Kirby Air Riders Direct 2 review: twice as fast, twice as fun

When Nintendo promotes a major game, they usually give it a direct’s worth of time to give the playerbase what to expect with this game. Very rarely does a game get more than one, like Kirby Air Riders. But the game’s director, Masahiro Sakurai, was not done explaining his new game to the public. And he had a LOT to showcase for this second direct.

 

First up, it's the return of a mode from the first game called Top Ride. Top Ride is a birds-eye view race where it looks like you're eyeing the entire race from above. This time, you can have up to 8 players on one race, unlike the 4 from the original game on GameCube, with both computer players and actual people playing. It controls both the same and differently, given the new point of view, but the way you control your character is unchanged. All the same gimmicks and tricks are here in this mode. You can even change the view if you want a zoomed-in experience, or fully zoomed out to see the entire track, perfect for multiplayer mode. They even showed off the tracks that will be used for this mode, like Flower, Flow, Air, Crystal, Steam, and Mountain. Even new items exclusive to this mode got revealed, like Kaboomb, Drift Flames, Drill Driver, Seeker Missile, Course Quaker, and Chickie, each with their different powers and advantages.

 

On top of that, we have some information about split-screen experiences for those sharing a single Switch 2. There are horizontal and vertical modes for two players, and up to 4 players can play at the same time. They even confirmed that Joy Con 1 controllers, Pro controllers, and even Gamecube controllers for the game.  

 

Sakruai then announced a new mode for the game called Road Trip, and it functions like classic mode from the Super Smash Bros series. You set out on a road trip, and you see a few quests to do that involve your growing driving skills. There are up to 3 quests per round, but you can pick which one you want to do. And these quests range from normal racing mode, the recently revealed Top Ride mode, and City Trial mode. At some point during this mode, you face shops that let you change your vehicle, grant new stat bonuses, or even gain power-ups for the quests ahead, and even gain allies that determine where you go next. But be careful of the mysterious new rider. 

 

Up next, we have the online functions of the game, complete with making a license that lets others see how good you are, complete with full creativity of the license, including glitter, stickers, and nicknames. Next, you are then welcomed into the Paddock, which acts as a central hub for your online races. There’s alot of cosmetic goodies that give the place a good look, including animating different runs and jumping animations of each character. You can even wave at your friends and interact as well, like changing the music in the area. 

 

We are then given a showcase of even more copy abilities that can be used in-game. These abilities include Needle, Freeze, Sleep, Fighter, Drill, Flash, and Missile. 

 

Back to the online portion, we are then introduced to the class feature of your license and the Global Win Power that comes with it. Global Win Power showcases how many people you outrank online, but it is alot different than the Global Smash Power from the Super Smash Bros series. It calculates your total number of wins, instead of saying your strength or win percentage. For class, there's a different showcase for your class. It’s based on the seven colors of the rainbow instead of a letter, but they showcase a specific type of mode instead of being all together.

 

Next, we are then shown even more stages of the game. The courses we are then shown include Airtopia Ruins, Crystalline Fissure, Steamgust Forge, and a mysterious course with no name or description. Sakurai even stated that all of the original courses of the first game are coming back for Kirby Air Riders. The returning courses include Fantasy Meadows, Celestial Valley, Sky Sands, Frozen Hillside, Magma Flows, Beanstalk Park, Machine Passage, Checker Knights, and Nebula Belt. Adding these 9 returning courses to the game joins the 9 new ones coming in the new game, granting the player the ability to choose between 18 courses now, now with bonus speeds, which makes time trial alot more interesting now. Some of these courses are available from the start, but the rest of them you need to unlock by doing different missions in the game.

 

There’s a fun little mode that was just announced, which lets you swap between machines mid-race, called Swap Relay. One of the main features of this mode is that you can swap machines in the middle of the race, causing you to change your tactics every time you go through that checkered flag.

