Kirby Air Ride

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Kirby Air Ride (or Kirby's Air Ride, as it was known in pre-GameCube development) is a 2003 racing video game featuring Nintendo's pink puffball, Kirby. Rather than racing in cars, the players and computer-controlled racers ride on air ride machines. It was originally intended to be released on the Nintendo 64, but went through numerous delays before being cancelled. But like Star Fox Adventures, it was resurrected for the GameCube. The game supports up to four players, and also supports LAN play using broadband adapters and up to four Gamecubes.

Modes

There are three modes of play:

1. Air Ride: A basic back view racing mode. Choose a machine and race against up to three other people via slpit-creen or LAN, bots, or in a single-person time trial. There are nine separate courses total.
2. Top Ride: A wild overhead racing mode on smaller, simpler tracks, with two machines to choose from. There are seven courses total.
3. City Trial: A larger mode where players must navigate a massive city grabbing power ups and better air ride machines. Players can even collect machine pieces to fuse together into "legendary machines". Features events such as giant meteors, UFOs, Dynablade, station fires, and much more. At the end players face off in a small competition. These competitions can vary from racing a single lap on one of the Air Ride courses, a drag race down a long, varying path, or one of many other games that must be unlocked.

Stars and Machines

• Warpstar: Most balanced Air Ride machine in all aspects.

• Slick Star: Very fast, but has terrible traction. It slides a lot, hence the name.

• Winged Star: Very high glide in air but slow on the ground and has bad turn.

• Formula Star: Low Charge and sub-par handling, but very high overall Top Speed. Good for drag races.

• Shadow Star: High offense, excellent gliding, and good acceleration.

• Swerve Star: Very fast, but cannot turn, so it needs to stop and pivot.

• Rocket Star: Poor overall Top Speed , difficult handling, and poor Glide, but shoots like a rocket when fully charged.

• Wagon Star: Cannot boost, but has great control and is good in other areas.

• Turbo Star: Quite fast, but has awkward steering. The Turbo Star cannot glide, and it can only charge when the player slides to the left .It is also a secret board in Sonic Riders

• Bulk Star: A bizarre machine, the Bulk Star uses boosts for fuel. It has high HP and Offense offset by poor overall Top Speed and Glide. Better for deathmatches than races.

• Jet Star: Mediocre control and speed on the ground, but gets a quick speed boost in the air.

• Wheelie Bike: Good overall Top Speed, but has difficult handling and poor Gliding.

• Wheelie Scooter: Good acceleration and control, but poor overall Top Speed and Boost. It charges quickly and turns quickly while charging. A high jumper, it's a good choice for High Jump because of the huge speed boost it gets when it jumps off of the platform.

• Rex Wheelie: Very fast, very durable, but difficult to steer. The Rex Wheelie automatically presses switches.

• King Dedede: Not a star, but an alternate character. He rides what appears to be a giant Wheelie Bike custom built to fit him. He can automatically attack enemies with his hammer. His speed is somewhat sub-par, but he has good Offense and HP.

• Meta Knight: Not a star, but very fast, and able to attack enemies (automatically) with his sword. Meta Knight is generally a cross between Kirby's Wing and Sword abilities. He is also selectable in City Trial Free Run.

• Compact Star: City Trial only. The City Trial default star. Good handling and acceleration, but somewhat slow.

• Dragoon: City Trial only. One of the two Legendary Machines. It can only be used in City Trial, when the player has found its three pieces. Dragoon is the best glider in the game. It is also selectable in City Trial Free Run.

• Hydra: City Trial only. One of the two Legendary Machines, Hydra is the fastest vehicle in the game, but it uses Boost as fuel. It can top 100 mp/h, and has the highest Offense in the game. It is also selectable in City Trial Free Run.

• Flight Warpstar: City Trial Free Run only. A prototype Warpstar, it is the second-best glider in the game (bested by Dragoon). Some of its characteristics are different (including its orange color), but it is no different than the normal Warpstar in other areas.

• Free Star: Top Ride only. Move the control stick in the direction desired to turn that way.

• Steer Star: Top Ride only. Move the control stick left and right to turn.

Courses in Air Ride mode

• Fantasy Meadows- A short circular course, very basic.
• Celestial Valley- A long, twisting course with jumps, buttons, and many choices. Part of the track is a river.
• Sky Sands- A desert course with many twists and turns. It has a few secret passages. Not a good choice for bikes.
• Frozen Hillside- An ice course floating in the sky, with a long stretch of grinding rails. Not a good choice for bikes.
• Magma Flows- A course filled with lava and jumps. Almost a labyrinth, with many forks in the road.
• Beanstalk Park- This course is a maze also, floating in the sky. It has many alternative paths, including a ferris wheel, with a lot of rails and buttons.
• Machine Passage- A course located in a floating factory, with many abrupt turns, varying paths, and even a cannon that shoots you across a gap in the track. There are many moving parts.
• Checker Knights- A long course woth two distinct parts. One is a castle/stone part, with hidden shortcuts and curving paths. The other part is a neon half-pipe with moving parts and rails.
• Nebula Belt- A very long, uneventful course floating in space. There are many ramps and copy ability icons. Has to be unlocked to race on.

