Kirby Air Riders

Kirby Air Riders was provided by Nintendo for review. Thank you!

After more than two decades of fan wishes, message-board myths, and “please Nintendo, I’m begging you” social media campaigns, the impossible finally happened: Kirby Air Riders has arrived on the Switch 2. What’s most impressive isn’t just that the sequel exists, it’s that it actually understands what made the original so adored. This is a racing game that embraces chaos, snappy accessibility, and pure Nintendo whimsy, all polished with modern hardware and stuffed with new ideas. Kirby’s return to the racetrack feels both familiar and completely revitalised.

The biggest relief is that Air Riders hasn’t abandoned the wonderfully strange design philosophy of the original. Races still rely on automatic acceleration, a single drift-and-inhale button, and an emphasis on momentum over micromanaged controls. It takes seconds to learn, but there’s a surprising amount of nuance hiding beneath the pastel colours and cheery music. Machines handle with far more personality this time around; some glide like sparks on glass, while others barrel forward like missiles held together with chewing gum and optimism. The physics feel weightier and more reactive thanks to the Switch 2’s hardware, making every drift snap satisfyingly, and every high-speed glide feel earned.

What really elevates the gameplay is how power-ups, abilities, and machine specialisations all interact with this simple control scheme. A perfectly timed Sword slash into a boosted drift feels just as exhilarating as chaining glides across rooftop updrafts, and Air Riders absolutely manages to make a one-button racer feel skilful again, which, somehow, might be its most significant achievement.

City Trial remains the mode that draws players in and refuses to let go. The new city is massive, bustling, and full of personality. Different districts feel like they belong to entirely different games; neon-soaked plazas, fog-drenched forests, towering mechanical alleyways, and airy sky platforms all blend into a single interconnected map. The city feels alive, not just as a backdrop but as a toybox that reacts to your presence. Trains slam through intersections, storms roll across rooftops, and the weather can flip from serene to catastrophic in a blink.

Events erupt across the city with a flair that wasn’t possible on the GameCube. Meteors carve new holes into the streets. Tornado outbreaks turn the map into a blender. Giant statues come to life and barrel across roads, sending players flying. And when the final challenge appears, whether it’s a drag race, high jump contest, or demolition battle, your build suddenly matters in the funniest, most unpredictable ways. No matter how calmly you try to prepare, City Trial always finds a way to knock the wheels out from under your plans. It is still one of Nintendo’s most unique and entertaining ideas, and this new version is easily the mode’s definitive form.

The brand-new Arena Riders mode gives Kirby’s combat mechanics a fresh stage. Instead of relying on collisions and incidental attacks, battles now unfold in compact arenas full of environmental traps, shifting hazards, and small-scale objectives. Some rounds are straightforward brawls. Others throw waves of enemies at you, or drop bosses like Kracko and Landia into the fray for wild multi-target melees. Team-based rounds add tactical twists, turning what could’ve been a simple bonus mode into a surprisingly robust second half of the game. It’s chaotic, but in a more structured, competitive way than City Trial, perfect for players who want mayhem with just a hint of order.

One of the most unexpected inclusions is the fully developed "story mode", whereby a narrator guides you through a lightweight but charming adventure across Dream Land, complete with cinematic cutscenes and themed challenges that introduce newcomers to the game’s mechanics. It’s playful and breezy, with a few genuinely clever twists, and it reinforces how much personality HAL has packed into this sequel. It's very reminiscent of Super Smash Bros. Brawl's "Supspace Emissary" story, for better or worse.

Simply put, Air Riders is gorgeous. Kirby has always thrived in soft colours and cheerful vibrancy, but the Switch 2’s horsepower makes everything feel richer and more dynamic. Lighting shimmers across metal rooftops, forests sway with subtle wind physics, and gliding through particle-filled updrafts looks almost painterly. Performance is excellent too, offering near-perfect stability, regardless of whatever the pink puff et al. may be throwing and/or swallowing.

The soundtrack is equally impressive, blending remastered classics from the GameCube entry with a set of new tracks that are somehow both whimsical and surprisingly intense. Several themes lodge themselves in your memory after a single race, in true Kirby fashion. There's enough here to truly satisfy every Kirby fan, with each catchy melody managing to stay long overdue any reasonable iota of time in your head.

Longtime fans will be delighted to find the iconic achievement-style checklist back in full force. Each mode has its own massive grid of challenges, unlocking machines, cosmetics, music tracks, and alternate ability variants. It’s as addictive as ever, feeding that “just one more round” loop until you suddenly realise it’s 2 am and you’ve been trying to complete a High Jump challenge for an hour.

結論

Kirby Air Riders is the kind of sequel that feels impossible: a game that completely respects the original’s spirit while expanding it into something bigger, bolder, and more polished. It’s accessible without being shallow, chaotic without being frustrating, and packed with enough content to keep fans playing for months. Whether you love the silliness, the speed, the competition, or the sheer unpredictability, this is easily one of the Switch 2’s standout titles.

このレビューはNintendo Switch 2版に基づいています。

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