In a 1993 developer interview, producer and programmer Satoru Iwata revealed that the game originally included over 40 copy abilities, as opposed to the final count of 25. These included concepts that would be revisited in later Kirby games, including "one where Kirby could shrink down" (Mini in Kirby & the Amazing Mirror), "one where Kirby rode on a rocket" (Missile in the Amazing Mirror and Kirby: Canvas Curse), and "Animal" (in Kirby: Squeak Squad) "where you could scratch and bite enemies." The graphics of the unused Mini ability can be found in the game's code. Because of the sprites' placement, it's speculated that this ability was replaced by the UFO ability.