Courses in Top Ride mode

• Grass- A crazy, short course with exploding fruit and boost panels.
• Sand- A desert course with collapsing bridges, quicksand, falling boulders, and a giant, man-eating cactus plant.
• Sky- A floating course with jump panels, conveyor belts, and a spinning platform.
• Fire- A crazy course with air-burst shortcuts and lava spews.
• Light- A futuristic course located on a giant piece of glass. There are item boxes and randomly changing grind rails.
• Water- A course surrounded by water. It is very curvy, with waterfalls and creeks flowing over the track.
• Metal- A wild course located in a factory, with giant gears, spinning obstacles, and buttons that control them, along with violent wind.

Features

The game features incredibly simple controls, using only the control stick and the A button. You can also use L or R in place of A.

The game also features soundtracks from the Japanese version of . There are also tracks from Kirby Super Star and other Kirby games.

Masahiro Sakurai, the game designer behind the Kirby series, resigned only days after giving a public interview where he openly criticized Nintendo for circumstances surrounding the development of Kirby Air Ride.

The game also supports LAN multiplayer with up to four Nintendo Gamecube systems

Copy Abilities

Kirby's ability is to suck up things and to get their ability. Here are the abilities.

• No Power: Players with no powers can inhale enemies when pressing 'A'. Enemies with no powers will be exhaled as missile-like stars, while enemies with powers will pass the powers on to the player when swallowed.

• Sword: Allows players to swing a sword automatically whenever they are near rivals or enimies, and also get a burst in speed for damaging them.

• Tornado: Intensifies the quick spin attack and makes it able to be used in midair. If a machine is fully charged, it will also perform an intensified quick spin.

• Bomb: Allows players to throw large bombs in the desired direction. Charge up to throw the bomb farther.

• Plasma: Allows players to release a plasma bomb. Players can make the attack stronger by quickly jiggling the control stick back and forth (also used to do a quick spin). The weakest attack shoots one small bomb. The second attack fires multiple small bombs. The third fires three lasers (one straight and two to the sides). The fourth discharges a long laser beam straight. The final attack fires a huge plasma bomb.

• Wing: You become a bird, with increased or decreased gliding abilities (depending on what machine you had). Increases speed, but nullifies charging.

• Freeze: Allows players to freeze passing enemies (push 'A').

• Sleep: You fall asleep at the "wheel". Causes players to lose control of their air ride machine. If your machine hits another racer during this time, he becomes affected with sleep as well. Jiggle the control stick back and forth to wake Kirby up faster.

• Wheel: Turns player into a wheel, increasing speed and causing them to harm everything they touch. Wheels also automatically press switches. Usually decreases control, however. Note: If you take damage while Wheel Kirby, Kirby will turn back to his normal form for a split-second, allowing you to see the cap he wears for that ability.

• Needle: When players with needle press 'A', they extend lethal spikes in all directions (obviously damaging any nearby enemies).

• Fire: Allows players to shoot fireballs. The longer they hold 'A', the bigger their fireball becomes. The fire remains on the ground for a few seconds afterward, to burn any enemies behind the player.

• Mike: When a player swallows a 'Mike' enemy, they scream into a microphone, and the horrid noise damages all enemies in the area. This is the game's megapower.

Trivia

There are a few tips of the hat to previous Kirby games and other Kirby-related things, as many Kirby games tend to do. Here is a sampler:

• Dynablade first appeared in Kirby Super Star, released for the SNES.
• There is alternate music available for unlocking in the game. All of them are remixed tracks from past Kirby titles. This feature was in turn borrowed from Super Smash Bros. Melee.
• The Wheelie Bike's appearance was taken from a partner from Kirby Super Star, simply named Wheelie. TAC also came from Kirby Super Star.
• The Formula Star, Rocket Star, Winged Star, and Shadow Star all appear in the first two parts of the five-part series finale of , where Kirby tangles with the four, piloted by villains from a UFO. When the game was released in America, the first two parts of the finale were shown early in order to promote the release. (They would later be released along with the last three parts in condensed form as the direct-to-video film Kirby: Fright to the Finish).
• In City Trial, sometimes players can find Food to heal his or her HP. Each piece of Food, being from the same publisher, can also be found in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Also, the Ability Cap for Freeze is the same as the Ability Cap for Ice Climber, as in Nightmare in Dream Land. However, while the Sword Ability Cap is obviously modelled after Link, it appeared since Kirby Super Star, which was made before any Super Smash Bros.

Critical Reaction

The game was met with mixed reviews upon its release, many of them praising it for the smooth visuals and orchestrated music, but criticizing it for its overly simple gameplay and lack of extended appeal.

• GameSpy - 3 out of 5
• IGN - 5.2 out of 10
• GamePro - 4 out of 5
• 1UP.com - 4 out of 10
• Revo-Europe - 7 out of 10
• G4 - 3 out of 5
• Game Freaks 365 - 6.7 out of 10
• Planet GameCube - 8.5 out of 10
• Game Informer - 7 out of 10
• Electronic Gaming Monthly - 7 out of 10
• Nintendo Power - 4.2 out of 5

External links

• [Kirby Air Ride] at Nintendo.com
• [Kirby Air Ride] at MobyGames
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixV961cRFGk&search=Kirby%20Air%20Ride Commercial]