Kirby's Star Stacker

Kirby's Star Stacker
Also known as: Kirby no Kirakira Kids (JP) Developer: HAL Laboratory Publisher: Nintendo Platforms: Game Boy, Super Game Boy Released in JP: January 25, 1997 Released in US: July 7, 1997 Released in EU: October 20, 1997 This game has unused sounds. This game has regional differences.

A Kirby puzzle game. It was an inevitability, really.

To do: Check if there are any unused parts of the SNES version.

Leftover Super Game Boy SOUND

To do: Post rips.

A list of Super Game Boy SOUND commands that is directly taken from Kirby's Dream Land 2 are located at 0xBC00. The only used sounds are the wind blowing during the intro and the clapping crowd played when a massive combo is achieved. Game Genie code ??3-01B-E6A will play any of the unused sound commands when the mute flag is called. The names used are from the official Game Boy programming manual following whether it is used or unused in either Kirby's Dream Land 2 or Kirby's Star Stacker.

Sound Effect Stopper

ID 00

Used to stop internal sound effects in both games.

Air-Sucking Sound

ID 10

Used for mounting Rick in Kirby's Dream Land 2.

Sound of Picture Floating Into View

ID 20

Used when mounting Kine in Kirby's Dream Land 2.

Sword Wielding

ID 30

Used when mounting Coo in Kirby's Dream Land 2.

Wind

ID 40

Used as a sound effect for Level 1 stage selection in Kirby's Dream Land 2.

Wave

ID 50

Used as a sound effect for Level 3 stage selection in Kirby's Dream Land 2.

Applause

ID 60

Used when clearing a massive combo in Kirby's Star Stacker.

Wind

ID 70

Used when selecting a level in Kirby's Dream Land 2.

Hurricane

ID 80

"Hurricane". Used as the opening sound effect in Kirby's Star Stacker.

Thunder

ID 90

Used as a sound effect for Level 7 stage selection in Kirby's Dream Land 2.

(Source: nensondubois)

Regional Differences

Dialogue

Japan	International

There's a border around game dialogue in the Japanese version. These border tiles were eliminated to make room for the extended alphabet.

Round Clear

Japan	International

The stars in the clear screen are larger and flipped in the Japanese game.

Easy Mode Clear

Japan	International

Kirby's Star Stacker takes a stand against multiculturalism, Kirby's pose was changed, Rick's eyes were closed, butterflies were added to the picture, and some of the leaves on the trees were very slightly changed.

Challenge Mode

Japan	International

The Japanese game's challenge pictures look more like a photo reel. Again, the borders were removed to make space for new graphics.

Vs. Mode

Japan	International

Kirby's rapturous expression was toned down in the international versions. The background was changed as well, most likely due to its resemblance to the imperial war flag, which is far more contentious outside of Japan due to its association with fascism.

Tutorial

Japan	International

The usual border change. The Japanese text, "Explanation of rules", was replaced with an open book.

Records

Japan	International

The boxes of text were expanded, and the odd shading by the difficulty icons was erased.

(Source: Original TCRF research)