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It could be easy to draw similarities between the brand new Kirby Air Riders Nintendo Switch 2 game and Mario Kart, but if you check under the hood, then you'll find it isn't really a typical racing game at all. Instead, it's all about the fast, frantic, and furious vehicle combat, making it more akin to Smash Bros. on wheels.
The first thing you need to know is Masahiro Sakurai is the game director of Kirby Air Riders – a name Nintendo fans may be familiar with, as he is the creator of Super Smash Bros.! Naturally when you create such an iconic franchise, some of your influences will inevitably seep into your other games, and, as Kirby Air Riders is a Sakurai game at its core, there's no surprise that it feels more like Smash Bros. than Mario Kart.
To get started, you have an extensive roster of riders to pick from (including fan-favorite hamster Rick), and they all have vastly different abilities and play styles. The machines you drive around in can also be considered characters in their own right as they have unique abilities available, which means you have an almost endless supply of combinations to try out. So, as in Smash Bros., the key is to find the rider and machine that works best for you in each game mode and scenario.
Kirby heads to the City
While there are classic race modes such as Air Ride and Road Trip, what really sets Kirby Air Riders apart from its racing brethren is the combat-based City Trial mode. With up to 16 players competing online, and as many as 12 friends talking on GameChat, you create chaos around the island of Skyah in this epic mode that is split into two parts – Free Ride and Stadium Event.
It's hard not to think of selecting your rider and machine in the same way as picking your preferred fighter in Smash Bros.
Beginning in Free Ride, you have five minutes to drive around collecting power-ups to increase your machine's stats and become as powerful as possible. You can get these power-ups by finding them across the island, smashing boxes, or attacking opponents to steal them. You may find different machines to swap into if they better suit your play style, while still retaining all of your stats, and you'll also encounter Random Events such as boss battles to take on and win even stronger power-ups.
Once the time is up, all players head to the Stadium with their final powered-up machines to take on the finale. The Stadium challenges are randomly selected from several options, with players then able to choose which one to play based on their machine stats. There are options such as a classic Drag Race, or Air Glider, which sees players launching off the jump ramp to fly as far as they can. Others include Target Flight, which involves hitting score panels to earn points, Skydive, where you dive through rings while boosting to aim for a high score, and Gourmet Race, where you must gobble up as much of the feast as you can – yum!
However, it's the Kirby Melee and Dustup Derby challenges that present the ultimate battle playgrounds, and these are where describing Kirby Air Riders as Smash Bros. on wheels makes most sense. In these two events your Copy Abilities and items will really help you, as you have a huge number of items at your disposal. Whether you're unleashing plasma blasts, or drilling into the ground then popping up to launch a stealth attack, the wide variety of abilities means no two battles are ever the same.
In fact, with so much variety available, it's hard not to think of selecting your rider and machine in the same way as picking your preferred fighter in Smash Bros. The whole vibe of Kirby Air Riders is so Smash Bros. that it can't be ignored, but it's a positive comparison that suits it well.
Kirby Air Riders is available now, exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2.
