Spoilers Kirby Air Riders!!

[terashards]

this thread was originally intended just to be about the first Kirby Air Riders direct but it’s being used more like a general Kirby Air Riders discussion thread so i changed the title accordingly! please feel free to discuss the game here! it’s not a hard rule but i’d also appreciate if you could put spoilers in spoiler tags before and during the game’s release

you can still read the original first post in the thread about the direct below:

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this morning there was a whopping 47 minute long direct about the upcoming game kirby air riders!!! i am making this thread because the original kirby air ride is an extremely important video game to my childhood and not only have i been hyped for this sequel since it was teased in the switch 2 direct months ago, but now this direct is practically making me fall apart with excitement. the full sakurai direct treatment and everything he showed off is everything i could have wanted in a kirby air ride sequel and more... and there's so much he definitely did not show!!

Spoiler: direct spoiler discussion

are you guys excited for the game?? that character roster selection screen has mysterious empty space... what other characters do you think might be included as riders, if any? and oh man i am NOT up to date on kirby lore but that had to be dark matter at the end right?? could there be a story mode?? what's in the volcano in city trial... what other things haven't we seen... i'm going to go crazy

also, a very weird hope i have for this game that i don't expect: the original kirby air ride's city trial map had random flowers dotted around the map in hard-to-reach locations, often locations that were practically impossible to get to on a ride and had to be walked to on foot. when i was little, me and my sister used to walk around in free roam to try to find them all even though they didn't give any reward. i really hope the sequel still has something like that so i can get cozy with my sibling for an evening and look for the secrets again like we were kids.

and a not weird hope i have: pleeease sakurai bring back the achievement system... the big achievement grid... i love that thing. can't say i'm expecting it but it would be such a cool return.

Spoiler: more direct spoilers

and since there's multiple riders now surely there has to be a way to unlock them all, so can we have the grid back pretty please...

discuss!!

 

[Stray Cat]

day one Dark Meta Knight main because I am permanently and edgy teenager
I'd like to point out that the teaser at the end uses the same environment that world of light's initial reveal used in its trailer, and most of sakurai's reused assets tend to be in the same/similar context (ie, the smash ultimate victory screen and KO screen being used for air riders' victory and KO animations too) so I wonder if this is a similar case
at the very least I hope this means we might get Dark Matter colour alts for some characters because silver black and blue is too cool of a colourscheme to go underutilized (and we know this game has pallet swaps/partial model swaps)

 

[terashards]

oh yeah you had asked about my main and honestly i'm probably just going to main a colored kirby because i'm boring. or starman because he's funny. also i only just found out about inline spoiler text because of your message, thanks
i hope so! i know one of the screens had like... an edgy waddle doo in the direct so LOL

 

[Stray Cat]

You're welcome LMAO
Honestly I respect the coloured Kirby or Starman pick!! Also I just checked and yeah the japanese website lists all the revealed characters and all their (revealed?) colour pallets (side note, this website has a TON of cool stuff including a lot of renders, you should check it out!!)

 

[terashards]

oh good this means i can confirm to my sister which colors of kirby are available in the game past the four in the direct (my sister has a nearly two decade long tradition since she was a kid of making ocs of all the different kirby colors with their own names so it's very important to them that they can play as their childhood kirby ocs in air riders LOL)

 

[Stray Cat]

oh good this means i can confirm to my sister which colors of kirby are available in the game past the four in the direct (my sister has a nearly two decade long tradition since she was a kid of making ocs of all the different kirby colors with their own names so it's very important to them that they can play as their childhood kirby ocs in air riders LOL)

That's so cool????????

