective is to gain as many stars as possible before the middle stack of blocks touches the top of the screen. The player can choose between four difficulties: Normal, Hard, Super Hard, and Insane. Insane is unlocked by stacking 1000 stars or more in any of the lower difficulties. No matter which difficulty is selected, as the player progresses, blocks start to appear faster and the music changes. Unlike the Game Boy version, the mode automatically ends if the player hits the maximum score of 9999.
*'''[[Round Clear (Super Famicom)|Round Clear]]''' - This mode involves completing multiple rounds, by collecting a set number of Stars. Much like Challenge Mode, there are four difficulties to be selected: Normal, Hard, Super Hard and Insane. Insane can only be played after clearing the previous three difficulties. In this mode, [[King Dedede]] sits on the right side of the screen and is responsible for making the new block rows appear. The objective is to reduce his "HP" to zero in each round by stacking stars.
*'''Story''' - The main mode of the game, pitting Kirby against a preset number of opponents with specific difficulty levels. The objective is to force the opponent's board to fill up before the player's does. When either the player or the opponent scores chains, the corresponding character will attack the other's character, which has the effect of making more block rows appear on the other's board.
*'''VS''' - A multiplayer mode for two players. Similar in gameplay to Story Mode, but with two human players competing. In this mode, players can choose between playing a single round, a best-two-out-of-three, or a best-three-out-of-five. Each player can choose their own difficulty out of Normal, Hard, Super Hard, and Insane, the last of which is unlocked by winning 30 matches. Players can also choose to play as Kirby or any of the opponents in Story Mode, with Gryll being available after beating them in Story Mode, though this is merely cosmetic.
*'''Time Attack''' - As many Stars as possible must be collected within a 3-minute time limit. Like in the other modes, the player can choose between the four difficulties Normal, Hard, Super Hard, and Insane. Insane is unlocked by stacking 150 stars or more in any of the lower difficulties. In this mode, [[Tick-Tock Jr.]] sits on the right side of the screen and is responsible for making the new block rows appear.

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==Story Mode details==
[[File:KSSS Story Mode map.png|thumb|The Story mode stages are accessible from a map.]]
Story Mode is the main new feature here when compared to the Game Boy original. In this Mode, Kirby faces off against an opponent, and they each get their own separate board to drop blocks in. The goal here is to prevent Kirby's board from filling up, while also causing the opponent's board to fill. To that end, the player will need to systematically remove blocks from the board as they fall down by lining them up correctly. This can be done by having an unbroken line of [[Star Block]]s in-between two [[Animal Friend]] blocks of the same type, or by simply lining up two of the same type of Animal Friend together. If a large number of blocks are removed at once and/or a chain of block removals is caused, Kirby will be able to cause his opponent's board to start filling with blocks from the bottom-up, and vice/versa.

There are two difficulty modes for Story Mode, those being "Amateur" and "Professional". The difficulty chosen determines the speed and skill level of the CPU opponents. There are a total of eight opponents to face in the Story Mode, which are fought in sequence. The last of these - [[Gryll]] - can only be faced if all prior opponents were defeated without losing a single time. The [https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/shvc/bkkj/page02.html official web guide for the game] makes it a point to mention that if the player prematurely pauses a given round in order to restart, that will not count as a loss.

