Kirby Air Riders Direct: Every Announcement - How Would You Rate It?

9/10, great direct! love how mr. sakurai goes over all the details. only thing was i was wanting a bit more but cant get too greedy! day one for me! the cast of characters are so cute, im for sure gonna be bandana waddle dee! (and pastel blue kirby obviously)

This is my dream game. I've always clamored for a Kirby Air Ride 2 but as a joke, never thought we'd actually get it. And it looks fantastic! I'm all in, I'm buying a Switch 2 just for this game alone. It's gonna be my whole personality. Even changed my profile pic for this game. I have one ask, don't know if it's going to happen but I'd love for Adeleine to be a playable racer.

Gotta talk about that ending, there's lore implications with that final character! Don't wanna go spoilers but IFKYK.

I just hope there’s split screen for City Trial.

10/10 Easily! With how much stuff that was shown off and the fact that’s not everything the game has to offer makes it a perfect 10!

It looks like there is a lot of content. Can't wait to try it.

10/10, the racing king is back!
I really hope Top Ride is in the final game though.

10/10!
The whole Smash Bros and Kid Icarus 3DS look hyped me too!

The OG version should really release on NSO!

Air ride was an all time classic for me as a kid and seeing it return makes me happy but honestly for 20 years it doesn’t seem to have enough evolution to make me justify 70$ it’s almost just like a souped up version of a 20year old game. There should’ve been more city trial levels, and other large modes. Perhaps even an adventure mode.

A solid, meaty direct. Sakurai came in, beat the "he hates modern Kirby" allegations, and managed to offer a substantial racing game that makes Mario Kart World look like Konami Krazy Racers. There's the odd cynic kvetching about how "It's just more Air Ride and that there's no crazy distracting gimmick," but honestly a more refined and fleshed out version of what Air Ride offered can be more than enough for a game like this.

Still wondering where Top Ride is, though.

Where is my goat Wheelie Scooter?

Lookin’ good! I may just buy this when it’s released!

It was good and not a complete waste of time. A 7 out of 5.

Color me excited, November can't come soon enough.

I got those arcade vibes with this game. Love it!

Not super excited

Always a treat to hear Sakurai yap and show off his games. The game itself looks like a souped up version of the original but it's hard to say if it it'll go anywhere beyond that.

Regardless it looks like fun, and I'll pick it up as long as City Trial still supports 4 player split screen.

I am a massive Kirby Fan Boy and I got Susie. I am legally required to give it a 10/10

It looks amazing. Never played the original, but will definitely be getting this.

It was exceptional. Hope the other Knights will be playable, which they most likely will be.

It was pretty good. While i'm still not really wow'd by the game itself, I think it looks like a cool release.

Great Direct, really good dive into the game. I wish more Directs were this in-depth (Metroid Prime 4 please).
But Kirby Air Riders is just a game I have no interest in.

@Dark-Luigi You mean Dark Meta Knight and Galacta Knight or Sword Knight and Blade Knight?

If it is the former two, then for better or worse Meta Knight has alts of them.
Per the Japanese website, which shows the alt colors of the characters confirmed so far: https://www.nintendo.com/jp/games/switch2/aaaba/rider-machine/index.html

@Vivianeat Sakurai's wife Michiko Sakurai designs the user interface for all the games he directs, that's why they all have a similar look

Looks pretty good, but I don't have a whole lot of experience with the GameCube original, so my hype at this point is maybe like a 7/10.

I was hoping for more than just one City Trial map, but the one we're getting is much larger and has a lot of interesting locales. Very happy about more playable characters. I really wanted to see Marx though, who is my favorite Kirby character, but I imagine there are still more to be revealed in the future. I'm happy about Magolor and Suzie, but I also want to see Taranza, Queen Sectonia, Haltmann, Daroach, etc. Hopefully, there will be a sizeable roster.

I also wanted to see a substantial single player campaign, but they sort of teased that at the very end, so I'm not ruling it out. We'll probably see more in the rumored September Direct.

