Kirby Air Ride: Nitro Boost

Kirby Air Ride: Nitro Boost is a 3D racing game developed for the Nintendo Switch, developed by HAL Laboratory, Next Level Games, and Insomniac Games, and published by Nintendo. Masahiro Sakurai returned to develop the game, marking his first Kirby game in 19 years, not counting the Super Smash Bros. games. This marks the first title Insomniac Games has developed for a Nintendo console, and Masahiro Sakurai's final project before his retirement. The roster has been heavily expanded from a mere 3 to an astounding 25 characters, 28 with DLC. The game was supposed to be released on October 9th, 2020, but was delayed for more development time, and was finally released on March 26, 2021. People who preordered the game before the delay recieved a 1-year Nintendo Switch Online subscription as free compensation. 
==Gameplay==
Unlike the original Kirby Air Ride, the controls of this game have been heavily reworked, now resembling that of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The controls are as follows;
Controls 	Function 	Description
Left Stick 	Steer 	Steers the vehicle left or right. A pretty basic function.
Right Stick 	Camera Function 	Controls the camera angle. It can be used to its full potential in Camera Controls.
A or ZR 	Accelerate 	The most basic of functions. Accelerates the car forward.
B or ZL 	Brake 	In case of going too fast, brake for safety. But we're pretty sure you're not even going to bother with this function.
L 	Drift 	In case of hard turns, use this button to drift your way across. Yes, there is a "Drift King" achievement.
R 	Nitro/Nitro Boost 	The main new function of this game. Get a boost in speed and blast through. Your Nitro needs to charge, though. When fully charged, press R to unleash a Nitro Boost.
Arrow Buttons	Taunts 	Press these buttons to do one of four taunts. Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight, Magolor, and Zan Partizanne have all of their taunts from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Guaranteed to annoy your friends!
X 	Attack 	If you're behind and keep getting blocked, use this button to perform a basic attack. Stops opponents briefly.
Y 	Special Ability/Ultra Ability	Use your character-exclusive special ability to unleash a stronger attack on other racers. When your Nitro Gauge is fully charged, activate a devastating Ultra Ability to stop opponents, and maybe even wreck their vehicles!
Left Click 	Horn 	A simple horn. We don't know why it's there, but we needed to put SOMETHING in this input, so just deal with what you have. Cannot be performed when using a GameCube controller.
Right Click 	Stunt 	When in midair on on a drop, click the Right Stick to perform a stunt. Tilting the Left Stick while holding down this input will change the stunt. Stunt Combos fill up your gauge faster.
Certain characters have different attacks than others (for example, Kirby's Inhale, Pichu's Thunder, Boxboy's Expand), but all attacks have cooldowns to avoid spamming attacks.
==Characters==
===Playable===
Character 	Picture	Description 	Special Ability 	Ultra Ability
Kirby 	 	Kirby is the titular character of the game, the first character available at the start of the game, and the main protagonist of the story mode. He is a balanced character, and the only character who can gain copy abilities from eating enemies. 	Copy Ability: Suck up your enemies (or scan an amiibo) and gain their Copy Ability. All Super Smash Bros. amiibo retain their Copy Abilities from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, including DLC. 	Hypernova/Super Copy Ability: If Kirby hasn't sucked anyone in, he goes ahead and sucks EVERYTHING in, even pieces of the track itself! If he has a Copy Ability, he uses the Ultra Ability or Final Smash of that character.
Meta Knight 	 	Meta Knight is a main deuteragonist, and the second character available at the start of the game. He is a lightweight character, and the first sword character in the game. 	Mach Tornado: Creates a tornado that sucks racers towards him. Great for pulling racers into attacks or getting ahead of them. 	Galaxia Darkness: Darkens the stage completely and cuts through by up to 5 places. The Brawl legacy lives on!
King Dedede 	 	King Dedede is the third character available at the start of the game, the main deuteragonist, and the last veteran from the original game. He is a heavyweight character, and the only character who is unaffected by all projectiles except the Wing Bomber.	Gordo Throw: Pummels a spiky Gordo forward. Gordos have a 10% chance of sticking to opponents, a 5% chance of being replaced by an angry Waddle Doo, and a 1% chance of being an explosive Gordo.	They Love Me!: King Dedede's loyal fanbase rushes to him for autographs, trampling anyone behind him and blocking their view. Even Wing Bombers respect and avoid King Dedede during this period.
