Kirby, Kirby, Kirby—That's a name you should know, and it's one that has become synonymous with the Nintendo brand since the release of Kirby's Dream Land back in 1992. The little pink puffball and his friends have been a mainstay in pop culture and gaming for over thirty years, and, as such, have found themselves in plenty of crazy situations, including going head-to-head on a race track in Kirby Air Ride. This game came out on the GameCube in 2003. And now, over twenty years later, we are getting a long-awaited sequel—Kirby Air Riders.
On August 19th, Nintendo released a 45-minute Direct for the game; what to expect, what's changed, and what's stayed the same from the original. Presented by the game designer, Masahiro Sakurai, the original creator of Kirby, it was incredibly in-depth and also included a release date and teased a potential new villain. Here, I will be going over the more general points of the Direct, the noteworthy changes, and details that stood out to me, as someone who has been a longtime fan of the Kirby franchise and played the original game when I was younger. I will be linking the Direct at the end as well, if you're interested in getting all the details for yourself!
1. Riders, Machines, and Copy Abilities
In the original Kirby Air Ride, your Rider and Machine options were very limited in scope—You could play as Kirby in different colors, Meta Knight, and King Dedede. However, if you played as anyone other than Kirby, it left you limited in what you could do, since only Kirby could use copy abilities. Now, the roster has expanded far beyond that! Aside from the previous three, you can now play classic Kirby enemies like Waddle Doo, Knuckle Joe, and Cappy, and more well-known characters, like Magalor from Kirby's Return to Dream Land, and Susie from Kirby: Planet Robobot. Each one has its own in-depth stat system, making choosing how you want to play that much easier. Sakurai put a lot of emphasis on the Riders, saying they "focused on the individuality of each one," (Sakurai, 2025). You can feel that same sort of dedication in the Machines, with ones both old and new for you to choose from. The original had two types of Machines, Star and Bike Machines. They introduced two more in this Direct: Chariot and Tank. Throughout the Direct, Sakurai emphasized that this game utilizes a lot of strategy and planning when it comes to Riders and Machines, since some have stats that align better with others. The inclusion of new Machine types takes that idea and encourages the player to test out new combinations and try something they wouldn't have considered before. Copy abilities also make a return in this game, but now, everyone can use them! Not just Kirby! Once again, this doesn't deter players from playing other characters besides Kirby, but encourages them.
2. Gameplay and Controls
This game, surprisingly, is not being developed by HAL Laboratory, but rather by Bandai Namco and Sora Ltd, with the latter being Sakurai's own gaming developer. This team was also used to develop Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, so any concern about quality is easily reassured. The gameplay also looked incredible. An easy way of describing it is similar to Mario Kart if the car drove itself and was set to 200cc the entire time. The game only has three controls: the left stick, B, and Y. You don't have to hold down a button or hold forward to accelerate at all! Y is used for your Special Attack, but B is perhaps the most important button to remember. B controls the Boost Charge; hold it down, you'll break and begin to charge up, boosting in the direction you're facing upon release. It can also be used to drift around corners. As mentioned, this game also has an attack system, with some characters being able to attack automatically, like King Dedede with his hammer. Attacking is strongly encouraged, especially against enemies on the track. Defeating enemies will give you a speed boost, but attacking other Riders can sometimes help them. If you have Machine damage turned on, it gives the Rider a speed boost, allowing players to escape sticky situations. Another speed boosting ability is Slide Stars: a stream of stars left behind by Riders in front of you. If you follow the trail, it propels you forward, another tool giving players in the back an advantage. It's clear to see that this game's first and only thought is to go as fast as possible, bringing in another layer of strategy with how you want to get that speed and race ahead of the pack. While it is a lot to learn and understand, the game also has a Lessons page, letting you use it as a tutorial to better understand the game.
3. Game Modes and Multiplayer
We also got to take a look at two different game modes during this Direct. Air Ride and City Trial. Air Ride is the standard lap race mode, and it includes a maximum of six players. Sakurai mentioned that they could've made the player cap bigger, but decided against it, saying that six felt like the right balance for fighting for first place, (Sakurai, 2025). After watching the gameplay footage, I agree. Kirby Air Riders is already shaping up to be a chaotic time, and the tracks themselves look to be a bit more cramped compared to the vast maps of Mario Kart World. In this case, less is more. This game mode also has a settings menu, allowing you to change the rules of the race, like enabling Machine damage and changing the speed. City Trial is an exciting return from the original game, and what I was looking forward to the most, with Sakurai himself even calling it the main event, (Sakurai, 2025). In City Trial, you have five minutes to drive around the map to collect as many power-ups as possible before competing in Stadiums, events that put you head-to-head against other players to compete for first place. This game mode can support up to sixteen players, either online or against CPU, with eight being the cap for local wireless play. There are also City Events that can occur during the five minutes. These also make a return from the previous game, and anything could happen. For example, a fight against Dyna Blade, a character from previous Kirby titles, giant Gordos falling from the sky, or a derby battle against other players. City Trial, unfortunately, only has one map: Skyah, a floating island in the sky. It might be our only option, but it is massive and free for us to fully explore, with grind rails around the edge of the island and different areas, from an urban district to a giant volcano. There is also plenty of planning that goes into City Trial as well, since your chance of winning lies in the Stadiums after the time is up. Each Stadium can focus on a different stat, like speed, damage, or gliding. You can vote for the Stadiums after seeing your stats, choosing one that works best for your Machine, or you could pick something else to sabotage the other Riders.
This Direct showed us more than I could have ever expected, and I barely scratched the surface of it all. It will be available on November 20th, 2025, for the Nintendo Switch 2, but it is available for pre-order right now on Nintendo's website for $69.99. Kirby Air Riders is a game that hits both a wellspring of nostalgia and an eagerness for something fresh and new from the Kirby franchise. I can't wait to play against everybody else in City Trial and see what else Sakurai has in store for us. With this being his first game back since developing Smash Bros. Ultimate, I'm happy to say it seems to be well worth the wait!