Kirby Air Ride facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kirby Air Ride |
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North American cover art
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| Developer(s) | HAL Laboratory |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Masahiro Sakurai |
| Producer(s) |
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| Designer(s) | Kenichirou Kita |
| Programmer(s) | Kouichi Watanabe |
| Artist(s) | Kazuya Konishi |
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| Series | Kirby |
| Platform(s) | GameCube |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Kirby Air Ride is a super fun racing game that came out in 2003 for the GameCube console. It's part of the awesome Kirby series! In this game, you get to control Kirby (or his colorful friends) as they zoom around tracks in cool vehicles. Up to four players can race together, making it a great game for friends. It was even the first GameCube game to let players connect multiple consoles for LAN play!
This game had an interesting journey to get made. It actually started as a game for the Nintendo 64 console, but it changed a lot over time. Eventually, it was finished for the GameCube. Kirby Air Ride was the last Kirby game directed by Masahiro Sakurai, who created the Kirby series. When it first came out, some critics thought it was a bit simple, but many players loved it! It sold 1.35 million copies around the world by 2020 and became a favorite for many fans. A sequel, Kirby Air Riders, was released on the Nintendo Switch 2 on November 20, 2025, with Sakurai returning as director.
How to Play Kirby Air Ride
Simple Controls for Fun Racing
In Kirby Air Ride, you mostly play by riding cool vehicles, like the famous Warpstar! You control Kirby or his colorful friends in exciting races and fun minigames.
One of the best things about Kirby Air Ride is how simple the controls are. Your vehicle moves forward all by itself! You just use the Control Stick to steer. The A button does almost everything else: it lets you brake, charge up for a speed boost, and even suck up nearby enemies. When you swallow enemies, you can copy their special powers, just like in other Kirby games! You can also glide through the air, controlling how high or low your vehicle flies.
Unlock Secrets with the Checklist
The game has a special "checklist" for each of its three main modes. Think of it like a big puzzle with 120 hidden goals. When you start, all the squares are blank. As you play and complete secret tasks, the squares fill up!
Completing these goals unlocks awesome new stuff. You can find different vehicles, new items, exciting courses, new characters to play as, and even music tracks for the sound test. Some goals are easy, like "finish a race three times." Others might take a bit more exploring. Each time you unlock a goal, it helps you figure out what the nearby hidden goals are!
Meet the Characters
When you start, Kirby is your main character. He's the only one who can ride all the different machines and copy enemy abilities. If you play with friends, each player will be a different colored Kirby.
You can also unlock other famous characters!
- Meta Knight: Kirby's mysterious rival. Instead of a vehicle, he flies with his own wings! He's super fast and attacks enemies automatically with his sword.
- King Dedede: The big, hammer-wielding king. He controls a lot like the Wheelie Bike, and he can also attack enemies automatically with his hammer.
Exciting Game Modes
Kirby Air Ride offers three main ways to play, each with its own unique fun!
Air Ride: Classic Racing Fun
This is the main racing mode, where you see the action from behind your vehicle. You pick a racing machine and compete against up to three other players or computer opponents. You can play together on a split-screen or even connect multiple GameCube systems for LAN play!
There are two ways to win an Air Ride race:
- Laps: The most common way! You race around the course for a set number of laps. You can choose how many laps, from 1 to 99, or use the track's default setting.
- Time: In this mode, you race for a specific amount of time. The player who travels the farthest down the track when time runs out wins!
In both modes, you can swallow enemies on the track to get their powers. Use these powers to slow down your rivals or even damage them! Air Ride also has a Time Attack mode for single players to race for the fastest lap, and a Free Run mode for endless practice.
Top Ride: Overhead Action
Top Ride gives you a different view, looking down on smaller, simpler tracks. Because the tracks are smaller, you'll usually do more laps! You have two vehicles to choose from:
- Free Star: This red vehicle moves in the direction you tilt the Control Stick.
- Steer Star: This blue vehicle rotates left or right when you tilt the Control Stick.
Just like Air Ride, Top Ride also has Time Attack and Free Run modes. There are seven courses, each with a different theme like Grass, Sand, Sky, Fire, Light, Water, and Metal.
City Trial: Explore and Battle
City Trial is a huge, open mode where players explore a big city and other areas like a forest, cave, and volcano. Your goal is to collect upgrade items for your Air Ride machine. These items can boost your speed, improve your attacks, or strengthen your defense!
You'll find different Air Ride vehicles scattered around the city, so you can switch machines whenever you want. You can even collect rare machine pieces to build a "Legendary Air Ride Machine," like the powerful Dragoon or Hydra!
This mode is full of surprises, with random events happening all the time. You might see falling meteors, UFOs, or even Dyna Blade flying by! When time runs out, all players face off in a final competition. This could be a drag race, a battle, a gliding challenge, or even a lap on an Air Ride course. The competition tests how well you upgraded your machine!
Making of Kirby Air Ride
From Nintendo 64 to GameCube
Kirby Air Ride started its journey a long time ago, even before the GameCube! It was first known as Kirby Bowl 64 and was planned for the Nintendo 64 console. Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of Kirby, led much of its early development.
The game was shown as a demo way back in 1995! At first, it had two mini-games. One was like a puzzle game where Kirby rolled around. The other was more like the final game, a snowboarding race where Kirby collected stars. The game changed a lot over the years and was even put on hold for a while. Producer Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned in 1998 that they paused the project to focus on other games and rethink Kirby's Air Ride.
The game finally reappeared for the GameCube in 2003. It was first shown in a short video, which some people didn't like because they thought the graphics were slow. But when a playable demo came out at E3 later that year, with five tracks and three modes, people were much more excited!
Music and Creator's Legacy
The awesome music in Kirby Air Ride was created by Jun Ishikawa, Shogo Sakai, Hirokazu Ando, and Tadashi Ikegami. Jun Ishikawa has composed music for many Kirby games!
Interestingly, some songs from the Japanese version of the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! TV show are also in the game. The game was even advertised at the end of some episodes of the show!
After Kirby Air Ride was released, Masahiro Sakurai, the game designer behind many early Kirby games, left HAL Laboratory. He said he was getting tired of the constant pressure to keep making sequels.
The Sequel: Kirby Air Riders
A sequel to this beloved game, called Kirby Air Riders, was released on the Nintendo Switch 2 on November 20, 2025. The announcement came during a Nintendo Direct presentation. Masahiro Sakurai returned as the director, with his team at Bandai Namco Studios developing the game.
Development for Kirby Air Riders began in 2021 when the idea was first suggested, and full production started in April 2022. Sakurai had hinted at this top-secret project on his YouTube channel, Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games, after finishing his YouTube series and the downloadable content for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