Bandana Waddle Dee 	 	Bandana Waddle Dee is a secondary protagonist, the first new racer, and the last character in the game that does not need to be unlocked. He is a speedy character who excels in altitude. 	Spear Throw: Throws a spear. Hold the button to throw farther. There's a 4% chance that an uncharged spear will go super far (aka a Misfire). 	Fake Invitations: Throws a bunch of fake Smash Bros. invitations behind him that explode. There's a small chance that BWD will accidentally throw a real invitation and have one explode on himself.
Rick 	 	Rick is the first unlockable character in the game. He is a heavyweight character who can bump into opponents with stone powers. 	Fire Burst: Dashes forward with a fire attack, slowing opponents. Has a longer cooldown than other attacks. 	Animal Trio: Summons copies of Kine and Coo to use all 6 abilites at once, stopping up to two opponents completely.
Kine 	 	Kine is an unlockable character. He is a middleweight character who can freeze opponents with ice. 	Water Dash: Boosts forward on a wave. Doesn't hurt opponents on impact, but makes their vehicle harder to control. 	Animal Trio: Summons copies of Rick and Coo to use all 6 abilites at once, stopping up to two opponents completely.
Coo 	 	Coo is an unlockable character, and the last of the Animal Trio. He is a lightweight character who can use wing blades to slash opponents. 	Wind Gust: Soars forward with the power of wind. Doesn't hurt opponents at all, but is faster than Fire Burst or Water Dash. 	Animal Trio: Summons copies of Rick and Kine to use all 6 abilites at once, stopping up to two opponents completely.
Marx 	 	Marx is an unlockable character. He is a mediumweight character who uses his attacks from Kirby Super Star and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. 	Wing Blast: Fires lasers from his wings. The lasers are very weak, but have almost no cooldown. Fires at a rate of 60 bpm. 	Black Hole: Splits in two and sucks in everything near him. Unlike Hypernova, Marx cannot destroy pieces of the track.
Gooey 	 	Gooey is an unlockable character. While he cannot absorb Copy Abilities, he can eat projectiles and spit them back out. 	Yum!: Grabs projectiles with his tongue, eats them, and spits them back out stronger. Cannot eat Wing Bombers. 	Mock Matter: Transforms into Dark Matter Gooey and shoots lasers. These lasers are much stronger than Marx's Wing Blasts.
Adeleine and Ribbon 	 	Adeleine and Ribbon serve as one unlockable character. Adeleine controls the vehicle while Ribbon handles the attacks. 	Crystal Drawing: Ribbon draws an midboss on Adeleine's easel and summons them to attack a racer. The drawing disappears after about 8 seconds. 	Painbrush: Ribbon enlarges Adeleine's paintbrush, then sends paint flying everywhere. Can slow opponents or make them lose control of their vehicle.
Dark Meta Knight 	 	Dark Meta Knight is an unlockable character, serving as a semi-clone of Meta Knight and a secondary antiprotagonist. His attacks are more spread out, but take longer. 	Mirror Spin: A darker version of Meta Knight's Mach Tornado. Taken straight from Kirby Star Allies. 	Darkness Illusion: Summons dark clones of himself to slash a racer continuously, and then deliver a smashing blow. Taken from Meta Knight's Final Smash.
Daroach 	 	Daroach is an unlockable character, representing both Kirby Squeak Squad and Kirby Mass Attack. His attacks summon the Squeak Squad or blue Mini-Kirbies. 	Summon: Daroach calls upon a Squeak Squad member or a blue Mini-Kirby. The chance of a Storo or a Mini-Kirby appearing is 10%. 	Boss Summon: Summons Dark Nebula or Necrodius to wreak havoc. Spamming the Y button during this will summon multiple pink Mini-Kirbies, which can take 2 hits.
Prince Fluff 	 	Prince Fluff is an unlockable character, marking his first true appearance on Nintendo Switch. He can be swapped out for Yarn Kirby in the racer select. 	Yarn Whip: Reaches out and attacks the opponent. Holding the button pulls you to the opponent. 	Tankbot: Transforms into the Tankbot and shoots yarn missiles for 15 seconds. Holding the Y button fires smaller but faster missiles.
Magolor 	 	Magolor is an unlockable character who uses dimensional attacks against other racers. A generic box of mac and cheese can be found in one of his vehicles. 	Gem Apples: Throws 3 Gem Apples on the track. They are detonated remotely, or after a period of time goes by. Can stick to racers. 	Ultra Sword: Summons power from the Master Crown and swings a giant sword around recklessly. Pushes opponents backwards.
