In case you somehow missed Tuesday’s Kirby Air Riders Nintendo Direct, have no fear. You can rectify the oversight here.
Kirby Air Riders is set to release on the Nintendo Switch 2 on November 20. The new title comes 22 years after the launch of the original Kirby Air Ride on the GameCube.
Nintendo shared almost 50 minutes of content for Kirby Air Riders during the livestream on Tuesday, August 19, including a breakdown of new features, returning modes and characters by the legendary game director Masahiro Sakurai. Sakurai is the creator of the Kirby series as well as the Super Smash Bros. series.
You can watch the full direct here:
Seasoned players will see the return of the City Trial mode, which Sakurai described as “the main event.” The returning game mode is coming back with expanded time and “enhanced with more room to explore.”
Sakurai also revealed that other returning game modes returning with updates include the Air Ride Mode and Lessons.
Nintendo also shared a succinct roundup of Sakurai’s feature and gameplay highlights for Kirby Air Riders:
- Riding Techniques: Each Air Ride machine, or “machine” for short, has different forms and traits. They usually hover above the ground and move forward automatically – no need to press any buttons or tilt the left Joy-Con 2 control stick forward to accelerate. Use the left stick to change direction by tilting it left or right. So, what do the buttons do?
- Boost Charge: By pressing the B Button, your machine will hit the ground, and you’ll start a Boost Charge and brake. Releasing the button activates a Boost Dash. As Mr. Sakurai explained, this is more than just a speed boost – by tilting the left stick and holding the Boost Charge button through sharp corners, you can perform drift maneuvers, which help you gain even more of a speed advantage.
- Specials: It takes more than speed and deft maneuvering to get ahead of the competition, however. The Y Button is your “Special button,” and it activates your character’s unique Special move. Attack your rival riders and enemies to fill up your Special Gauge and, once full, unleash your Special! While most characters have one distinct Special, Kirby has four different Special moves – one for each color Kirby you can play as. Combine certain Specials with attack techniques like Quick Spin, which is activated by wiggling the control stick, and you’ll be on your way to victory!
- Riders: Kirby Air Riders adds a strategic element to its mayhem by adding more importance to your choice of rider. Each rider in the game has their own unique traits which can impact their machine’s performance, including weight, durability, Specials, close range attacks and more. These factors can either give them an advantage or cause more unpredictability during the action depending on the environment you’re in. In fact, this is why Air Ride mode has you select your course first, then the rider and machine you want to use. In addition to the well-balanced pink puff, your roster of riders includes familiar faces from the world of Kirby, like Meta Knight, King Dedede, Bandana Waddle Dee, as well as enemies in the Kirby series like Cappy, Chef Kawasaki, Starman and … well, you’ll just have to play and see who else shows up, won’t you? And to keep you moving forward and keep your opponents on their toes, Kirby Air Riders also lets you mix and match riders and machines.
- Machines: Air Ride machines are built for more than just speed! Each machine, like the riders, can even sustain different amounts of damage. Most machines will also glide through the air if you jump from a ramp or other structure, and you can control your machine by tilting the left stick up or down to ascend or descend. Make a perfect landing and you’ll be rewarded with more speed. You can also perform rail grinds, drifts and other maneuvers.
- Copy Abilities: To level the playing field, Kirby Air Riders gives all the riders the ability to inhale or capture to copy an enemy’s abilities. Use these newly acquired abilities to temporarily gain additional ways to attack or increase your speed.
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