Kirby has known issues in pj64 1.6
"missing life meter (eggs) on HUD - we have heard from users that after the first boss the meter is displayed normally. Or the problem may come and go at different points in the game. Exact cause is uncertain, very likely something in the core. So play on and you might be fine, or you can try a different emulator (you can continue to use the same video plugin because it doesn't seem to be a video plugin issue)."
I think mupen64 is recommended for this game
http://bmgcl.emuxhaven.net/n64mgcl/N64ConfigList.htm