News

Kirby Air Riders Switch 2 Game's Video Reveals Top Ride, Road Trip, Swap Relay, Team Battle Modes

Nintendo's Direct livestream on Thursday for Super Smash Bros. game director and Kirby creator Masahiro Sakurai's Kirby Air Riders sequel game revealed the return of Top Ride as well as new Road Trip, Swap Relay, and Team Battle modes. The livestream also revealed My Machines, single-player modes, online features, composers, new amiibo, an upcoming global demo on November 8-9, 15-16, and the opening movie, which features the story behind the Road Trip mode:

Top Ride is a top-down racing mode with its own versions of courses and items. In this mode, everyone plays on the same screen. Road Trip combines the game's main three modes. Players travel from stage to stage, taking on a variety of challenges based on the other modes. They can encounter characters from throughout the series on their routes. In Swap Relay, players switch their vehicles after every lap. Team Battles splits the riders into groups in the game's City Trial mode. There is also single-player Time Attack and Free Run.

Players can decorate custom "My Machines" using decals and parts from a Machine Market using in-game Miles currency. Gummies are another collectible earned through races, representing vehicles from opponents. Characters can also equip various headwear.

The game supports online play and up to 8-player local wireless. Players can decorate their License profile cards for online use. Licenses display a Global Win Power that reflects how many other opponents the player has beaten, as well as a Class that categorizes players based on skill level. The Paddock provides an online hub, in which players can set up games or greet others.

Shogo Sakai (Kirby Air Ride) and Noriyuki Iwadare (Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations) are composing the music. Iwadare composed the main theme song Starlit Journey."

The stream also revealed more new amiibo: Meta Knight & Shadow Star on March 5, King Dedede & Tank Star in 2026, and Chef Kawasaki & Hop Star in 2026. Kirby & Warp Star and Bandana Waddle Dee & Winged Star were previously announced for release alongside the game. The amiibo are bigger than average, and the characters and their machines are interchangeable.

Unlike the original GameCube game, Kirby Air Riders features multiple playable riders from throughout the Kirby franchise: Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight, Bandana Waddle Dee, Waddle Dee, Chef Kawasaki, Cappy, Magolor, Gooey, Waddle Doo, Knuckle Joe, Susie, Starman, Taranza, Lololo & Lalala, Daroach, Rocky, Rick, Scarfy, and Marx. Each of the characters has their own special moves, except for Kirby, who has four. Any character can utilize copy abilities, including Fire, Sword, Cutter, Bomb, Wheel, Mike, Cutter, Jet, Steel Ball, and Plasma. All characters can ride a variety of machines, such as the Warp Star, Winged Star, Wagon Starm Wheelie Bike, and Battle Chariot. The machines may change depending on the rider.

The main modes are Air Ride, and City Trial, and Top Ride. In Air Ride, up to six riders race against each other on various courses like Floria Fields, Cavernous Corners, Cyberion Highway, and Mount Amberfalls. Courses from the GameCube game also return.

In City Trial, up to 16 players freely roam around on a giant floating island named Skyah that has multiple different biomes within. Each player starts with a Compact Star with the goal of finding better machines and powering up within a 5-minute time limit. During this time, events can occur such as the appearance of Dynablade or Kracko. After five minutes, the players engage in one final Stadium activity using the machines and stats they have acquired. Stadium events include Gourmet Race, Kirby Melee, Air Glider, Drag Race, Target Flight, Dustup Derby, Skydive, and boss battles. Unlike the original game, the 16 participants can choose which event they would like to play between four choices. The Stadium events are playable separately.

Bandai Namco is developing the game. Sakurai previously collaborated with Bandai Namco for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Wii U/3DS and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

The game is a sequel to the 2003 Kirby Air Ride racing game for Nintendo GameCube. The game used only the A button and control stick. In comparison, the sequel uses the control stick and two buttons: the Y button for specials and the B button for nearly everything else.

Sakurai teased in a 46-minute finale special for his YouTube channel about game development in October 2024 that he had received a request to write a game proposal in July 2021, which he had finished at lightning speed. He was able to move forward with production with a target timeframe starting April 2022, but he needed time to assemble a team. Thus, he started planning his YouTube channel about game development during that time. He stated that assuming he is able to get the game made, it should be announced "sooner or later."

Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World, the Switch 2 edition of its Kirby and the Forgotten Land game, launched on August 28. Nintendo released the original game for Switch in March 2022.

Source: Kirby Air Riders Direct stream