Nintendo Direct Drops Kirby Air Riders Bombshell—City Trial, New Riders, and Online Mayhem! The Switch 2 release hits November 20—don’t miss it.
Nintendo directly dropped only one brand-new Kirby Air Riders, and it was packed with a wild vehicle battle, fan-worried characters, and the entire pink puffball meme. Sports director Mashahiro Sakurai took to the stage to walk the fans through everything to come when the game was launched on November 20 for Nintendo Switch 2. If you think Kirby Air Ride was an explosion in 2003 on the GameCube, it was originally a supercharged experience—large, sharp, and stuffed with new features. Dive into highlights from the presentation.
Frenetic Fun Across Land, Sea, and Air
Kirby Air Ride isn’t just a race—it’s full-blown chaos across crazy tracks, wild arenas, and even floating islands. You’ll pick from a lineup of riders, each with unique strengths, weaknesses, and special moves, then hop onto customizable Air Ride machines that do more than just go fast.
The best part? The game keeps that “easy to learn, tough to master” feel. Machines move forward automatically, so beginners can hop right in. But once you start mastering drifting, boost dashes, and combining specials, the speed and strategy get intense.
Mastering the Ride
Riding Techniques: All machines hover and auto-accelerate, so you just tilt the stick left or right to steer.
Boost Charge: Slam the B button to brake and charge up, then release for a powerful Boost Dash. Time it right and you can drift around corners like a pro.
Specials: Every rider has a special move, activated with the Y button once your gauge is full. Kirby gets four different ones (because, well, he’s Kirby).
Mix in moves like Quick Spin (flicking the control stick), and you’ve got a game where attacks and racing are equally important.
Riders lineup
This time, it is not just Kirbi. You will have to play as Meta Knight, King Dedede, Bandana Waddle Dee, and even classic enemies such as Kaipuri, Starman, and Chef Kawasaki. The weight, durability, and attack of each rider affect how their machines perform.
And here is the twist—you can mix and match some unexpected (and cheerful) combos and match the machines.
Machine
Air ride machines are not just about speed. They can:
Glide through the wind after the ramp.
Grind the rail and flow.
Take different amounts of damage depending on the build.
After a jump, land completely, and you will also get an additional burst of speed.
Return of copy capabilities
Like the main Kirby games, you can breathe in enemies and snatch their powers to snatch middle matches. This means additional attacks, special boosts, and yet another layer of unpredictability.
Game Modes
City Trial (Main Program)
This fan-pandida mode is more back and larger than ever. Now set on a huge temporary island called Skyh, you:
Scavenge power-ups.
Knock riders off their machines.
Upgrade your ride over five minutes of pure chaos.
Then all this ends in the performance of a stadium, where the machine you have built is closed in the final challenge.
Random events also shook things—from short sprints to Craco and Diana Blade.
Air-riding genre
The classic racing mode returns, with six players zooming on the finish line. You gain momentum by attacking opponents and riding the star trails they leave behind.
Lesson
Need practice? The lesson mode teaches the basics and advanced tricks, so you are ready to handle madness.
Multiplayer destruction
Kirby Air Riders supports 8 players locally and 16 players online. You can also use GameChat to talk with friends through video or voice when you spin your way to race, fight, and victory.
Why Kirby Air Ride can be a sleeper hit
With a mixture of rapid racing, chaotic battle, strategic riders, and fan-service characters, it seems to be more than just a Kirby spinoff. Sakurai wants both of them to be indifferent to fans for a long time and accept new players.
And with the calendar revolving on 20 November, Nintendo Switch 2 owners have another reason to be hypnotized.