Skyler Orton
The Kirby Air Riders Nintendo Direct just wrapped up and it was a long one. Somehow the famous Sakurai didn’t let us down and unveiled a wide spread of new modes for us fans to dive into. For those who didn’t watch, here’s what you need to know.
Top Ride
Sakurai revealed the return of the top down game mode from the original Kirby Air Ride. For those who didn’t play the original, this mode uses a top down perspective with simplified gameplay. Top Ride will use the courses of the main game as inspiration, keeping the same themes and music. There will also be new items exclusive to Top Ride to keep the mode fresh.
Road trip
Road Trip is Kirby Air Riders’ story mode. You choose a rider and play a series of chosen challenges to upgrade your rider. There’s everything from races in any mode or City Trial challenges. Cameo items and characters will decide what path you take. Sakurai also teased the mysterious bike swordsman we saw in the last trailer. Overall I’m not quite clear on how the story fits into the loose gameplay, but I am curious how this mode will function since it looks like good fun.
Near the end more was revealed about the story which will follow riders and their machines hunting for the source that created the machines. Looks like a classic Kirby story that looks cute on the surface but is sure to be oddly dark underneath.
Online stuff
There is further clarification on the online system here. Users will be able to customize a license to represent themselves to other players. There is also an online lobby system that will allow you to queue into a wide array of race types. The ranking system was also revealed here with ranking being based off of a color system. There will be rankings for each mode as well. In addition there is a global win ranking system which will be displayed on your license.
More courses, characters, machines and more
Sakurai revealed a wide array of courses, characters, machines, and more. Most notable is that all 9 courses from the original Kirby Air Ride will be making their way back into the game. The new courses will feature remastered visuals and gameplay but still have the same charm and music from the first game.
The new courses look great too and the themes look very creative covering everything from Sci-Fi to Steampunk. Also we revealed a lot of characters like Kirby Triple Deluxe’s villainous Taranza. Machines were also revealed and the highlight for me is a machine that can switch between a bike and a glider style. We also got new modes like relay races, time trials, free roam and more.
City trial new features
A lot of time was spent exploring the City Trial mode and revealing what new features will be added to this mode. A major one is legendary machines which require you to hunt down three machine parts to use. Smash Bros fans might appreciate some of these returning designs.
There are also 16 player team battles that will use the cumulative score of your eight person team for scoring. They also reveal new locations around Skyah for you to explore which will surely give the mode endless replayability. We will also get new boss battles featuring villains from across the Kirby series. The Mecha Dedede that was shown off looks fantastic so I am excited to see the rest of the bosses.
Collectibles and customization
There are many collectibles revealed here, sure to add endless content to the game. A checklist exists for each mode giving new characters, machines and more for completing challenges in each mode. The major reveal was the customization of each machine. You can unlock or buy things like decals, patterns, and more to decorate any machine. You can also buy and sell machines for in-game currency in a market, but unfortunately it isn’t a real market and just a way to test how popular your designs are. Probably a good thing since we don’t need an accidental Nintendo black market again.
You can also show off these designs online in garages your friends can come explore. Not as cool, but you can also give your riders funny hats. There are also gummy collectibles of each machine you get after beating online opponents. They don’t do much other than let you see and play with all the gummies on an absurd table. That brings us to the next section…
Did we really need to announce this?
The gummy thing is weird, but isn’t even the weirdest thing that got screen time in this direct. For example, Sakurai revealed the voices for the game. Revealing all the announcers was strange enough, but did we really know that the sound when a machine explodes is supposed to be a scream. We learned in the story section that the machines are living. Sure makes exploding your opponents ride less fun huh?
Less odd but they took the time to dive into the options here. For people (like me) frustrated at how few options there were in Mario Kart World this game will be a breath of fresh air. You can remap buttons fortunately, but there are also several great accessibility tools shown off. I joke about this being unnecessary but I really am glad to see this highlighted since so many games don’t have features like this, nevertheless talk about them before launch.
Amiibo
These things are very very cool. They are also the cost of a game at 50$ a piece. Regardless, they announced three more for a total of five rider machine combos. Can’t help but feel bad for my brother who has collected every Kirby amiibo up to this point. Despite the price point, these things are huge and could appeal to collectible figure fans more than a regular amiibo.
We don’t deserve Sakurai
Here Sakurai emphasised that there would be no DLC and that Kirby Air Riders wouldn’t launch an ongoing series. In an era of games that is so DLC and franchise focused it’s refreshing to hear a major developer talk about not doing these things. Especially after the disastrous Donkey Kong Bananza expansion and the Pokemon Legends Z-A expansion available to purchase months before its release this is great.
Online playtest
People on the fence will be able to participate in an online network demo at the beginning of November. We’ve seen similar playtests for other online only games so this is to be expected. Regardless, good to see a demo for anything since Nintendo has moved away from that marketing format in the Switch years.
Conclusion
The game looks like great fun and could easily be the definitive racing game of the generation. It’s packed to the brim with content and has great visuals with charming designs. I’d expect to see this game getting a dedicated cult fanbase for years to come. If they were willing to reveal all this before release, what secrets will the game show after release. I can’t wait to find out.