Visually, the game looks solid, but I think I was expecting a little more since Kirby games tend to be among the best-looking on their respective hardware and we now have Switch 2 horsepower to work with. It looks like it could run on a Switch 1 just fine. It has a prettier art direction than Mario Kart World, though.

Seeing Sakurai is always a treat. I got a chuckle out of his jokes about it being a Mario Kart clone, and "unfortunately" having to add a second button. Everyone speculated he asked Nintendo to make this game as a personal passion project, but evidently, they reached out to him instead, which is peculiar from a business standpoint.

I also want the game to have a substantial amount of content. The original game only had like 9 tracks; for a $70 game that still only has one City Trial map, there'd better be a lot more than that. I also want a grand prix mode (in addition to a story mode), as well as weekly/monthly online challenges to give it some extra replay value.

I think this presentation was a solid start, but they're still holding out on us. I just hope what they're saving is actually substantial--I don't want to get burned again like I did with Mario Kart World.

Lack of information about split screen multiplayer is worrying. This feature is make or break for me. I don't like racing games by myself, I only get them as a party fodder.

PIT WILL BE JOINING IM CALLING IT

@Suketoudara NICE! That Sakurai aesthetic is so noticable.

The direct was awesome. I've forgotten how much I love Sakurai's style to show stuff. As for the game, not sure if it is for me and don't know if I'll be buying it.

Can't wait for Sakurai to start working in a Smash game!

@Ultimapunch It was heavily implied that there won’t be split-screen. There was also no mention of GameShare. Better invest in a second Switch 2 and two copies of the game!

Wasn't a fan of the first game, but given this was a whoping 45 minutes and all I wanted to do was play it, I'd give it an "outstanding." Sure, the whole time I was thinking, this could have been Smash Bros, but I'm happy he got to do what he wanted to do. It looks fun!

@HammerGalladeBro Ah, going down the Smash Ultimate route again, I see. Obviously, it makes sense, but it's still sad that they aren't separate characters. Guess that means no Morpho Knight either. No matter, I'll live!

@SmaggTheSmug eShop entry pretty much confirms a split screen mode: "Single System (1-4), Local Wireless (2-8), Online (1-16)"

For those wondering about split screen for city trial, have a look at the top right of this screenshot (thanks to some person on Reddit):
https://imgur.com/3vXVYnS

Charging through corners looks so satisfying.

I honestly enjoyed it, it could have been maybe a couple minutes shorter but it’s probably the best presentation we have gotten post-Switch 2 launch

Big fat 9 for me. The only thing I needed to make it a 10 would have been the confirmation of Top Ride, or the showcase of whatever that little trophy thingy is all about. Otherwise I thought this Direct was blooming awesome and it made me really happy to see.

What a contrast to the Mario Kart World Direct this was. It's not even funny how much better this one was.

I love KAR but I felt a little underwhelmed by the Direct. Despite running for the better part of an hour, I struggle to really think of that much stuff that's particularly novel and a major selling point (outside of being more KAR, of course).

Especially since it seems Top Ride is probably gone, I'd have guessed we'd get a smorgasbord of City Trial content like more islands, a 1P progressive/story mode, and/or even some crazy new Battle Royale extra mode sort of like Knockout Tour. Just spitballing here but it'd be insane to see a 50-player City Trial mode where every 3 minutes, periodic Stadium Events would eliminate the lowest several players and everyone would continue beefing up their machines after that until there's one winner. Etc.

Even so I'm likely going to get the game because Sakurai puts a lot of love into his craft and I'm sure I'll have a good time. Voted 6/10 on the poll.

Dam Sakurai is the best. The whole presentation was so good. Love how he kept unleashing more info with his classic approach and humor. The regular race courses looked visually stunning —! Seems there’ll be plenty of content with more to be announced. This went from me semi looking forward to it, to a must have/great holiday game!!

Now here’s hoping they give Prime 4 the promo love it deserves

Easily the least corporate Direct we’ve had in a while

Underwhelming. 4 racing tracks and one city trial map? No story mode? Why even bother releasing this if you didn't have enough time to properly make it?

Looks really light on content to me and I don't get the point? Do you unlock things? Is there a ranked mode? I could see the appeal if it was £30, but it's twice that.

