A racing game for the Nintendo GameCube, Kirby Air Ride released in 2003 and hasn’t been revisited by Nintendo since. The game’s simple controls and clever design make it a fun and endearing GameCube title. Modernizing the designers’ ideas in Air Ride would work well on the hybrid console, and Nintendo recently saw a positive response to the announcement of Mario Strikers: Battle League - which is a contemporary sequel to an old GameCube title. This, alongside fan excitement surrounding Forgotten Land, means it makes a lot of sense to revisit Air Ride.
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Air Ride’s Controls on Switch
Part of what made Kirby Air Ride so enjoyable was its simple, tight controls. Acceleration was automatic, and the control stick was used not only for turning but also for gliding. These inputs map perfectly to the Switch, and Joy-Con controllers’ gyro capabilities could be utilized for gliding this time around. In the same way, a gyro feature can help aim in the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, so this would map well to controlling each vehicle’s elevation by mimicking the angle of the its nose.
Nintendo Switch Online and City Trial
Players familiar with Air Ride’s City Trial mode will recognize the game’s potential for online play. In the original, up to four players could navigate a large, open-world city in search of power-ups for their respective vehicles. Then, players used their souped-up vehicles to duke it out in a random racing or combat-based mini-game. The fun of this mode came from the unpredictability of the party mini-games and random events that occurred within the city. Recreating this experience for Nintendo Switch Online would likely make for a ton of fun, especially if the city’s size increased to allow for more concurrent players.
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Copy Abilities from Forgotten Land
Modern hardware upgrades would enhance Air Ride’s features, but incorporating parts of Forgotten Land would make for a great update to the game, too. Forgotten Land has teased that Kirby can level up pre-existing copy abilities to create new ones. These new copy abilities could freshen up the abilities of the original Air Ride. Moreover, Kirby’s new Mouthful Mode could easily be incorporated into an Air Ride sequel. Plenty of real-life vehicles would suit the racing aspects of Air Ride, and Kirby could ride them around different courses.
The GameCube’s library is brimming with hidden gems. Custom Robo, Baten Kaitos, F-Zero GX, and others have left a lasting legacy, even if they haven’t received modern updates. Kirby Air Ride is among these titles, and with the right modernization, its sequel could be a great success. Air Ride was incidentally also the last game Masahiro Sakurai developed during his time at HAL Laboratories. Now that Super Smash Bros.’ development has concluded, perhaps an Air Ride sequel directed by the creator of Kirby isn’t totally out of the question.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is scheduled to release on March 25, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
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