Nintendo's Secret Battle Royale - Kirby Air Ride

Kirby Air Ride is a racing game like no other, with gameplay basically boiling down to the mastery of one skill: drifting.
Directed by Kirby's creator and Smash Bros director, Masahiro Sakurai and released for the Nintendo GameCube in 2003, the game is a departure from the traditional side-scrolling of the franchise and has become a cult classic.
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#nintendo #gaming #kirby

[@Akshonesports]

What was your first Kirby game?

[@onthedre]

Squeak Squad. Was great!

[@Vieislost]

Return to dreamland on the wii

[@Ga1oThymos]

Nightmare in Dreamland

[@Wagabooger]

Air Ride stays the goat

[@whoops3425]

Triple Deluxe. And it’s still my favorite

[@zmaster3982]

I don't think calling Sakurai a Genius game dev would be wrong. My mind is blown.

[@ilypo]

They should remake this and release it on the switch with online multiplayer

[@twixchexmix]

on one hand I love this game, on the other I don’t know if I have enough faith for Nintendo to implement actually decent online multiplayer

[@JohnLattanzio98]

​@@twixchexmixIve played eight player smash bro matches online with noticeable lag, but very minimal. Nintendo generally has good online, it just depends on the other players' wifi connection. Smm2 is the only game I can confidently say has bad online, not sure why. Maybe the servers are already working to upload levels?? Other than that game, it's relatively smooth sailing

[@irishjet2687]

​@SparksterlotI think a big problem comes from the Switch's dual home/portable console design. Plenty of people are playing in handheld mode, and many more don't have the LAN adapter to have a wired, more stable connection.

[@florisvanderveen2375]

Kirby 99😂

[@iiMOJA]

I’ve been wanting a sequel of this my whole life. The free roam mode was so fun as a kid

[@271489goo]

Orange star until getting a god machine

[@Imbalto]

Me and my brother played for hundreds of hours in the open world

[@iiMOJA]

@@Imbalto same me and my sister did that shit endlessly. It wasn’t even all that special now that I look at it but at the time it was magical. Listening to the ost brings tears to my eyes.

[@yoshicookeyclub]

Town of trials, is meant to be a spiritual successor

[@boochaca7957]

@@yoshicookeyclub i've been watching this game since i'd heard about it, it's looking pretty promising if a little slow going, but it's a few indie devs, so it's gonna take a minute

[@whostolecookiesfromthejar]

The battle royale we we all needed

[@Idk_496]

Oui oui🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷

[@loafy2]

City Trial was such a genius mode. I still play it on emulator every once in a while and it holds up remarkably well. I'm still waiting for a new game to come out with a similar concept. Smash run on for Smash 4 on 3ds was the only thing that really scratched the same itch.

[@PhirePhlame]

As weird as this feels to say, I think this kind of formula would really work for an actual battle royale game.

[@MezzoForte4]

My siblings and I played the absolute shit out of this game back in the day. We even completed all the challenges in each mode. City Trial was the highlight of our plays usually and then the random events at the end were hype af. Even better when one of us finds a piece of the Dragoon or Hydra and it's GAME ON. We'd go after each other trying to get pieces and find the others before we time out. If one of us does get it, we'd go after the others trying to kill their Rides to fuck them up on the Event Round. Best times of my life right there. I still have my copy actually, damn now I wanna grab my brother and play again! 😅 We were literally just talking about the game the other day about how the LAN mode worked and how we should try to get it to work for fun but that involves an extra copy and TV. My faves are Wagon and Swerve Star. Wagon for the meme, Swerve for the speed.

[@LilypadOW]

forget about gemini signs.. were you a hydra enjoyer or a dragoon connoisseur

[@BlueV205]

Give your editor a raise, he's one of the most funniest people in this platform.

[@TheXtremeBoltGuy]

The fact that Kirby Air Ride is finally getting the recognition it deserves (well, more widespread recognition lol) is incredible. Hell, the fact that it even HAS a competitive scene still blows my mind to this day. Keep it up! This game is so much fun and competitive play goes incredibly hard.

[@infuryz.4306]

Awesome video. Competitive Kirby Air Ride takes City Trial to a whole new level btw. It’s worth trying it out! We play with controllers on Netplay in Fullscreen and it’s always a lot of fun.

[@sedax970]

Sakurai always dropping the best competitive games with smash Kirby and kid Icarus

[@panetoneninjacanal2692]

Kid icarus?