@Dang_69 @thenikdavies Are either you aware of the concept of "withholding information to build anticipation"

9/10

Excellent in-deph Direct. Day one purchase.

I just really hope Elfilin makes it into the roster.

Do we think that last character was riding a were-wheelie? Looks like it's from Sonic Unleashed.

6/10 - I don't think that is entirely fair, because I am not the person this direct was, but I can only give it a score that reflects my own thoughts. I am glad it happened though, and in the way that it did, for all the Sakurai and Air Ride fans

9/10. Only missed the mark for not showing my girl, Adeleine.

@HammerGalladeBro hey, with Dark Matter revealed, it's only a matter of time

@tho_mi Ooo good catch.

This was a PERFECT sequel to air ride. Sakurai shows he understands his own fans and what an air ride sequel needed.

I give this Direct a 10/10! If I get a Switch 2, this game will definitely be one of the first games I play on it.

9/10 for me. I am just over halfway and I can feel the excitement to learn more. Might become a 10/10, but racing games are not my main jam, so that's why I gave it a 9/10. I'm so glad to see Sakurai san go through all the details. Although I have to admit that I sincerely hope he will now go on to make a new Smash Bros. without working himself into a burn-out, or worse...

I still need to watch the full presentation, but I really appreciate this informative breakdown! This game was originally not on my radar - racing games normally don't hold my attention long term, with the Mario Kart series being an occasional evergreen exception - but now I'm curious.

The direct was good. A little long/tedious at times. The first game was too simplistic for me. This looks a bit more complex. Might be fun to play with my kids. It’s not exactly for me though. But anyway, it does look like a good sequel since he basically just built on the foundation very faithfully it seems.

I would have rather had this game then Kart to be honest. But I won't be buying it because I know without NSO it's going to be a worthless game for me personally.

Kart is the same tbh for me. I haven't played it since week 1.

Not bad at all, I really enjoyed Arlo’s cameo as Gooey also =P

10/10. I went from "eh...another racing game?" to "I need to play this game now" in the first half of the Direct.

Sakurai Masahiro is a genius.

@N00BiSH it was a 45 minute presentation. Why withhold at all? How does one build anticipation when it isn't implying there's more to show outside of the character at the end?

11/10. This ***** looks incredible lol

Haven't seen Dark Matter in a long while, I mean...yeah he returned in Robobot, but whatever. lol
Still hoping for Marx.

8 but would have been a 9 if it had been 20 or 30 minutes long instead of 45! I found the first 18 minutes very underwhelming.

Sakurai-San for president! I really love his aura, he should make every direct from now on.

Yep, I am convinced that this game is for me. It looks so cute and fun.

5/10
Overlong (did we need full 5 minutes of Sakurai playing City Trial?), and Sakurai repeating himself over some features didn't help the runtime.
The game feels like more of the same, not that distinct from the first game. Sure, there are more characters, but that is pretty much that.
What really bothers me is no Top Ride, which is what I liked the most from the first game and was my main way of playing the game.
That said, judging by Sakurai's last comments and the tease at the end, it might not be what it seems.
There might be a lot more coming.
But, based on this direct alone, I was left disappointed.

Looks much more fun, than Mario Kart.
Already got bored with Mario Kart World, after just a few races.
Shouldn't have wasted the money on that bundle...

@N00BiSH he definitely said there's much more he wants to show but can't right now.

I mean it was good but I’m still surprised this is coming so close to Mario Kart seeing as they’re so similar. Seems an odd choice but happy for those that want it.

Looks very boring and didn't deserve a full Direct like that.

Even without my familiarity with the original game, Sakurai presentations are always a treat, and now I'm definitely going to pick up Air Riders

I didn't watch the Direct as I was playing Fantasy Life I on my PS5, but judging from the screenshots I saw and the article I read, I think the game looks okay but doesn't look WOW as the gameplay was still emphasizing on racing with Sandbox mode that I wasn't sure it will look interesting to try.
I think I will give the score 5 from 10.

We need Sakurai to introduce every Nintendo-published games like he did today.

