In the game we can find up to 21 characters from the Kirby universe, such as the well-known Knuckle Joe, Cappy, Starman, Rocky and Scarfy.
Mexico City, December 2 (However).- Talking about Nintendo’s most famous pink character usually means thinking about platform games or some fighting titles (which have been the most recent), however, in the now distant 2003, Kirby ventured into the racing genre, with Kirby Air Ride for the Nintendo GameCube, a title that made use of multiplayer and split screen in local mode, to offer a different experience, although similar to what a franchise like Mario Kart already proposed.
Now, more than 20 years later, Kirby once again ventures into the genre, but in a revolutionary way that provides one of the freshest and most fun experiences in racing games.
Game modes
The title offers us different game modes, such as Air Ride, which offers us the normal racing mode; a mode of competition for time; a free mode to run without pressure and seek to achieve the fastest laps; lastly, the online games.
On the other hand, we have Top Ride, where we have the same previous game modes, but in much smaller settings and with a view from above, giving incredible dynamism to the races, being shorter, faster and more chaotic; In addition, we have the City Trial mode, where we can carry out different time challenges, defeat enemies, go through objectives and so on, in order to complete it; We could see it as the arcade mode of the game. Finally we have the Road Trip mode, which is basically the story mode of the game that will take us through different scenarios, races and missions, where we can choose between four different characters, Kirby, Meta Knight, King Dedede and Waddle Dee.
Each game mode is different from each other and seeks to offer a varied experience, from normal races to challenging ourselves with controls and actions, these work great as an introduction to the game.
An incredible exception
The true essence of the title lies in its playability, and it is that, unlike many or all of the racing titles that we currently know, where we have a button to accelerate, one to brake and depending on the type of game, another to throw objects, or not, it could make us think that this title would not be the exception regarding commands that have existed for many years, however, Kirby Air Riders has been an incredible exception that has experienced in a great way.
The commands in the title are very different, first of all, we are always in constant movement, we do not have a button as such to accelerate, but we do have one that gives us a boost at a certain moment, to use it we have to stop completely or use it in a curve, as well as, we can take a boost to glide through the air, the title also asks us to land in a correct way to earn a small boost, – something that is not so easy – and the challenge it represents makes it fun.
Of course, being a Kirby title, we couldn’t miss the character’s most emblematic action: absorbing, and we can do this on each track, absorbing enemies that we see along the way and throwing them at other players, as well as some enemies giving us their powers. As if that were not enough, after defeating several enemies, our special bar will charge and allow us to perform an attack in pure Super Smash Bros. style and that is wonderful.
a surprise
On the character side, we can find up to 21 characters from the Kirby universe, in addition to those we mentioned previously, we can also see well-known faces from the video game or animated series, such as Knuckle Joe, Cappy, Starman, Rocky, Scarfy, among many others, in addition to having emblematic settings from Dream Land. The title is full of color and life, in true Kirby style.
Kirby Air Riders It is a huge surprise, fun, original and full of fun, without a doubt, it is one of the best Kirby titles and one of the best games available on both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.