[@sedax970]

@@panetoneninjacanal2692 yes theh multiplaye is really competitive

[@bryanleal6000]

@@panetoneninjacanal2692yes kid Icarus uprising for the 3ds check out a video on the multiplayer gameplay and you will know what he/she is talking about.

[@Casual_PKBeats]

Even though I enjoy the Kirby series, KAR has always been my absolute favorite, and it's all because of City Trial. To this day, not only do I wish they would've brought Smash Run outside of the 3DS (UUUUUGH), but man, I REALLY want them to make a new Kirby Air Ride game for the Switch For the time being though, it makes me so glad to see the Kirby Air Ride scene doing as well as it is, and this netplay stuff looks really fun! Might have to give it a shot soon :o

[@EzraTheEpic]

Editors went crazy on this one.

[@nekonomicon2983]

I had no idea this game had a competitive community. I always just played with A.I. so I'm very curious how much more fun the game is with actual people.

[@armandocasas9140]

There's only one way to find it out

[@MrJasperFrench]

I had Kirby air ride on my GameCube as a kid and never understood the game. I just played it like a racing game and spent so long just trying to do cool tricks

[@MrNemitri]

Ah, now we know where Smash 4 3DS got its inspiration from, it has about the same structure

[@cmk5498]

One of my favorite childhood games

[@peoplesdreamsneverend2709]

This was a HUGE child hood game growing up and sometimes the games i used to play back then I dont play for very long. But kirby air ride is not one of those. To this day i can easily put multiple hrs in this game on dolphin. Truly an great game to this day

[@pigglez]

my mouth was as open as kirby's in just the sheer shock and awe i have experienced viewing this banger of a video

[@thinkingfubuki]

Highly appreciate the moment at around 2:30 where Kirby Air Ride and Need for Speed: Most Wanted are both on the screen at the same time Grew up playing both games a lot, loving Kirby Air Ride for its uniqueness and charm and loving Most Wanted for its great police chases and racing mechanics, being one of my favorite traditional racing games of all time (even with its cheesy cutscenes and repetitive career progression system)

[@weshverified]

I saw Billy Hatcher under Air Ride in the opening. Please tell me there’s a hyper elite secret underground esports scene for that beautiful mess of a game.

[@PhoenixRoseYT]

God I’m here for that

[@BusterBeachside]

KAR is such a gem of a game. I had no idea people played City Trial competitively! I knew the racing mode has pretty a competitive speedrunning scene, but this is fascinating! I'd love to see you cover the Panel de Pon/Puzzle League eSports community. We've made our own fangame called Panel Attack which we use for ranked online garbage battles. I myself am a player/moderator/caster/content creator for the community, and I'd love to do an interview for you... 👀I know a lot of other prominent community members would also absolutely love to do the same!

[@KinixKX]

Thanks for giving us a chance to talk about this rare gem of a game and its competitive scene!! Love you guys

[@etheron1235]

0:57 Props who made that edit

[@CaptainPlayguy]

"Living in the city, ya know you have to survive, you gotta keep the dream alive"

[@jaimenian289]

This kirby racing game is pretty unique and as usual Akshon esports does a great job presenting it! Thank you

[@Akshonesports]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@CliffCardi]

15:28 Kirby cries out in pain as he strikes you

[@WallyBobbywang]

I need to clarify that the red boxes are random esque. There definitely is a pattern to them and certain locations that have red boxes will always give you a vehicle piece. Ah the memories.

[@infelious2466]

This is my literal CHILDHOOD!

[@HOMOGRIMOIRE]

It's funny how Sakurai invented battle royals before battle royals with this game and kid Icarus uprising's online multiplayer

[@michaelriverside1139]

I've always hoped for an expansion of City Trial with online, it could be so rad if it had a Forgotten Land theme!

[@forgedh2486]

Man, City Trial was my JAM growing up

[@quixoticfiend9274]

Other companies: Let's support the eSports scene that has sprung up around our games! Nintendo: I sleep.

[@carllito12]

I can't believe that we never got a sequel or port for this game. I have spent countless hours playing it over the years.

[@user-be3qc7re9o]

The game was reviewed poorly when first released.

