[1] The remake retains all game modes found in the original, and adds four major new ones, along with adding updated visuals and full-motion video cutscenes.

Kirby can walk or run, jump, swim, crouch, slide, and inhale enemies or objects to spit them out as bullets.

[4]: 14–15 If Kirby uses a copy ability, he can produce a Helper, a character that can be controlled automatically or by another player by wireless multiplayer.

Some games must be unlocked by playing others; a major change from Kirby Super Star involves Spring Breeze being the only one accessible from the start.

Kirby Super Star Ultra also expands the original game by adding new enemy types, levels, mid-bosses, bosses, music, and full-motion video cutscenes.

Difficulty was also adjusted to make earlier sections, particularly Spring Breeze, easier than in Kirby Super Star, but is compensated with the addition of new harder modes like Revenge of the King.

Adjustments were made to Kirby's move set to enhance play; more copy abilities were considered during development but dropped, due to how it could upset the balance of the game modes.

The team felt a lot of pressure during development to retain the feature, as Shigeru Miyamoto had personally requested cooperative gameplay for Kirby Super Star on a visit to HAL Laboratory in 1996.

Kirby Super Star Ultra was released in North America on September 22, 2008,[21] in Japan on November 6, 2008,[22] and in Europe on December 18, 2009.

[27] 1UP praised the game for its multiplayer and described it as "excellent", but noted while clever at times, the level design was not as intricate as in the Mario series.

[31] IGN US's Craig Harris remarked that the gameplay of Kirby Super Star Ultra felt more at home on the Nintendo DS than its SNES counterpart.

[32] Nintendo Life's Stuart Reddick praised the gameplay and visual presentation, calling it "magnificent", but expressed disappointment about the lack of touchscreen controls.

[30] Eurogamer's Keza MacDonald criticized the gameplay, stating that "it never forces you to use your adaptable powers in an intelligent or challenging way", and the game's short length, but praised the visuals, calling the standard "universally high".