The racing seems fine, I do like that it has a smaller amount of racers per race and I did like how the race tracks looked from the short preview, the gimmicky racing machines seem kind of fun. but I don't really see how city trial would be fun beyond maybe doing it once or twice.

Didn't really sell it for me as of now but I haven't entirely written it off either.

I guess the direct overall is like a 4/10 if you really want me to throw some arbitrary number at it.

@Anti-Matter what an odd take...I didnt watch it but I'll rate it. Take a few minutes and get back with us.

I think the direct was well made, but I'm not interested in downloading the game as of yet. I would give the presentation an 8 for getting me to look at something I wouldn't have looked at.

10/10. That’s how you do it. A dose of humour, loads of detail and proper gameplay demonstrations! The guy is a different breed of human - superhuman perhaps.

@ArcadianLegend99 True. It's only a matter of when.

My idea for her special would be to briefly ride a drawing of a mini Dyna Blade with the offensive abilities of the Hydra and the flight capabilities of the Dragoon, both Legendary Air Ride machines from the original. Either that or summon Ribbon to attack with Crystals.

Speaking of those machines, I hope they returm for the new City Trial.

I liked the direct, always fun to see Sakurai-san talk about something he seems passionate about. And it was full of info. But I'm still not sold on the game, I hope there's a demo, and not just a timed demo like usual but something I can sit there with and take the time to get used to the controls. Looks a little too fast paced for me, and not sure how I feel about auto accelerate. But it's just a video, could be just fine to play.

[And also another thing that's bothering me is I was so excited to play Smash Ultimate I preordered it with the first couple seasons of dlc and what a let down. Smash 4 Wii U I played nearly every day for a while there doing 2v2 online and they trivialized the mode turning it into a gamble at 25% odds you get to play that way. Then they won't let us change characters after a match without dropping our rivals/partners, and to top it off there's no taunts online. That doesn't mean it's a bad game, the character roster is amazing and local multiplayer is probably awesome. Just doesn't seem like the game is made for me. So I'll wait for some reviews on this, or a good demo.]

Looks stellar. I just hope I can play as Taranza.

It looks fun, but maybe not $70 fun

8/10. Wish there was local on one screen and I want Daroach

He’s a lovely guy, but the game looks average at best, doesn’t excite me.

I'm the biggest Switch 2/Nintendo hater rn....but just like Banaza, anyone saying this doesn't look like a blast either just dislikes arcade racers, dislikes Kirby, or is being dishonest. This looks incredible.
...just maybe more of a $50-60 kind of "incredible."

Great direct and looks good but I won't be buying it because I learned my lesson about how little multiplayer games do for someone like me.

7 for me because I've never played the original and while this looks fun it didn't convince me it's worth being the big holiday title of the Switch 2's first year

I love Sakurai, but I think this presentation is pretty poor. It's way too long for its own good, and the game doesn't look that intersting. It seems like a fine game, but why release so close to Mario Kart World? Why isn't it a cross gen game, it doesn't look bad, but it's not a big looker, I'm sure it could run fine on Switch 1. And it would have been a nice way to avoid direct competition with Mario Kart World.

I thought the game looks great, however the presentation had bit of a weird structure, no? He returned to the topic of the character roster like 3 times, same with machines. Instead of one block for each aspect.

And I was a bit overwhelmed with the details, weapons and extras and specials and copy… and that was just the main mode.

Nevertheless, I am optimistic that the core mechanics are fun.

10! I've been waiting for this for like 20 years at this point I am so excited

So far, Air Riders looks to me like what Air Ride might have been if it was made today. I have little doubt it'll be a great game, though I would have liked to see a bit more innovation outside of just the visuals and quality of life features.

After only getting the teaser trailer in April, this was definitely needed. We've seen a fair bit of MP:4 and Hyrule Warriors. HW might slip to late December/Early January, but I am confident MP:4 will be an October release. That last bit of the Direct.... maybe a Story Mode with a new villian?? Oh, and where the heck is my UPRISING HD port!?!?!?!?!?

A true ablity-based racer.... amazing visuals, no open world crap increasing the cost and affecting the tracks, great track design, the City Trial mode ... I'm in.
I wish F-Zero recieved this kind of love.

