16 Bits

Super Famicom

Kirby Super Star’s Japanese box art features Kirby burnt into wood, a cool but decidedly less cutesy take on the pink puff’s usual marketing materials.

PAL

In Europe, Kirby Super Star was called Kirby’s Fun Pak, with “pak” being Nintendo’s official name for game cartridges. When the game was released for the Wii U eShop in Europe, it was under the North American Super Star moniker.

Skywriting

In the introduction to the game, a star is seen skywriting Kirby’s name. This was removed from the remake, Kirby Super Star Ultra, where it instead appears in that game’s collection of “Original Kirby Movies.”

Mario and Samus Statues

When using the Stone ability, there’s a random chance that Kirby or his Helper will become a statue of Samus or Mario.

Right Back at Ya!

Kirby: Right Back at Ya! was a 100-episode anime series that ran initially from 2001 to 2003 in Japan, and 2002 to 2008 in the US. The show was filled with pop-culture references and satire. The creators remarked that it was quite difficult to make a show that revolved around a character that didn’t speak, though Kirby did often communicate with nonsensical words and sounds that were somehow understood by those around him.

Concept hats

The twentieth-anniversary compilation, Kirby’s Dream Collection, included concept art for several scrapped Copy Abilities. Card, which would have given Kirby a magician’s top hat and the ability to throw cards, was similar to the Magic ability featured in Kirby: Squeak Squad.

Wing Rush

Also in Kirby’s Dream Collection, Wing Kirby’s design is shown to be more in line with what eventually became Cupid Kirby, and the Fighter ability’s original name was revealed to be “Rush.”

Food!

Kirby loves food, but the items he can eat were changed between the Japanese and international versions of Kirby Super Star.

Crowded Cameo

Mario, Luigi, Toad, Princess Toadstool, Birdo, and Bowser appear in the crowd during the Megaton Punch mini-game. The crowd is mirrored so they actually appear twice, once on each side. The same crowd is used again for the boss fight with King Dedede, where they can be seen at the sides of the ring.

Super Smash Kirby

Original Kirby designer Masahiro Sakurai would eventually go on to lead development on the Super Smash Bros. series. Naturally, the pink puff’s prowess as a pugilist made Kirby an obvious choice for inclusion.

Music and stages from the Kirby series appeared in each Smash Bros. title as well, including Meta Knight’s Halberd airship, Whispy Woods, and a massive stage modeled after the four areas of the Great Cave Offensive, complete with treasure chests and mine carts!

NES prototype

Kirby Super Star was originally prototyped on the NES, despite always being intended as a Super NES game. The simplistic nature of Nintendo’s older system and the existing assets from Kirby’s Adventure allowed the team to test and finalize ideas more rapidly.

Kirby Superstar Saga

In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, an advertisement for a Kirby Super Star movie is seen when visiting Yoshi Theater. Kirby sure gets around!

Ultra Helpers

Helpers don’t change much between Kirby Super Star and its remake, Kirby Super Star Ultra—except for Capsule J, who is replaced by Capsule J2, and Sword Knight, who appears in the new Meta Knightmare game. Certain Helpers were also given additional color variations for the Hero to Helpers game.

You’re Turning Kirby, Violet!

The commercial for Kirby Super Star showed a child being hospitalized with TMK (Too Much Kirby). Symptoms included turning pink and round. To the juicing room with him!

Mecheye

Certain Milky Way Wishes planets originally had slightly different names: Aquarius was called Aqualiss, and Mekkai was spelled Mecheye. These later appeared in the Japanese version of Kirby Super Star Ultra.

Nintendo Cinematic Universe?

In the 2016 animated short, Star Fox Zero: The Battle Begins, Slippy Toad can be seen “reading” a magazine featuring the names of several planets from Milky Way Wishes. Nintendo cinematic universe confirmed?