 

[colours]

honestly i can't even list any one thing in particular im happy about cause everything in this freaking direct had me PUMPED i really cannot wait for november!!!

should we have a bulbagarden kirby air ride city trial competition y/n

 

[Stray Cat]

should we have a bulbagarden kirby air ride city trial competition y/n

YES YES WE SHOULD

 

[Nicolas721]

I've not even played a Kirby game so tuned in for curiosity, and went out pleasantly surprised. I liked how the game relies on Sakurai's appeal, feels like he's one of the few Japanese extroverts that exist lol and it's great how his experience on Smash helped him create a game that has various modes, feels competitive and has a good-looking UI. I like the concept how building your ideal car+character (and coming from Kirby they're all cuties) combination for every challenge be it races or the stadium mode. While it may be a smaller experience than Mario Kart World's it certainly looks fresher and more polished.

 

[terashards]

should we have a bulbagarden kirby air ride city trial competition y/n

PLEASE!!! i would LOVE THIS!!!

While it may be a smaller experience than Mario Kart World's it certainly looks fresher and more polished.

also this is a really exciting perspective to hear since i'm not coming into air riders unbiased and i frankly have no idea how people outside of the cult following for the original are going to be receiving this direct! especially with mario kart on the same system in the same year, i feel like they really have to sell new people on this game. i really want this game to do well, it deserves it

 

[Juliyet]

Air Ride is a core childhood game for me, so a sequel was a dream event, (actually like half the reason i got the Switch 2 so early). And it looks great! Love the new focus on individual characters and things like City Trial look great! Sakurai has still got it!

Of all the characters revealed thus far, I'm definitely leaning Susie. Hoping for Nago, Adeleine, and Mr. Frosty

On the topic of characters, it's really funny seeing Sakurai acknowleding modern Kirby characters for once. Makes me semi hopeful for BWD's Smash chances

You're welcome LMAO
Honestly I respect the coloured Kirby or Starman pick!! Also I just checked and yeah the japanese website lists all the revealed characters and all their (revealed?) colour pallets (side note, this website has a TON of cool stuff including a lot of renders, you should check it out!!)

This website is so Smash Ultimate coded lol.

Though I suppose the game in general is very Smash coded. I got distracted too many times from recognizing noises or ui elements ahaha. Even the character renders could pass for Ultimate ones.

 

[Stray Cat]

I think I'm the odd one out here I have absolutely no attatchment to air ride (because I never owned a gamecube)

 

[bugfacts]

IT WAS LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE!! I was starry-eyed the entire time, I couldn’t believe it was set up like a classic Sakurai smash presentation!!! So much love!! So much care!! So much detail!!

The Ocean stage looked absolutely unbelievable…. I cannot WAIT to see the rest…..

The original Air Ride had such a distinct feeling for its stages with strange creatures not necessarily pulled from Kirby lore, so I’m hoping we get some of that back this time around, too! (Thinking about the Sky Whale and the mysterious egg creatures and the lava dragons…) I’m ecstatic that they seem to be incorporating more classic Kirby enemies, as well (ESPECIALLY DEEP CUTS LIKE GOLEM… I think he was last seen properly in Amazing Mirror and then again in the cancelled GCN game screenshots?? TwT)

Obviously I’m beyond thrilled to see City Trial back and bigger than ever!! And that you can still dismount your vehicle and waddle around!! It’s going to be truly magical getting to waddle around this strange, beautiful empty mall of a space with all the different characters together! I hope there are still custom settings to let you play for longer than 5 minutes. At least I think you could in the original…. Oh!! And the Subway and Underground Mall are SUCH perfect and brilliant additions to the space. They really capture the strange and enchanting vibe the original map had for me as a kid….

And I couldn’t be happier to see those funny little glowing guys back :3
I’ve always hoped they would make the jump from original Air Ride to the main series someday and now that’s even more likely, haha!

ALSO I’M WITH YOU 100% CELESTE BRING BACK THE ACHIEVEMENTS GRID IT WAS SOOO MUCH FUN

As far as character hopes and predictions go….

Spoiler: Character Wishlist

-ELFILIN! I love him and I want him here so badly!!
-Rick! He’s so cute! My baby!
-Taranza!
-Marx!
-Adelaine!
-I’d love to see the Mage Sisters!
-Would it be asking too much to get Daroach back again after Star Allies?