[@sinfinite7516]

Sakurai truly is a genius

[@Zetawavez]

I never knew there was a competitive Airride scene, that’s amazing, I really hope to see it return one day but I feel like it’s left to dust for eternity

[@Moss_Dude]

This is one of the only Kirby games neither me or my sibling have played, and we have been quietly begging for it to be remade or ported for years now

[@abdelali9279]

0:10 can't believe the disrespect

[@dextra_24703]

The edits on this video might be the best this channel ever had

[@nickloughner7512]

This is probably my favorite game. Played it for thousands of hours on city trial. I just love it so much

[@NolenJacobson]

Those are some pretty significant gameplay mods considering its normally a 1 button game. This was like watching a video on Brawl as a competitive game only to get bait and switched into the video being about the PM scene in the last 2 minutes.

[@RiceK27]

Me and my cousins would play for hours free roaming the city when we were kids. Damn this brings back so many memories😂

[@Officialencode]

it's so cool seeing games i played for thousands of hours have competitive scenes. Kirby Air ride, melee, sonic riders. now if we get star fox assault or Metroid Prime 2 I'll be in heaven

[@StormyFloof]

Im so happy to see that in the past few months one of my favorite gamecube games is finally getting the recognition it deserves

[@tempotic]

YES KIRBY AIRIDE WE LOVE KIRBY AIRIDE HYPE LETS GOOOOO

[@VGInterviews]

Someone needs to make a true battle royale spiritual successor to this game with more players and a larger map

[@BlitzkriegOmega]

Sakurai is missing out on a lot of money by not porting this to switch with online :D

[@fisherlaws6737]

Craziest thing is I had this game and never knew it was a multiplayer game I would just drive around the city solo

[@RESPRiT]

The editing on this is insaneo style

[@sierrasnyder1436]

I can’t believe a game that I started playing as a child 20 years ago apparently has a competitive scene I never knew about. God Nintendo either needs to port a remaster to Switch or make a sequel. You know a game is quality when it can stand the test of time like this

[@vlim5601]

fucking amazing how some random game i played at daycare as a kid 20 years ago has a competitive scene online

[@enzo4089]

I loved KAR played it with my brother and cousin every single time he'd come over, love this game to pieces nothing like it nowadays.

[@nobodyfornow]

i had never even considered air ride to be a battle royale until now. thanks for the cognitohazard!

[@sourwasabi5229]

This was some of the best editing i've seen from yall give your editor a raise

[@yammers8]

It’s funny to see how much people thought out how to use the combat system because my siblings and I had to ban fighting to prevent rage quits 😂

[@dangitnicky]

This game badly needs a sequel or spiritual successor

[@KirbyAirRideOnline]

Good to mention that Discord link is in description for the people who want to join the fun

[@Gu3ssWhatsN3XT]

One of my favorite games I played on the GameCube. I was actually just talking about this with a friend the other day about how much fun it was. This game was amazing. I didn’t even know this had a competitive community. Just played with my sisters and cousins as a kid. City trials was the best game mode. The achievements in game were so much fun to do and unlock stuff from them. Really was unique and one of the best games imo

[@blvckabacus]

This was my favorite game growing up also its the only game I have ever lost.

[@Dannymon]

:(

[@NapkinDictator]

Dang, you're pretty skilled! I can't say I've only lost in one game

[@Dannymon]

@@NapkinDictator it's a hard game tbf

[@crumpscrumbs]

Amazing video. City Trial may be what keeps this game alive, but I stand by Air Ride being plenty of fun. Top Ride is a good mobile game.

[@AndrewRKenny]

Sick video. My friend and I played this a tooon over the pandemic together in-person (we both played it when we were younger too in the early 2000s). Super cool to get a gimpse into how the competitive meta has been defined and developed. UnclePunch the GOAT.

[@JohnLattanzio98]

One last flaw of the hydra you failed to mention: everytime you get hit, the machine becomes unable to move for like a half second. So if someone combos you or has spikes, your toast, can't move

[@genemelendez8157]

I remember this being the go-to multiplayer game between me and my brother. So many matches with us fighting over the Dragoon and Hydra pieces. So many good times

[@Triforce9426]

I didn't even know that competitive City Trial was a thing but then again I'm not all that surprised that it is.

[@McMarc_1993]

Kirby Airride was our favorite gamecube multiplayer game! My brother and I used to spend a LOT of time in city trial, both normal mode and freeplay. The racing modes were nice, but the city BR style mode was just soo cool. Way ahead of its time. I truely hope they'll remaster this absolute GEM in the future.

[@PhriekshoTV]

Air Ride's City Trial is one of the best multiplayer experiences ever. Tried KAROnline but the competitive scene honestly takes the fun out of it for me. Bomberman invented the Battle Royale genre, though

[@Greatkaizenx]

Im so happy someone remembers this besides me. Everytime i mention this game to my friends they are always like huh?