Taranza 	 	Taranza is an unlockable character, and the only character who can hold up to 6 items at once. 	Spider Web:  	Sectonia Phantom: TBA
Susie 	 	Susie is an unlockable character, riding in her Business Suit from Kirby Planet Robobot. Makiko Omoto recorded new voice lines for Susie, but voice clips from her SSBU assist trophy were also recycled. 	Missile: Fires one missile from her suit. Can fire up to 6 missiles in a row. Each missile has a cooldown of 6 seconds. Can briefly slow racers. 	Rocket Barrage: Fires 1 huge missile that splits into a barrage of exactly 64 small, rapid-fire missiles. Individual missiles are weaker, but faster and able to lock onto opponents.
Francisca 	 	Francisca is an unlockable character, and the youngest of the Mage Sisters. She uses the same attacks from Kirby Star Allies, and can freeze opponents. 	Frozen Gelato: Throws a large snowflake that can stick to opponents or track pieces. After a while, the snowflake will burst, dealing damage to anyone nearby, even Francisca. 	Shaken Soda Blaster: Francisca's signature attack from Kirby Star Allies. Shoots freezing cold soda from a blaster, freezing wheels and disabling wheel control.
Flamberge 	 	Flamberge is an unlockable character, and the second Mage Sister. She uses most of her attacks from KSA, along with some new ones. 	Rock Skewer: Drags her sword into the ground and throws 4 meteorites at the track. Deals medium damage. 	Mega Broiler: Summons a giant lava cannon and fires boiling hot lava from it. Angle is locked to always be in front of the driver.
Zan Partizanne 	 	Zan Partizanne is an unlockable character, and the oldest of the Mage Sisters. Because Carrie Keranen did not reprise her role from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, all of Zan's voice clips are recycled from Star Allies and the Japanese version of Ultimate. 	Drum 'n Waste: Fires a burst of energy spheres from her throne. Weak on their own, but they can move freely and last longer than most projectiles. 	Electro Eclair: Charges up her laser, then throws her partisan and fires in the direction the vehicle is going. The laser angle is locked to the steering, and it destroy other racers' cars in Battle Mode.
Chef Kawasaki 	 	Chef Kawasaki is an unlockable character. While he is normally the slowest character in the game, he has the fastest and longest lasting Nitro in the roster to compensate. 	Clean Dishes: Throws plates and silverware at racers. Attack has a 20% chance of puncturing a racer's tires. 	Today's Special: Sucks up to 3 racers into his cooking pot for about 5 seconds, then pops them out, one by one.
Galacta Knight 	 	Galacta Knight is an unlockable character, and a semi-clone of Meta Knight. He has the weakest attacks, but is faster than Meta Knight or Dark Meta Knight. 	Holy Tornado: TBA 	Morpho Knight: TBA
Waddle Dee 	 	Waddle Dee is an unlockable character, and a separate character from Bandana Waddle Dee. Unlike BWD, Waddle Dee can send out different kinds of attacks. 	Waddle Attack: TBA 	Waddle Dee Army: TBA
Pichu 	 	Pichu is an unlockable character, and the first non-Kirby character in the game, hailing from the Pokémon series. Its attacks are strong, but can hurt itself. 	Thunder: TBA 	Volt Tackle: TBA
Boxboy/Qbby 	 	Boxboy is an unlockable character, and the only non-Kirby character made by HAL Laboratory. He attacks by shapeshifting, and can adjust to certain gaps and hazards. 	Shapeshift: TBA 	Boxboy and Boxgirl!: TBA
Mii 	 	Mii characters can be used in Kirby Air Ride: Nitro Boost. Their attacks are inspired by Nintendo's Golden Era (2006-present). Their weight class depends on the Mii itself, and they have custom costumes. 	Random Attack: Exactly as the name says. Ranges from about 20 different attacks, each with their own damage and weight factors, even their own cooldowns. 	Play it Loud: The power of Nintendo awakens within your Mii, granting it multiple attacks inspired by Nintendo history. The attacks have no cooldowns and deal more damage than Random Attack.
