With the launch of the SNES Classic Edition, Nintendo has published a number of new interviews with the developers of some of the titles included on the system. One of them is with Kirby's creator, Masahiro Sakurai, as he gives a retrospective on Kirby Super Star.
The interview is pretty lengthy, so you can read the full thing on Nintendo's website by clicking the image below!
Some highlights from the interview:
Two-player co-op was included at the request of Shigeru Miyamoto at the beginning of development
The expansion of moves that Copy Abilities can perform was due to enemies becoming more durable, with inspiration from fighting games
Multiple shorter stories rather than one long story so players can see the ends more quickly, with the same value as a full game
Kirby Super Star's development lasted three years; part of why it took so long is due to the desire to add computer graphics
In the proposal was a horror-like story cut from the final game called Kagero Mansion; Kirby would be inflicted by a curse that sealed his mouth shut
The game had a tentative japanese title of Kirby of the Stars: Active. Was reworked into Kirby of the Star: Super Deluxe with the help of Shigesato Itoi
Freedom of choice was a big focus during development
There's a few other neat tidbits in the interview, so definitely give the full version a read!