00:00You might look at the brand new Kirby Air Riders game and think,
00:03huh, that looks an awful lot like Mario Kart. But what if I told you that Kirby Air Riders
00:11isn't a racing game, it's a vehicle combat game? Or that it's actually more like Smash Bros than
00:19Mario Kart? In fact, I would even go as far to say that Kirby Air Riders is Smash Bros on
00:26wheels.
00:26Now, there's one major point I feel I should touch on right at the start when it comes to
00:31comparing Kirby Air Riders to Smash Bros. Masahiro Sakurai is the game director of Kirby Air Riders,
00:39and Nintendo fans may recognise his name. Why? Well, he created Super Smash Bros. When you create
00:47such an iconic franchise, of course, some of your influences will inevitably seep into your other
00:52games. At its core, Kirby Air Riders is a Sakurai game, so it's no surprise it feels more like
00:59Smash Bros than Mario Kart. Now, before we get into the nitty gritty, I need to talk about the
01:05riders and their machines. There's an extensive roster of riders, including fan favourite hamster
01:10Rick, all with vastly different abilities and play styles. The machines you drive around in could
01:16also be considered characters in their own right. Because of the abilities available,
01:21the combinations are almost endless. So, like Smash Bros, it's key that you find a rider and
01:27machine that works best for you. And top tip, try out different combinations for different game modes
01:33and scenarios. Alongside modes like Air Ride and Road Trip, the one mode that really sets Kirby Air
01:39Riders apart from its racing brethren is the combat-based City Trial mode. See where I'm going with this?
01:45With up to 16 players competing online, and up to 12 friends talking on game chat,
01:50you have to drive around the island of Skya in this epic mode that is split into two parts,
01:56free ride and stadium event. Firstly, in free ride, you ride around collecting power-ups to raise your
02:02machine's stats as much as possible in five minutes. Your aim here is to make your machine as powerful as
02:09possible. You can either find these power-ups hidden around the island, in boxes, or steal them from
02:15your opponents by attacking them. During this time, you can also swap out your machine if you find one
02:20that better suits your playstyle. And don't worry, all of your stats will come with you to your new machine.
02:27In the free ride period, you can also take on random events, like boss battles or even Gordo's
02:34Raining from the Sky, where you can win fantastic power-ups. Once the time is up, you all head to
02:40the
02:40stadium with your final powered-up machine. The stadium challenge is chosen randomly out of several
02:46options, like a classic drag race or air glider, which sees you launching off the jump ramp to fly
02:53as far as you can. There's target flight, where you hit score panels and earn points to match,
02:59and skydive, where you dive quickly while boosting to aim for a high score. And there's also gourmet race,
03:06where you gobble up as much of the feast as you can. Kirby Melee and Dust Up Derby, though, are
03:12the
03:12ultimate battle playgrounds, and these are the challenges that truly make me want to call Kirby
03:17Air Riders Smash Bros on Wheels. They're two events where copy abilities and items will really help you,
03:24as you have a huge amount of items at your disposal. Want to unleash plasma attacks? You can do that!
03:31What about drilling into the ground and launching a stealth attack? Yep, you can do that too!
03:35With such a huge variety of abilities, no two battles are ever the same. With such variety,
03:42I can't help but think of all the options available to me when I pick my preferred fighter in Smash
03:47Bros.
03:48The whole vibe of Kirby Air Riders is so Smash Bros, it's hard not to notice it.
03:54Kirby Air Riders is available now exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2.
04:05You also know, depends on the game.
04:05But we're right here now, I can't help.
04:06But we're trying to meet you in a message.
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