During last weekend’s first Global Test Ride for Kirby Air Riders, a lot of people were in for a shock: this game is nothing like Mario Kart.
It never was, to be honest.
Kirby Air Ride, released for the Nintendo GameCube in 2003, became a cult classic not because of its “traditional” (and overly simplistic) racing mode, but because of its chaotic, over-the-top, quasi Battle Royale-style City Trial. There were some other gameplay modes that caught our attention back in the day, such as Top Ride, but City Trial was the star of the show.
Exploring through a giant city where we have to power up our vehicles, deal with random events, and prepare for a random mini-game was more fun than we ever could have thought. During a golden age of multiplayer games such as Super Smash Bros. Melee and Halo, my weekly after-school club couldn’t stop playing Kirby Air Ride.
Every trip down memory lane since the early 2000s showcased that this wasn’t a flash in the pan; City Trial was the right amount of strategy and chaos to remain fun all these years later. As we approach the release of Kirby Air Riders, we have the chance to not only re-live these glory days, but experience them bigger and better than ever.
After spending two weekends now with the Global Test Ride, I can safely say that Kirby Air Riders’ City Trial is a worthy successor to the original that expands on the chaos, randomness, and strategy that made the original so beloved.
Kirby Air Riders Proudly Wears Its Smash Bros. Inspiration
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that the more apt comparison for Kirby Air Riders is Super Smash Bros. instead of Mario Kart. After all, this is Masahiro Sakurai we’re talking about, the same mind behind both titles.
Both of his Kirby Air Riders Directs had the look and feel of those long-form Smash Directs. I don’t blame Nintendo for going down this route; I could watch Sakurai fold laundry for several hours and still be entertained. In reality, though, Kirby Air Riders’ City Trial has honestly felt a lot like Super Smash Bros.
Both are non-competitive, party-focused multiplayer games, filled with chaos, calamity, and countless moments that you can’t help but laugh at. Sometimes it’s from meteors falling from the sky. Other times it’s from the mayhem that is combat between your fifteen opponents and stealing their items. Or maybe it’s when you throw a bomb in the underground mall area that destroys everyone’s vehicles. It’s reminiscent of the randomness that exists within Smash Bros., and it’s something I am very much here for.
Kirby Air Riders feels like it retains the magic of the GameCube cult classic while expanding it with some much-needed improvements.
As chaotic as things are, there’s very much a method to the madness here, just like with Smash Bros. It helps, too, that you can now choose between four random mini-games instead of one after the City Trial is up, but even then, there’s a clear-cut goal: power up your vehicle as much as humanly possible.
Your ability to do this comes in all shapes and sizes; you can break open boxes to obtain power-ups, swap vehicles as everyone has a variety of stats (some are great at going fast, others are good in combat), and even wreak havoc to damage your opponents and steal their power-ups. There was one, admittedly warranted, critique from last week’s test: everything was going way too fast. Thankfully, things slowed down to a more normal pace of play this weekend, highlighting the potential that exists in Kirby Air Riders.
This Weekend’s Global Test Ride Is A Much Better Display Of How Enjoyable City Trial Is
With that more normalized pace of play, the vision for City Trial becomes clear.
One of the biggest issues last weekend was that things were a little too fast and furious. With things somewhat slowed down, it’s less about holding on for dear life and more about having a concrete plan. Again, there are four possible mini-games that await you after the City Trial completes.
Back in the day, it was all about guessing: were we going to do a race? Was it going to be a longest flight challenge? We had to guess about which power-ups to prioritize. With that no longer being the case, we can take our time, accept what City Trial is offering, and explore the city to discover all its secrets. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of those.
All day long, I’ve enjoyed my time exploring every nook and cranny available. Whether it’s going below ground, roaming the streets, climbing its skyscrapers, or even flying through the sky and trying to reach the floating island, it’s a far easier time to obtain power-ups, which means not only am I having more fun with City Trial, but also better equipped for the Stadium challenges that await me. Even when I’m picking the less popular challenges (I had one where it was just me and one other person, for example), I’m having a blast.
It’s a testament to the solid gameplay foundation that exists within Kirby Air Riders. Yes, the original game had the stigma of being an overly simplistic one-button racer, something that Air Riders may also have to deal with. In reality, though, it’s far more than that. It’s controlled chaos, no matter the mode you choose, and I couldn’t be happier playing it.
Kirby Air Riders Has All The Makings Of A Long-Term Term Multiplayer Hit
Kirby Air Riders’ Global Test Ride has been a great glimpse as to what we can expect from the full game later this month, but there’s so much more that awaits us.
Outside of City Trial, I’m excited to see if Top Ride is as much fun as I remember it being. Plus, the roguelike-ish Road Trip sounds like an absolute blast to play through and even reminds me of what we’ve experienced in the single-player modes of Super Smash Bros.
The introduction of four possible mini-games is a very welcome addition to City Trial.
Most of all, though, I’m excited to see how things fare long-term with City Trial. We’ve been rotating between playable characters across the past two weeks, and there are plenty more secrets awaiting us in the full game.
I look forward to once again scrambling to collect the three pieces needed to obtain the Legendary “Dragoon” and “Hydra” machines, as well as learn the ins and outs of exactly everything that exists within the City Trial map. I’d like to think I have a good idea of what’s going on, but then again, every time I play one more round, I discover something new.
That curiosity constantly rewarded me back in the day and kept me coming back to the game so often. Here’s to hoping history repeats itself with Kirby Air Riders.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