 

Next, we got an even more detailed look at City Trial, arguably one of the game’s most anticipated modes. We are then first introduced to more items that can be used for this mode, such as Speed Up, Dizzy Beam, Special Up, Item Catcher, Fireworks, Laser Sweeper, Multi Missile, Size Up, and Mega Cannon, which can destroy even the terrain of the land. These items can be found all over City Trial, which grants you advantages over the other players. There’s even a chance you might run into your old friend, the Sandbag from the Super Smash Bros series. 

 

The legendary machines from the first game, the Dragoon and the Hydra, both make their return in this mode, which everyone is gonna keep their eyes on when the pieces start coming on the map. 

 

And for the first time, there are even Team Battles that can be played in City Trial, which splits the players into two different teams, creating an 8v8 battle royale. They even let your team share in collecting the legendary machine parts, but the one who gets the last piece gets the machine. With Team battles, you can have an even better chance of victory in the final stadiums. Plus, there's a hidden island off in the distance, which could be a challenge to get to. 

 

Then, Sakurai shows off even more to City Trial by showcasing even more locations to go to. These areas include Highlands, Building Interior, Marooned Ship, Volcano, Mysterious Dimension, Floating Garden, and Spider Nest. 

 

Next up, Sakruai then gives us a showcase of some new Riders who are joining the game. These include Taranza from Triple Deluxe, Lololo and Lalala from Kirby’s Dream Land, Daroach from Squeak Squad, Rocky, Rick from Kirby’s Dream Land 2, Scarfy, Marx from Kirby Super Star, a generic Waddle Dee, and many others that can be unlocked in-game.

 

Sakurai also showed off a unique machine that transforms from Star mode to Bike mode, appropriately named the Transform Star. Perform a quick spin and the machine transforms, perfect for changing up your styles on a moment’s notice. After that, even more machines were shown off. These machines include Formula Star, Hop Star, Jet Star, Wheelie Scooter, and Bull Tank. 

 

Afterwards, Sakurai then went over the voices used for the game’s announcer. They can be changed from many different languages, with each language having masculine and feminine voices to boot. Some of these languages include English, Japanese, French, German, Spanish (both Spain and Latin America), and many others. 

 

Sakurai then took the time to explain Time Attack, which is a solo race that you can do to see how fast you can traverse the course. They won't have any online rankings, so feel free to set your own records. There’s even a ghost system that can be used to try to race against a previous lap set by yourself, giving you a bit of a challenge to overcome. There are even different times based on what machine you end up using. 

 

City Trial is getting a free run mode as well, which lets you explore the map at your own pace. You can even swap machines at will with an underground parking lot, so it’s best to get some practice in. They even showcased a brand new machine for this mode, called Flight Warp Star. This machine lets you fly as much as you want, and it can even leave a contrail, perfect for drawing what you want in the sky. 

 

They even showed off photo mode for all modes, perfect for snapping that perfect pic while riding on your machine.

 

Sakurai then showed off even more events for City Trial, including a bunch of rare boxes appearing, but some are fakes. Other events include a locked treasure chest, Grand Wheelie’s as bosses, reward rings appearing for more bonuses, giant Gordos falling from the sky, everyone rides in UFOs, the legendary machines appearing on the map, and the Halberd appearing and attacking the city.

 

The stadiums for this mode can also be played on their own, giving players a chance to play them on an even field. You can customize certain options to get the best experience possible, almost as if you’re playing a few rounds of Super Smash Bros. Some of these stadiums include Button Rush, High Jump, Big Battle, Oval Circuit, Rail Panic, and Beam Gauntlet.

 

The last Stadium that’s in the game is the most unique of the bunch: VS Boss. This is where you and a few others team up to take down a giant boss that is terrorizing the players. One of these bosses that you can fight is a giant Robo Dedede that can transform into a vehicular mode for extra speed. Fighting this thing can’t be done alone, so you and other players team up to fight a common enemy. Robo Dedede isn’t the only boss you’ll face. Some of the other bosses you can face include Nightmare, 02, and many others. 

