I really thought that first swipe downward was a sign that Smash was coming to Switch 2. Turns out it is a Sakurai game, but definitely not the one I was expecting.

It could be really special! Kirby Air Ride was a niche game with a lot of fun ideas and features, and Sakurai probably wouldn't be revisiting it if he didn't have some good reasons to.

It could also be shiny garbage. Kirby Air Ride was a janky hodgepodge that didn't cohere into a game that actually felt engaging in the moment.

If this is just Kirby Air Ride in HD with new tracks, I'm probably going to skip it, especially since it's competing with Mario Kart World in 2025. But if it's Kirby Air Ride reimagined from the ground up and approached with a clear understanding of what didn't work about the Gamecube original, then I'm very intrigued, if also wary.

So unlike MK World and DK Bananza where I'm going on media blackout, I'm eager to see some gameplay for this one.

I have never played Kirby Air Ride, but I recently got myself a copy, so I might jump in an get myself a taste this weekend. I like to see old stuff revisited, and I'm actually more excited that it's a game that wasn't necessarily a huge hit. Like, if Nintendo were to bring back Urban Champion I would be hyped, because I would interpret that as them having some really cool idea to back that revival up.

I never played the first one but I vaguely recall Anand trying to sell everyone on it.

Is it weird that two of Nintendo's big Switch 2 games are mascot racers? I know they play very differently so I might just end up getting both.

When I first saw Kirby appear I knew it wasn't another platformer since his other game is getting the Switch 2 version, so for one brief moment I let myself hope that we were finally getting Dream Course 2. Alas, it was not to be.

@Zero
I do think it's a bit weird, yeah. They do have DK, and I guess they think of Metroid as a Switch 2 game as well, but considering how few new games they showed or announced, having two mascot racing games seems like an over representation.

I never played Air Ride either! I was thinking everyone other than the "it's a bad game because you only use one button" crew adored it.

I have to imagine that this exists because it was Sakurai's condition for directing the next Smash game. So what does he want to do with it?

@Zero

I was thinking that even F-Zero GX and Mario Kart on the same day were racing overload.

People... I'm pretty fucking excited for this game. I'm sure that 99% of the people who watched this Direct were thinking, "Who is this even for?" Me. It's for me.

The first game was such a weird, interesting artifact. Particularly because of City Trial, upon which Smash Run (the best single-player Smash mode) was based. The Smash Checkboards are also based off of Kirby Air Rides unlockable system. I'm not going to say that the first Air Ride was perfectly executed, but if Sakurai chose to revisit this specific franchise, while knowing how the original was clowned upon release (IGN did not do the game's legacy any favors), he's sure to have some big ideas in mind. We could be talking a Smash 64 - Melee - level jump here.

I'm almost positive that the main focus of this game will be some sort of City Trial Battle Royale. Tons of racers populating the same (randomly-generated?) world, screwing with each other while powering up their vehicles for... who knows? A race? A deathmatch battle? Some sort of randomly-chosen Olympic gauntlet of events? An ACTUAL KIRBY LEVEL? The mind reels at the possibilities. It seems like it could turn into a godawful mess, but...

In Sakurai, We Trust.

Also, I know that it seems like Nintendo is hitting the racing genre pretty hard, but I've gotta say, after struggling through a barren arcade racing desert for the last 10-15 years, I completely welcome our new arcade racing overlords. ExciteMoped in 2026, Nintendo! Wave Race in 2027! Stunt Trax FX with bouncy vehicle suspensions in 2028! Slalom 2 with dual mousecon skis in 2029!

Mach. Rider.

Seriously, I'm dying for some good racing action. I'm sure that I'll grab the new Fast game from Shin'en, too (and then never play it).

@Zero
I'd rather be an Air Ride weirdo than a Dream Course weirdo!

Nah, just playing, you can never have too much Kirby.

I'm interested in how this turns out. Including Smash Run, this could potentially be Sakurai's third go around with the whole City Trial format. Here's hoping we get something a bit more full featured.

@pokepal148
I think randomizing the map more could really boost City Trial's (and Smash Run's) longevity. I feel like it would make Fortnite more interesting, too, although I can see the value of a fixed map for coordination.

I woke up this morning certain that a Mario 40th Anniversary Direct would be announced.

But it was a Kirby Air Riders Direct instead! Hopefully you-know-who makes an appearance.

A Direct for just this game, and it's 45 minutes? Wow, makes me wonder if this thing is gonna be huge!

It's a Sakurai game, so I'm expecting it to be bursting at the seams.

I've been anticipating this Direct all summer, glad we'll finally get a real look at this tomorrow.

Looks fun! Maybe a little simple? But it's not coming out until November; sounds like they have a lot more to show?

Metroid Prime 4 before this??

I'm a little surprised how similar it looks to the Gamecube game, not just functionally but visually as well. I think that's both a credit to the original's style and polish and performance, and also a bit of a knock on the new one. It doesn't look bad, but it nothing about it says "next-gen" to me at all.

I was a little underwhelmed by this presentation because I went in expecting some tweaks to the formula, but based on what we've seen so far I'll probably pick it up anyway and enjoy it. Plus it's clear we haven't seen everything it has to offer yet, so here's hoping there are some interesting new game modes or something on the way.

@nate38
Saved me some typing! I like KAR a lot but I think Sakurai kinda got in the weeds a little here going over some of these minutia, and I don't quite see a big enough shift to make up for apparently excising Top Ride. But I'm still interested.

@nate38it looks a lootttttt like Smash Ultimate in terms of the art. So like, we’re not getting wow’d by any new kinds of lighting or anything like that.

But if it means keeping the game locked at 60fps, then I guess they have to do what they have to do. I actually think this game looks really good…but does it look $70 good? That I’m not so sure about. The music is sounding INCREDIBLE so far though.

While the game is not too interesting to me (just... not what I'm looking for, that's all), that Direct was fantastic! Boy does that guy know how to present things. A+

@Anand

I am down for more of the Excite series!! I would even gladly take ExciteTruck in HD and no other changes...

Well that 60-minute Direct had some surprise features. This game isn't going to click with everybody, but for those who get it, they'll play it for 100,000 hours.

Public online demos start November 8th, looking forward to it.

Ooh, I liked this second Direct quite a bit more than the first. Felt like there was a lot more to chew on this time since to KAR vets the first Direct went over a bunch of familiar stuff. I particularly love that Top Ride is returning, and every stage from the original GCN game is back! Plus five checklists of 150 missions apiece sounds like there'll be plenty to do, the Road Trip mode looks fun, and no DLC! Gotta love the Sakurai-style tons of unlockables too; I wish more developers took his approach to game design.

Day one!

The breadth and polish here are really something.