Sakurai Says Kirby Air Riders Is 'Basically Mario Kart' in Extremely Smash Bros-style Direct

Today, Masahiro Sakurai hosted a 45-minute Nintendo Direct solely dedicated to his latest project, Kirby Air Riders. And it was a somewhat antithetic Direct! Delivered successful Sakurai's iconic benignant that he's developed from giving Super Smash Bros. presentations implicit the years, the full happening felt precise Smash Bros. successful general. But Sakurai besides opened the presumption by invoking different game, admitting that Kirby Air Riders is "basically Mario Kart".

He said this to get up of criticisms oregon comments from the assemblage that it is, admittedly, a spot unusual for Nintendo to person asked him to marque a caller Kirby Air Ride crippled coming retired close connected the heels of Mario Kart World. Both are racing games that diagnostic a divers roster of racers with antithetic abilities, unsocial karts and courses, and akin functions specified arsenic boosting, drifting, and drafting. Sakurai says helium was asked by Shinya Takahashi and Satoshi Mitsuhara to marque Kirby Air Riders portion helium was moving connected DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

"You mightiness beryllium asking yourself if it's fundamentally Mario Kart," Sakurai said. "You contention and conflict with acquainted characters astir courses with antithetic features, oregon truthful they say. Ok, truthful it fundamentally is similar Mario Kart. I adjacent mentioned this erstwhile I received the petition ot marque the game. I asked them if they inactive wanted to bash it. But arsenic fans of the archetypal know...The entreaty of the crippled is not really the races!"

And yes, arsenic the presumption went on, it became wide that Kirby Air Riders is filling a precise antithetic niche to Mario Kart. For one, Mario Kart World made a large amusement of expanding its races to 24 racers astatine a time. But Sakurai pointedly constricted Kirby Air Riders races to six, saying that "too galore participants successful this crippled tin marque it messy" successful a seemingly lighthearted jab astatine Kart. In different large difference, portion Kirby does person its City Trial mode arsenic a much unfastened portion free-for-all, its superior races are thigh races, portion Mario Kart World emphasizes driving from way to way crossed an unfastened world. This is thing that Kart fans person really criticized since the crippled came out, arsenic Nintendo made efforts to propulsion the long-distance races implicit circling a way 3 times (and past U-turned connected this prime later).

Aside from the Mario Kart comparisons though, the full Direct conscionable felt similar a Smash Bros. presentation. Much of that is apt chalked up to it conscionable being Sakurai's presumption style, which we've mostly seen for Smash Bros. successful the past. But the melodramatic mode successful which helium revealed caller characters connected the roster, the ocular benignant of the rubric cards and interstitials, the euphony and sound, and a batch of different elements lent a precise Smashy consciousness to the full thing. The archetypal Kirby Air Ride took a batch of UI, sound, and benignant elements from Super Smash Bros. Melee, truthful it lone makes consciousness to spot that hap present too. It's similar Mario Kart meets Super Smash Bros, almost.

Kirby Air Riders is retired connected November 20, 2025, for the Nintendo Switch 2 and volition diagnostic a wide roster of Kirby characters including Waddle Dee, King Dedede, Gooey, Chef Kawasaki, Metaknight, and more. You tin drawback up connected everything announced astatine today's Direct close here.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. You tin find her posting connected BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].