 

Like any good game made by Sakurai, there’s a checklist that can be used to unlock new items if you do certain tasks. There are 5 different checklists for the game, each one focusing on a specific aspect of gameplay: Air Ride, Top Ride, City Trial, Road Trip, and Online. Each checklist forms an even bigger picture in the back, so get to playing! Sakurai even stated that there are no big rewards in the Online tab, like Riders and Machines, so you don’t have to do it if you want. You can even jump right into the game from the Checklist menu, so you can unlock faster. Plus, if you unlock multiples of the same character, you get to have alternate costumes for them. The same goes for the machines, as you can actually customize them. 

 

Sakurai then went to showcase some more special moves from some of the riders. These specials include Golden Waddle Dee for Waddle Dee, Mock Dark Matter for Gooey, Meteor Rocky for Rocky, Knuckle Rush for Knuckle Joe, Rip Roaring Rick for Rick, and True-Form Marx for Marx. 

 

Back at the Machines, Sakurai then shows off a new feature that lets you customize your machine, appropriately named My Machine. This mode lets you decorate any machine you want to give it a new color scheme, new decals, bonus attachments, and more, giving it a personal touch when playing the game. The possibilities are endless for how you can decorate your machines. 

 

You can even show off your customized rides in the Machine Market, where you can buy other people's machines, and sell yours as well, all using in-game currency you earn just by playing the game. The more of your machine that sells, the more expensive it'll be later on.

 

And just like the machines, you can even decorate the Riders as well using unique headware that’s not tied to copy abilities. Some of these hats include a red cap, a crown, a silk hat, a ribbon, an onigiri, sunglasses, bull horns, a floral pin, a topknot, and many, many more. Everyone can have hats, so feel free to customize as much as you want.

 

To get these headgear and the custom machines, you need to save up the game’s currency, known as Miles. The more you play, the more Miles you can earn. Plus, all of these customizations are cosmetic, so they don’t help you with racing. 

 

Sakurai then showed off a weird new type of collectible known as Gummies. These Gummies are in the form of various machines from the game. How to collect them is by beating people in online races. The higher the place, the more gummies you get to earn. You can even earn these offline as well, so there's no pressure. What you do with the gummies, though, is honestly pretty fun. You just throw them around, playing with your food. It’s all up to you.

 

There’s even a Garage you can visit to check out your machines. With different backgrounds, it’s something to do when you’re between modes. You can even show off your stuff in the online lobby as well. 

 

Turning towards the music of the game, Sakurai confirmed that the composers of this game are Shogo Sakai, who composed the first Kirby Air Ride game, and Noriyuki Iwadare, who's new to the franchise, but had his hand in working on alot of the songs for the game, including the main theme. There’s even an option to customize what songs are going to be played for City Trial, similar to the music options for Super Smash Bros. Some of these songs can be listened to right now on Nintendo Music. 

 

Sakurai then also touched up a bit on the main menu, which has the aesthetic of a desk. Featuring paper, pens, clipboards, and even little figurines that act as your cursor. Sakurai also went over the different control options for the game, all customizable to the user’s experience. 

 

And speaking of figurines, Sakurai then revealed 3 more amiibo for the game, following Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee from a previous direct. The new three include Meta Knight, King Dedede, and Chef Kawasaki, all complete with different machines that can be swapped out. They can be put into the game as Figure Players, shortened to FC, as they learn over time. The amiibo can also swap the figurine in the main menu with your own, complete with a different rider and machine.

 

At the end of the presentation, Sakurai began talking about the game's story, with an opening presentation by voice actor Todd Haberkorn. It showcases where the machines came from and the mysterious threats on the horizon. I won't spoil much more to give the readers a surprising experience. Sakurai then revealed one last surprise: this game will not get future updates with free stuff or paid DLC, making this game the complete package. 

 

In conclusion, this was one of the most in-depth looks at a video game that a singular-focused Nintendo Direct has ever done. Every little thing has been explained and showcased, thus garnering hype for the upcoming long-awaited sequel. Everything is up to fan expectations, and it’s sure to be a system seller when the game launches on November 20th, 2025.

9/10