What's the general opinion here on Kirby Air Ride for GameCube?



I've been playing the game recently, and I found the game very difficult to learn at first. It has a very unusual control mechanism. Your gas pedal is always on, and you only use one button for braking, boosting, and item weapon usage.

But it's kind of cool that you have to balance all those actions. I think I got the hang of the controls, sometimes it's a matter of whether you're using the right vehicle or not, as they have very different capabilities.

The City Trial is really interesting, though really it's just a matter of driving around everywhere looking for upgrades for the upcoming Stadium battle. And you're not always sure what the Stadium battle will be.

And the game structure is completely different from other racing games. Instead of simply trying to "beat the game" by finishing cups/ grand prix modes on easy, normal, and hard, you're simply presented with a list of tracks and given a huge checklist of missions and objectives to accomplish. I like it! I like that there's no single correct way to play through the game. You have a lot of freedom on how you want to play the game.

So really, the checklists are your indicator of progress. And so far my progress is kind of crappy:

Air Ride: 20/120 done
Top Ride: 15/120 done
City Trial: 16/120 done

And Top Ride is cool, it's like R.C Pro Am all over again.

I'm wondering how much time I want to spend with this game before moving on to the next!

Has anyone come close to finishing of all the checklists?

Oh, and I have to say I love the graphics and sound. The game is very fast like an F-Zero game and stays consistently smooth throughout, having all kinds of crazy loop-de-loops and alternate routes. The music is charming and exciting for a Kirby racer. I remember hearing Frozen Hillside in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and really wanting to play this game afterward.

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