Kirby Air Ride (Game)

Kirby Air Ride

GAME » on October 13, 2003

Kirby Air Ride is a high-speed, simple racing game starring HAL's flagship pink puffball.

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Overview

Kirby's Air Ride is a kart racer starring the puffy, pink hero, Kirby. The game is notable for its simplistic control scheme that only uses the analog stick for direction and one button on the GameCube controller for decelerating and using power ups. Unlike most other driving games, acceleration occurs regardless of player input. The game is primarily intended to be played with multiple people, as there are no dedicated career mode

Game Modes

Air Ride

Race to the Finish on one of several courses. Kirby can utilize boost pads, triggers, copy abilities and more to gain an advantage. Free Run mode also acts as a Time Trial mode that allows to set records.

Top Ride

This mode plays the most differently compared to the other two which the various tracks only fill a single screen (reminiscent of Super Off Road (Game)) Kirby has access to only two vehicles in this mode; the free star (where Kirby can be pointed in the direction the player wants him to go) and the steer star (which has relative controls).

City Trial

Players have a limited time to traverse a city, collecting stat-building power-ups to be used against other players in various mini-games after the allotted time limit expires. Kirby starts in the Compact Star which has lower stats. By holding the action button and down on the control stick, Kirby can dismount his Air Ride in order to board another one. However he won't be able to obtain any power-ups while not riding a vehicle. Playing in Free Run mode allows Kirby to use any unlocked vehicle.

LAN Play

Four players playing in system link mode.

This game is one of the few titles compatible with the Broadband Adapter. Up to four systems can be linked together. When two systems are linked, up to two players can play on one system, however when playing with three or more systems, only one player per console can play. Any unlocked content located on the memory card can be used for LAN play. Only Air Ride and City Trial modes are playable with most of the customizable options available.

Checklist

The game also features several unlockables that become available via an achievement system labeled as the Checklist. This consists of a board with several panels that turn around only when certain conditions have been met. Some challenges will also reward additional vehicles, characters, songs in the Sound Test and more. Revealing purple spaces also allows Kirby to clear a challenge without actually having to fulfill its normal requirements. Not all challenges can be unlocked through this method however. This system would later appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Kid Icarus: Uprising (Game).

Air Ride Machines

Machine Name	Descriptor	Game Modes
Free Star	Machine will steer based on the control stick's direction.	Top
Steer Star	Machine can be steered left or right.	Top
Compact Star	Slower, but easy to control. Starter for City Trial	City
Warpstar	All-round type of vehicle	Air, City
Rocket Star	Grants a strong speed boost after 100% charge	Air, City
Winged Star	Goes faster in the air	Air, City
Shadow Star	Attacks the strongest	Air, City
Wagon Star	Unable to charge for boosts.	Air, City
Swerve Star	Can only steer while charging (Which immediately stops the vehicle)	Air, City
Slick Star	Has slippery handling	Air, City
Turbo Star	Very fast, tough steering	Air, City
Formula Star	Best top speed	Air, City
Bulk Star	Moves after charging, very strong.	Air, City
Jet Star	Moves faster while in the air	Air, City
Wheelie Bike	Control is unorthodox.	Air, City
Rex Wheelie	Very fast if it can be kept under control.	Air, City
Wheelie Scooter	High jumper, can quick turn	Air, City
King DeDeDe	Always has hammer ability, great power.	Air, City
Meta Knight	Always has sword ability, great at flying	Air, City
Flight Warpstar	Has upgraded gliding capabilities	Air, City
Hydra	Legendary machine, has extra battle power. Must be assembled in City mode.	City
Dragoon	Can stay in the air for as long as possible. Must be assembled in City mode.	City

Courses

Course Name	Description	Game Modes
Fantasy Meadows	Air, City
Celestial Valley	Air, City
Sky Sands	Air, City
Frozen Hillside	Air, City
Magma Flows	Air, City
Beanstalk Park	Air, City
Machine Passage	Air, City
Checker Knights	Air, City
Nebula Belt	Air, City
Grass	Top
Sand	Top
Sky	Top
Fire	Top
Light	Top
Water	Top
Metal	Top
City	City

Copy Abilities

Defeating enemies with the different copy abilities allows Kirby to gain a speed boost. He can attack rival racers to slow them down.

Ability	Description
Sword	Run into enemies to attack
Plasma	Tap the control stick to charge, press Action to fire
Wing	Gain a speed boost
Wheel	Obtain better flying abilities
Sleep	Wiggle the control stick to regain control.
Bomb	Hold the action button to throw a bomb farther. This also causes Kirby to break however.
Needle	Attack enemies around Kirby.
Microphone	Immediate use, has greater area of damage

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