===Opponents===
The following are details on each opponent in the Story Mode:
{| class="wikitable" style="background-color:#FFEEF3;" border=1 cellpadding=2
!colspan=4|Opponents in ''Kirby's Star Stacker''
|-
!|Opponent
!|Difficulty
!|Notes
|-
|{{Center|[[File:KSSS Waddle Dee icon.png]] [[File:KSSS Waddle Dee sprite.png]]<br>'''[[Waddle Dee]]'''}}
|Normal (both difficulties)
|Waddle Dee attacks Kirby using a [[parasol]] when getting chains. The board layout starts out with all three bottom rows filled with Star Blocks, with the bottommost rows being Friend Blocks.
|-
|{{Center|[[File:KSSS Poppy Bros Jr icon.png]] [[File:KSSS Poppy Bros Jr sprite.png]]<br>'''[[Poppy Bros. Jr.]]'''}}
|Normal (both difficulties)
|Poppy Bros. Jr. throws bombs at Kirby when getting chains. The board layout is rather similar to that of Waddle Dee's but with three more Star Blocks added to the rightmost three lanes.
|-
|{{Center|[[File:KSSS Lovely icon.png]] [[File:KSSS Lovely sprite.png]]<br>'''[[Lovely]]'''}}
|Normal (Amateur)<br>Hard (Professional)
|Lovely attacks Kirby by hitting him with her head when getting chains. The board layout starts off in a staircase-based pattern.
|-
|{{Center|[[File:KSSS Knuckle Joe icon.png]] [[File:KSSS Knuckle Joe sprite.png]]<br>'''[[Knuckle Joe]]'''}}
|Hard (both difficulties)
|Knuckle Joe attacks Kirby by kicking him when getting chains. The board layout starts off similarly to Poppy Bros. Jr. but there are more blocks within the leftmost columns. This round introduces Bomb Blocks, which can occassionally spawn from new rows when attacked.
|-
|{{Center|[[File:KSSS Chef Kawasaki icon.png]] [[File:KSSS Chef Kawasaki Sprite.png]]<br>'''[[Chef Kawasaki]]'''}}
|Hard (Amateur)<br>Super Hard (Professional)
|Chef Kawasaki attacks Kirby using his frying pan when getting chains. This round introduces Hard Blocks, with a few in the starting layout.
|-
|{{Center|[[File:KSSS Meta Knight icon.png]] [[File:KSSS Meta Knight sprite.png]]<br>'''[[Meta Knight]]'''}}
|Super Hard (both difficulties)
|Meta Knight attacks Kirby using his sword when getting chains. The board layout is more complex with more Hard Blocks within the initial layout.
|-
|{{Center|[[File:KSSS King Dedede icon.png]] [[File:KSSS King Dedede sprite.png]]<br>'''[[King Dedede]]'''}}
|Super Hard (Amateur)<br>Insane (Professional)
|King Dedede attacks Kirby using his hammer when getting chains. This round features a great deal of Hard Blocks, especially at the start. Completing this round triggers the end credits.
|-
|{{Center|[[File:KSSS Gryll icon.png]] [[File:KSSS Gryll sprite.png]]<br>'''[[Gryll]]'''}}
|Super Hard (Amateur)<br>Insane (Professional)
|Gryll attacks Kirby using a broomstick when getting chains. This round features a great deal of Hard Blocks, especially at the start. It can only be played after the credits if all previous rounds were cleared without a loss.
|}

==Staff==
The following is a list of staff who have worked on the Super Famicom version of ''Kirby's Star Stacker'':
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" border="1" cellpadding="2"
|-
!colspan=2|Staff of the Super Famicom version of ''Kirby's Star Stacker'' &nbsp;
|-
!Position
!Developer(s)
|-
!Director
|Hitoshi Yamagami
|-
!Chief Programmer
|Katsuhiro Sakoda
|-
!Programmer
|Yasuyuki Nagashima<br>[[Hiroaki Suga]]
|-
!Chief Designer
|Kazu Ozawa
|-
!Designer
|[[Shigeru Hashiguchi]]<br>Michiko Takahashi<br>Shinya Sano<br>Tadashi Hashigura
|-
!Sound Composer
|[[Jun Ishikawa]]<br>[[Hirokazu Ando]]
|-
!Illustrator
|[[Tetsuya Notoya]]
|-
!Special Thanks
|[[Satoshi Ishida]]<br>Chieko Obikawa<br>Takahiro Harata<br>[[mariowiki:Mario Club Co., Ltd.|Super Mario Club]]<br>HAL Debug Team<br>Ryuki Karaoka
|-
!Producer
|Hiroaki Suga
|-
!Chief Producer
|[[Satoru Iwata]]
|-
!General Manager
|Takehiro Izushi
|-
!Executive Producer
|Hiroshi Yamauchi
|-
!colspan=2|[[Nintendo|NINTENDO]]<br>[[HAL Laboratory|HAL Laboratory, INC.]]
|}

==Nintendo Switch Online description==
''Join Kirby as he stacks the falling stars with help from his friends!''

