The much-anticipated follow-up to 2003’sKirby Air Ride,Kirby Air Riders, is “ahead of its time,” according to a Nintendo of America executive.Kirby Air Ridersis coming as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive sometime in 2025, andthe game is being directed by the legendary Masahiro Sakurai, who created bothKirbyand theSuper Smash Bros. series. Nintendo is now making some strong claims regardingKirby Air Ridersthat are sure to excite fans who have been asking for a newKirbyracer for over 20 years now.
In an interview withScreenRant, Bill Trinen, Nintendo’s Vice President of Player and Product Experience, told us thatKirby Air Ridersis"ahead of its time"when speaking about the improvements of the Nintendo Switch 2 over its predecessor and what is now possible. Trinen also added that the release ofKirby Air Ridersis the prime time to introduce the franchise and highlight Kirby as a character to a new audience, saying the game is a"good opportunity for Kirby to shine."
The Original Kirby Air Ride Is A Cult Classic
Simple Controls And Just Pure Fun
The originalKirby Air Rideis a cult classic nowadays for its simple control scheme, high-speed gameplay, and fan service to theKirbyfranchise. Almost every action in the game is performed with just one button while using the control stick to steer.This simple control scheme was fun for kids and adults alikeand madeKirby Air Ridea more casual experience than Nintendo’s other popular racing series,Mario Kart.
Nintendo Switch 2 First-Party Games Take Up A Surprising Amount Of Storage
The game file sizes for the first-party titles on the Nintendo Switch 2 have been revealed, and they occupy a surprising amount of storage space.
Fans have beenclamoring for a remaster of the game for many years, and a sequel getting a very surprising announcement trailer during the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal was probablyeven better than what fans were asking for.
How Kirby Air Riders Could Surpass The Original
New Hardware And Features Could Make This Sequel A Popular Game
The increased processing power of the Switch 2, coupled with updated mechanics and a lot of Kirby fanservice, may lay the foundation forKirby Air Ridersto surpass the original game. While there hasn’t been any gameplay revealed forKirby Air Ridersyet, Trinen is confident that updated hardware will allow for increased gameplay depth, like the level of destruction and discovery present inDonkey Kong Bananza, with Trinen saying:"[Donkey Kong Bananza] is really doing something that I don’t think we’ve seen happen in a lot of other games."
The potential forKirby Air Riders, after seeing the gameplay ofBananzaandMario Kart World, seems to be limitless. This new tease from Trinen is sure to delight and wonderKirby Air Ridefans. Will we see off-course action or dozens of playable characters? Or a more complex control scheme coupled with an option for the classic simple controls? Time will tell whenKirby Air Ridersreleases sometime this year.