As far as basic enemies to playable characters… I think I’d most like to seeee….
-Buggzy!
-Birdon
-Mr. Frosty
-Chilly
-Awoofy

And if I can really just get whatever I want? Ice Dragon, please!

 

[Salmancer]

I can't say I enjoyed a 45 deep dive as the introduction to Kirby Air Riders. What was the core thing about Kirby's Dream Land again? That it was a game for beginners and experts alike? Beginners don't need a 45 minute introduction, and many of them wouldn't want it. There probably should have been an abridged trailer. And even with that 45 minutes there were still things that were left unclear. Like how it appears Kirby's special is decided by which color you pick, or if the Stadiums vote at the end of City Trial is a vote for which one everyone has to do or each player selecting the one they want to do. Really, are we sure we should be using a video format established for updates to a fighting game as a means introducing a racing game with a different target audience from the fighting game?

Also the title is still bad. You can't salvage it. Give up Sakurai. It fundamentally fails to clearly indicate its a different game from Kirby Air Ride, in both text and spoken form. Calling this game "Kirby Air Ride" would probably be better, people have figured out how to distinguish media with the same name by now.

As for benefits to the premise? Well, this game is being sold on Sakurai's reputation so he kind of has to be the spokesperson, and it has been a while since he's made videos for Nintendo. Mixing in character reveals while talking about other things was kind of funny. Having each hightlight video set be called a "Collection" like its a showroom was quirky, if not really a highlight. (Committing to the bit and making it feel like a tour of some Air Ride Machine factory or dealership would have been way better.)

Also, why is this game coming out in the same year as Mario Kart World, a racing game bundled with the console? A racing game that most people purchased because Mario Kart World is the only bundle option until Pokémon Legends Z-A shows up? This is just asking Mario Kart sales to cannibalize the Kirby Air Ride sales.

Anyway, game features itself:

• Even as an option defaulting to off, losing a race from your machine getting destroyed feels out of tone. What is this, F-Zero?
• Ultra Sword, Snow Bowl, Crash, Burn? Well those are certainly a mix of choices for Kirby's special. In that Burn is a really odd choice in a roster which has three Copy Abilities defined by their limited use nature. As the Triple Deluxe fanboy, I am obligated to mention Hypernova as an option that got passed over here. And why does Ultra Sword use its hat, but Snow Bowl doesn't?
  • Do non-Kirby characters get alternate color options or is it only an option for Kirby so that players can pick his special options? 45 minute deep dive and we don't even get to see the selection screen to understand something like this!
• I guess four winged Meta Knight is going to be a thing now. Also I am calling that special "Four-Wing Drive" every time.
• Speaking of, this is the first Jet Hammer outside of Super Smash Bros. Really, you'd think some game would've replaced Dedede's Hammer Flip with it if that was going to reach the Kirby series.
• Letting everyone use Copy Abilities is weird, a decision no doubt caused by Air Ride 1 using Copy Abilities as power ups because Kirby was the primary player character in that and Air Ride 2 not really wanting to change it. No I don't like it. Its really messing with an established property of the series, a property that not only is disseminated through text on multiple occasions, but has also had mechanical ramifications in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, and Kirby Star Allies. Even if they have to do this, there should be very few characters making vortexes of wind aside from Kirby and King Dedede, everyone else has no business doing that. (This is the franchise that made "Gobble" a move that Kirby, Dedede, and Gooey use and "Grab" a move that everyone else uses where any other franchise would only make "Grab" a move that everyone uses; the distinction matters.)
  • Meta Knight has been established to summon bats as an animation quirk, his Capture should be using bats offensively as an extension of this. Susie has at least some amount of technological know how, how about a handheld vacuum cleaner she invented, or maybe a custom vacuum setting on her blaster?
• I like the new machine designs, though our 45 minute deep dive didn't clarify what the gameplay ramifications of a Chariot are. Oops. Still, a worthy addition to the set.
• I think getting into impromptu races or battles in City Trial itself is a good twist on the formula, and making players get stat boosts while at the starting line is a good idea to prevent the primary strategy from being rushing to these events at the last minute to have extra time for stat boosting.
• More vocal songs? I guess once we opened the gates with Forgotten Land we can expect one of these for every further retail game. Anywho, sounds fun but I can't pass judgement on the snippets in the video and I don't have Nintendo Music, so I guess I'm waiting.
• Shouldn't there be more stat boosts in the sky over Skyah if the game has gliding as a critical component? I guess too many would make flight dominant. Those green rings seem to provide way too much of a speed boost to stay under control.
• Being able to steal heavily damaged machines out from under opponents is funny.