Parallel Susie (DLC)	 	Parallel Susie is a secondary antagonist and the first DLC character in the game, previously as an unplayable boss. Her attack effects involve black hearts instead of pink hearts. 	Dark Missile: Exactly the same as Susie's Special Ability, except with different visual effects. Listen closely, and you'll notice the sounds are different, too. 	Dharkon: Creates a crack in the sky that summons Dharkon to ravage the track. Dharkon is not as strong as he was in Parallel Susie's Boss Race, but he can still impale the track.
Jigglypuff (DLC) 	 	Jigglypuff is the second DLC racer, and the second character from the Pokémon series. Jigglypuff is the lightest character in the game, and she can glide the longest. Her normal attack is Pound, which is her side special in Smash Bros. 	Rest: It doesn't seem like much, but when touching a racer, it instantly sends them flying backwards (or destroys their car in Battle Mode), but you can't control your car while it's asleep. 	Puff Up: Puffs its entire body up to the width of the entire track, and then delivers one final blow before deflating back to its normal size. Ripped straight from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Ice Climbers (DLC) 	 	The Ice Climbers are the third DLC racer, retaining their Smash designs. Unlike Adeleine and Ribbon, Popo and Nana can switch functions in the character select. 	
Hammer Twirl: Popo and Nana swing both their hammers cooperatively, which can hit continuously. Taken from their Smash side special. 	Avalanche: The non-driving Ice Climber blows the Avalanche Horn, summoning a wave of ice and snow. Ice chunks can stay, even after the ability ends.
Pacman (DLC) 	 	Pacman is the fourth and final DLC racer, retaining his smash bros design. He is the lightest and fastest racer. 	Ghost: He summons 4 ghosts as a shield. 	Pac-Mobile: This allows the player to chomp the other players.
==Race Tracks==
Race Tracks 	Description 	Music
Green Greens 	Green Greens is the first track in the game, and the safest. Great for newcomers or people looking for a quick race. Rick, Kine, Coo, Gooey, and Chef Kawasaki are unlocked here.	Kirby Series Medley (New Arrangement)
Castle Lololo 	Castle Lololo is the second track in the game, and the track where Waddle Dee and Taranza are unlocked. 	Castle Lololo (New Arrangement)
Fountain of Dreams 	Fountain of Dreams is the third track in the game, and the track where Galacta Knight is unlocked. 	Gourmet Race (Super Smash Bros. Melee)
Halberd 	The Halberd is the fourth track in the game, and the last track in the Star Rod Cup. 	Meta Knight's Revenge (New Arrangement)
Milkyway Wishes 	Milkyway Wishes is the fifth track in the game, and the track where Marx is unlocked. 	Vs. Marx (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)
Planet Popstar 64 	Planet Popstar 64 is the sixth track in the game, and the track where Adeleine and Ribbon are unlocked. 	Planet Popstar (Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards)
Mirror World 	Mirror World is the seventh track in the game, and the track where Dark Meta Knight is unlocked. 	Dark Meta Knight Theme (New Arrangement)
Patch Land 	Patch Land, a combination of all the worlds in Kirby's Epic Yarn, is the eighth track in the game, and the track where Prince Fluff is unlocked. 	Flower Fields (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)
Haltmann Works, Co. 	Haltmann Works Co. is the ninth track in the game, and the track where Susie is unlocked. 	Pink Ball Activate! (Kirby: Planet Robobot)
The Divine Terminus 	The Divine Terminus is the tenth track in the game, and the track where the Three Mage Sisters are unlocked. 	Song of Supplication (New Arrangement)
Saffron City 	Saffron City is the eleventh track in the game, and the track where Pichu is unlocked. 	Main Theme (Pokemon Red and Blue, New Arrangement)
Boxland 	Boxland is the final track in the base game, and the track where Boxboy is unlocked. 	Stage Song 1 (BOXBOY!)
Icicle Mountain (DLC)	Icicle Mountain is the first DLC track in the game, and the most hazardous track. 	Ice Climber (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)
Nintendo Land (DLC) 	Nintendo Land is the second DLC track in the game, and the only track representing the Wii U era. 	Nintendo Land Medley (Nintendo Land)
Mementos (DLC) 	Mementos is the third DLC track in the game, and the only track from a series with no racers (in this case, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona). 	Last Surprise (Persona 5, New Arrangement)
Pacopolis
(DLC) 	Pacopolis is the final DLC track in the game, and the only track from a series with cameos. 	Cloud Garden (Pacman World Rally, New Arrangement)
Category:Kirby (series)
Category:Racing Games
Category:Nintendo Switch Games
Category:Nintendo Games