[@LeoZhao01]

The editing really made me enjoy this video so much more

[@drckargaming]

Proud to be a prominent member of this community!

[@TobyvUltima]

I'm really glad to see the competitive aspect of Kirby air ride be mentioned in a long video for people to understand the appeal ^^ I've been playing air ride since 2021, and got into it competitively ever since. It's super fun and addicting, and it's always fun to try to improve. I've entered two tournaments for this game in total, and despite never making it too far it's still awesome to be a part of it and the competitive community! Admittedly as of typing this I haven't been playing air ride netplay too much recently, but I still enjoy the times I occasionally pick this game up

[@Surge_N_Destroy]

Play this game competitively with friends. City trial is the core of the game. Speed and glide is very important

[@Placeholder501]

Never realised this game’s acronym would be KAR. How fitting.

[@Warper74]

Kirby Air Ride finally getting the esport attention it needed! And unlike what people think, the Air Ride mode is super competitive too and asks a lot of skills.

[@BasementMinions]

This game mode WAS my childhood. So much fun with friends!!!

[@pipeliner8969]

I played it a lot for a few weeks when I was young. But it felt like a demo of a full game to be honest

[@FenexTheFox]

My favorite machine has always been Winged Star. Flying around freely has always been the most fun part of this game for me

[@herb_rolls]

Why did so many if us use the free roam mode to roleplay and just explore? My brother and I would pretend to live in certain areas (he was in the volcano and I was on top of the highrise) and visit each other. We would sit in the wirlpools and just spin endlessly.

[@wacman13]

That's litteraly how me and my cousin were playing ! xD

[@AtomicBoo]

I have great memories of playing this game for hours with my friends at sleepovers, I remember when we assembled the legendary star for the first time, all the random events happening, fun times!

[@noisypinkbubble875]

This game is a goddamn gem and I love it so so much. Being part of the community (however lurking-ly) has been so awesome for the past few years.

[@firexwater8291]

Istg this channel is underrated..the best esport channel that I've ever subscribed

[@OpalBeats]

i loved this game so much, but never knew there was a competitive community. might have to check it out

[@brandonrodriguez1277]

This game stole my heart as a kid

[@spydar05]

Wow, a channel that produces amazing content is covering THIS game? My friends and I played City Trial for days (total hours played). The way that everyone's personality comes through in their favorite cart - Swerve & Wheelie are my favorites, but some hate both of those, haha. Top Rider is absolutely underrated. It should be an app. And the checklists in this game are SO satisfying! I would genuinely put this game on a VERY short list of games that were made 20+ years ago that are still fun today: SFIII Third Strike, Metal Gear Solid, SSBM, GTA3, Grim Fandango, Halo (y'all know which 1), SM Sunshine, Spyro, FF6, KoToR, and plenty more I missed.

[@allykat5931]

I loved the city mode, the top down mode was adorable and the normal racing mode was really good. Kirby air ride is one of my all time favourite games and I spammed the fuck out of it with my siblings

[@Notester82]

Let's hecking gooooo, fun to see y'all talking about Kirby Air Ride! :D My brother and I discovered City Trial mode on a whim and immediately got hooked for a while, and I had no idea there was a community for playing that mode competitively till now, that's hype!

[@xxProjectJxx]

Makes me want to go back to this one. I loved it as a kid. Idk if I'd ever play it competitively, but I do have memories of playing it casually

[@KevinGannets]

I instantly recognized Billy Hatcher on the very button aha

[@Setsuzoku]

If there was a modern City Trials with online multiplayer I could die happy

[@XSNForte]

Every mode in this game is so good

[@Jayluna98]

One of my all time favorite games! So glad you're highlighting this gem.

[@JoKeRs_Kidol]

Jet fighters and Poyos ❤

[@nathanbarajas9174]

That ad is genius.

[@knuclear200x]

AKA the Forgotten Open-World Kirby game

[@Dr.Smash64]

KAR stays goated throughout the years

[@smallwall4525]

This game is so advanced for a gamecube game

[@sweettangoTIMMY]

bruh 5:59 is just golden meme tier. Well done

[@obo1334]

This vid deserves more attention

[@daltonburroughs3811]

Air Ride is second only to Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. I would love a sequel to both.

[@gnardawgyt]

Great video! Convinced me to give this game a try. I do think the community should make a patch to resolve the permastun issue

[@infuryz.4306]

It’s already patched by making Kirby invincible off machine