I guess I should end on a character call? Grand Wheelie as a endgame unlockable machine or boss battle. He's a character who is a vehicle, of the same type as a group of vehicles already in the game. (This probably simplifies making animations.) The game is also probably obligated to have a stance changer, and Mr. Shine & Mr. Bright are old reccuring characters who can take such a gig. (Though Mr. Shine's design isn't exactly a great one for any angle that isn't side-on.)

 

[bugfacts]

Do non-Kirby characters get alternate color options or is it only an option for Kirby so that players can pick his special options? 45 minute deep dive and we don't even get to see the selection screen to understand something like this!

This was actually shown in the direct, there are several splash screens of characters post-selection screen where we can see them with alternate color palettes. They’re also visible on the website! Dark Meta Knight is one of them (scar and all) which is a nice touch, though he sadly also got the obligatory Smash Galacta Knight palette so hopes of GK making it in are probably nil. Dark Waddle Doo is a fun standout alternate palette.

Even as an option defaulting to off, losing a race from your machine getting destroyed feels out of tone. What is this, F-Zero?

I think this rules, haha. It’s great having toggle-able options that can so drastically change the feel of the game! Makes for a lot of variety in play experience.

I like the new machine designs, though our 45 minute deep dive didn't clarify what the gameplay ramifications of a Chariot are. Oops. Still, a worthy addition to the set.

This bothered me too!! I was like wait what’s the special property of the chariot LOL. He did say “it looks cool” so maybe that’s all it is. Shrug.

I guess four winged Meta Knight is going to be a thing now.

I actually didn’t catch this on my first watch but I really love it. I hope this makes it into the main games, it’s such a great dramatic look for him.

 

[Stray Cat]

Smash Galacta Knight

Is
Is there a difference between the gk in this game and his actual model?

 

[bugfacts]

Is
Is there a difference between the gk in this game and his actual model?

Unfortunately for my autistic ass, yes LOL v.v

Spoiler: Galacta Comparison

l‘d have to compare but I think this technically has more subtle tweaks than his Smash palette but neither game gives him his beautiful horns (or his Lance for that matter, but I’m personally always more sad to see the horns excluded.)

 

[Stray Cat]

Who knows maybe gk is gonna be pallete for the morpho knight secret boss

 

[bugfacts]

Who knows maybe gk is gonna be pallete for the morpho knight secret boss

PLEASE LOL

 

[Salmancer]

Actually, I just remembered this. Bomb's hat goes back to its pre-Return to Dream Land "blue version of Sword's hat" design. Why? It was the design that was in Kirby Air Ride, so the likely answer is that this is consistent with Kirby Air Ride 1, but it wasn't a deliberate style choice of Kirby Air Ride because Return to Dream Land's "party hat" design for Bomb didn't exist yet. I don't think Kirby Air Riders is meant to be a "throwback" game, it in no way looks like its meant to be old and Susie is probably too new for the game to maintain a retro feel. Aside from this being inconsistent with modern games, I think the Return to Dream Land hat is better for not being a recolor while also being a "blast" pun. With this in mind, I don't see a good reason to use the old Bomb hat.

Wheelies are back to the non-bike design from pre-Triple Deluxe, but that makes sense in a game where Wheelie Bike is a separate entity from the Wheelie enemy.