''Watch out for King Dedede. He is out to stop you! With a few quick moves and some well-timed strategy, you can quickly outwit him and move on to the next challenging level with a little help from Rick, Kine, and Coo, who look like a hamster, fish, and owl, respectively. Blocks rain down from above while whole lines appear from below with relentless regularity. Simply sandwich the stars between Kirby's pals, and you'll soon be on your way to earning a high score in pure puzzle fun!''

(This is a modified version of the description used for the Game Boy version on the Nintendo eShop and My Nintendo Store, with a few lines adjusted. Most notably, "Rick the Hamster, Kine the Sunfish, and Coo the Owl" was altered to "Rick, Kine, and Coo, who look like a hamster, fish, and owl, respectively," which matches a similar change made to the Nintendo Switch Online description of ''[[Kirby's Dream Land 2]]''.)

==Trivia==
*When Kirby thwacks his opponents in Story or VS Mode, he does so with the [[Love-Love Stick]].
*Though the game had not been released outside of Japan and small parts of Asia until September 2023, it was nonetheless referenced several times in games that were released internationally before then.
**[[Mr. Star]], [[Tick-Tock Jr.]], and [[Gryll]] appear as [[Sticker (Kirby: Planet Robobot)|stickers]] in ''[[Kirby: Planet Robobot]]'', and as [[Character Treat]]s in ''[[Kirby's Dream Buffet]]'', using their artwork from this game. Gryll also appears as a spirit in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' (again using artwork from this game), as well as appearing in a [[Stone]] transformation and a [[Celebration Picture]] in ''[[Kirby Star Allies]]''.
**Two music tracks in this game were re-used in the extra stages of ''Kirby: Planet Robobot'', while Gryll's theme reappears in ''Kirby Star Allies''. A remixed medley of Chef Kawasaki's theme and Gryll's theme from this game is one of the [[Battle Royale (Kirby's Dream Buffet)|Battle Royale]] themes in ''Kirby's Dream Buffet''.
*In 1998, a game titled ''Kirby's Super Star Stacker'' was listed on a page of upcoming SNES releases on Nintendo's American website, suggesting that an international release may have been planned at that point in time.<ref name="super"/>
**Current English sources—such as ''Kirby: Planet Robobot'', ''[[Kirby Art & Style Collection]]'', ''Kirby's Dream Buffet'', and Nintendo Switch Online—refer to the game simply as ''Kirby's Star Stacker'', the same as [[Kirby's Star Stacker (Game Boy)|the Game Boy game]]. This is because both versions of the game have the same name in Japanese. The official English [[HAL Laboratory]] website refers to it as ''Kirby no KIRAKIRA KIDS'', a literal transliteration of its Japanese name.<ref name="hal"/>

==Gallery==
{{Main|Kirby's Star Stacker (Super Famicom)/gallery}}
<gallery>
KSSS Logo.png|Logo
KSSS Box back.jpg|Back of the boxart
KSSS title screen.png|Title screen
KSSS Complete Title Screen.png|Alternate title screen
</gallery>

==Names in other languages==
{{Names
|ja=カービィのきらきらきっず
|jaR=Kābyi no Kirakira Kizzu
|jaM=Kirby's Sparkling Kids
|zh=Kirby's Star Stacker
|zhM=-
|nl=Kirby's Star Stacker
|nlM=-
|fr=Kirby's Star Stacker
|frM=-
|de=Kirby's Star Stacker
|deM=-
|it=Kirby's Star Stacker
|itM=-
|ko=Kirby's Star Stacker
|koM=-
|pt=Kirby's Star Stacker
|ptM=-
|ru=Kirby's Star Stacker
|ruM=-
|es=Kirby's Star Stacker
|esM=-
}}

==External links==
*[https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/shvc/bkkj/index.html Official Japanese website]
*[https://www.kirbyinformer.com/kirbys-super-star-stacker ''Kirby's Star Stacker'' (Super Famicom) on Kirby Informer]

{{ref}}
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[[Category:Spin-off games]]
[[Category:Remakes]]
[[Category:Games on Super Nintendo Entertainment System]]
[[Category:Kirby's Star Stacker (Super Famicom)]]