Kirby Air Riders is a wonderfully mad creation; Part kart racer, part fighter, part rhythm and control mini-game collection, all wrapped up between visually interesting (but tonally quite unexpected) cutscenes, it’s a lot in every way. And for fans of the original – the visual upgrades and nostalgia are likely to strike a chord. For every one else though, it’s a chaotic combination that doesn’t always feel great to play.

It’s not often many of us head into a new entry of a Nintendo (in partnership with HAL Labs/Bandai Namco) franchise without knowing a little of what to expect. However, the original game Kirby Air Ride was a relatively small success on the GameCube and unless you are part of the almost cult-like following that largely developed after its release, you (like me) likely were a little unsure of what the big fuss was about. The Nintendo Direct’s leading to the game’s release likely gave you some of the idea of the wonderful strangeness that was in store. And of course, if you’re a fan of the Smash Bros. fanchise you likely knew Ultimate‘s Director Masahiro Sakurai (also the Director of the original Air Ride game and this one too) was involved and he has quite an unmistakable influence on his games.

It takes the traditional kart racer formula and really flips it on its head.

And now having spent quite a lot of time with Kirby Air Riders, I can definitely see why longtime fans were excited. It takes the traditional kart racer formula and really flips it on its head. Throwing in deep engaging sci-fi cut scenes with bright cartoon characters, a fighting game and a tiny open-world/mini-game experience may seem like an odd mix to combine with a racing game, and to be honest it does produce a kind-of chaotic experience. But, it’s just that… an experience; a unique game with a lot of personality. Sure it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I suspect fans are going to love it.

Kirby of a different colour

Right off the bat, the amount of content and variety available in this game really sets it apart from other racers. There’s a single-player story mode that while only really being a lineup of game types, thanks to ridiculously good looking and artistic cut-scenes (think the character reveals from the Ultimate game) between each race, I was quite drawn into the story of Zorah the sentient machine, Noir Dedede and the fate of Planet Popstar. On top of that, there are a few different game modes. The first is a ‘standard’ Air Ride where the player takes control of a Rider and a Vehicle and and guides their player in one the basic race formats. Top Ride is a top down Micro Machines-like race in a similar vein. These races have you copying abilities and steering past competitors to get to the finish line first – this is a fun mode as long as you get used to the controls.

The gameplay loop never quite hooked me like I started to believe it would. Thankfully the generosity in modes, unlockables and uniqueness keeps drawing me back to the game.

In City Trial, you have a little open-world map and after some time spent riding around collecting new vehicles, powerups and even the occasional clash with other Riders, you then take on the roster of other racers in a variety of mini-games. This sounds like fun in principle and there are definitely some great elements to this idea, but not all the games are great. Often you have to select a vehicle before you know what the mini-game is going to be – and some combo’s just don’t work (like at all) in some events – meaning I found myself ending an event only to restart with a new combo and then doing it easily. So, the balance felt off and the gameplay loop never quite hooked me like I started to believe it would. That being said, there is such a huge amount of collectibles, difficulty levels and vehicles, characters and other items to unlock that I am being drawn back to the game despite all this – and that speaks a lot about the fun and variety available.

One-button pony

One of the most talked-about features of Kirby Air Riders is the one-button control system. Most other racers have multiple buttons for accelerating, braking, drifting (and in cases like Mario Kart even a few more for hopping, using items etc). However, like it’s predecessor, this sequel opts for a constantly accelerating vehicle – and a single-button functions as pretty much everything else. I have to admit, when I first heard about this, although being intrigued, I assumed it would be over-simplistic and not as fun. So, I was both wrong and right…Wrong, in that this system is not simple. It seems crazy but thanks to the variety of vehicle types and just clever game design the one-button system mostly works. There’s definitely a bit of a learning curve and thankfully a pretty long and detailed tutorial mode – but I’ve got to admit that I was quite surprised at just how much I could with just one button.

The controls seemed to just tilt it too often into ‘confusing chaos’ to be truly fun for everyone.

Here, the variety of games modes (particularly the birds-eye-view retro arcade style races) and beauty of the tracks themselves help a lot. That being said, I was also right, in that I didn’t always find this control method fun. It’s interesting without a doubt, but I found too often that I was simply doing a lot of button-mashing. Add to that a camera that doesn’t always behave like you want it to (not locking on or not whipping around to give your the best view correctly) and so it feels a little unwieldy. As someone that loves the drifting and control parts of Mario Kart World, the one-button system just felt a little to haphazard and imprecise. While online was a lot more fun, a win or a loss didn’t quite hit the same way. It felt a little too much down to chance. That may have been just my lack of ‘one-button skill’, but even with friends in local multiplayer the controls seemed to just tilt it too often into ‘confusing chaos’ to be truly fun for everyone.

Don’t look a gift Waddle Dee in the mouth

So, what can be said about a game that oozes with personality and style and does things in its own way? Well, if you’re a fan of the original – this game probably does exactly what you want a great sequel to do… Giving you all that you loved about the original, plus some great music, smooth graphics and little upgrades here and there to keep it fresh. For me though, it’s a little chaotic conundrum. I appreciate all the modes. I love that all the content is available from the start. I like uniqueness and the fact that it does a racing game in it’s own way, plus it has a crazy sci-fi story mode to boot! The only (and sadly pretty significant downside) is that it’s main control scheme doesn’t always work. At times it feels confusingly limiting and actually often takes away from the keeping the game simple for newcomers. And sure, that may be part of the ‘learning curve’, but if the game loses us on the way up the curve – I’m worried that all that amazing content and generosity won’t be seen or experienced by most players – and that’s a pity for a game so clearly made with so much care and love.

REVIEW CODE PROVIDED BY: NINTENDO

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