I'll never forgive how terrible Mario kart World is compared to this...

Hi! I'm not trying to troll or instigate...but I feel like I'm missing something, lol! Like, I remember the og Kirby Air Ride being an okay game, but not amazing. I played it for a little, but got pretty bored, and never went back to it. This new Direct was wonderfully hosted, and gave lots of info...but it still isn't "hooking" me. Seeing all of you give the Direct 9s and 10s really makes me think I'm just missing something...can you tell me what you enjoy about the game?

I think the game looks great, but I did not like the actual Direct. Too long for me, as it's a game I just want to play. I am not jonesing for info on it as I never played the original. I just want to see a couple reviews/videos and see if it's worth me giving it a shot. I have little doubt the game will be awesome. My favourite parts of the presentation were very short: when he played a race in the water/ocen biome (looked incredible), when he was flying around the island and all those spiky things were crashing down, and the final reveal at the end.

I am glad Sakurai is allowed to present stuff in the way he wants, and it has its charm, but for me this kind of presentation was not what I personally needed for this specific game.

I don’t know, as someone not familiar with the original it didn’t much to interest me, especially when Sakurai concedes it is similar to Mario Kart. With the recent Mario Kart release, I’m not super interested in another racing game so soon after zero;dis release(yes I am aware it does have differences from MK). Not my cup of tea. 5/10

As much as I played the GameCube back in the day, I only played Kirby Air Rider maybe like once. Barely even remember it. Willing to give this new game a try on Switch 2.

Wasn’t at all excited about this game before, but… I stand corrected—it looks like SO MUCH FUN!! I never played the original, but damn, I will be getting this game for sure! Course look amazing—that water course! Gameplay looks fast and super tactical. City trial is bonkers. Obviously, there are more modes that weren’t featured yet. Hopefully there’s plenty to unlock; seems like that was alluded too, with vehicles? But WOW! Just awesome all around. Loved the Direct too; Sakurai was a great host, and brought some good humor to a great presentation.

10. I loved every second of it!

Glad for the fans. I got through 10 minutes of the direct. I really think releasing two Nintendo racing games in one year is a mistake, and a launch year for a new console is even worse.

Kirby Air Riders just showed us what can be done and what a farce and terrible game Mario Kart World really is and how we got duped in paying a hefty increased premium price for it to boot.

@Joekun Not at all, as there are many people (including me) that were terribly disappointed with Mario Kart World.
I have never been bored so quickly with a Mario Kart game as that one. While I played Mario Kart 8 for years.

So many great things from Mario Kart 8 got stripped away, for the sake of stupid streamlining and so they could add in that disappointing and boring Open World gimmick.

It was so nice to see that Direct yesterday, where they took this Kirby Race game in totally opposite direction and allow us to tune and customize to our hearts content.

@Jeronan Hey, I hope it’s great and you enjoy it more than MK. Racing games aren’t for me and I’d like to see Nintendo add more variety to the Switch 2 catalog in its first year is all. Maybe this year will fill out really well and it won’t matter. Who knows?

Game looks great but honestly this Direct gets a 10/10 from me for Sakurai’s incredibly dry humour alone.

Opening the Direct with “making games is haaard!” Was hilarious. The animated infographic of putting the rider on the vehicle was laugh out loud funny! “We’ve added a second button. Unfortunately” is comedic genius. But the best was Sakurai being like “Yeah I guess it is a lot like Mario Kart” as he smiles at his own joke toward the camera.

I’ve not laughed at a Direct like this since the days where they got the likes of Robot Chicken to make them. Even then this was much funnier.

Exactly what I wanted, exactly what I needed in my life right now and the cherry on top - the game looks ace!

I'm greatly excited for it, I've spent hours as a child playing Air Ride. Now, years later, I can’t wait to jump into Air Riders, so that will be my first Switch 2 exclusive game I will buy because I'm not wasting 10 dollars extra for Mario Kart World. I'm dying to see if that mysterious rider hints at a story mode, that short snippet of music is so good.

I was so confused when he mentioned Cappy.

"Dededetails" is brilliant.