Kirby Air Riders Isn’t Just Mario Kart – It’s Smash Bros. on Wheels

Masahiro Sakurai has once again proven he knows how to turn a game reveal into an event. His latest Nintendo Direct, a 45-minute showcase for Kirby Air Riders, was less a traditional racing game presentation and more a spectacle in true Smash Bros.

fashion. From dramatic character reveals to UI flourishes that feel lifted right out of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the broadcast carried Sakurai’s unmistakable fingerprints throughout.

Right from the start, Sakurai disarmed potential criticism by joking that Kirby Air Riders is “basically Mario Kart.” And in some ways, he’s right. It has racers with unique skills, courses filled with hazards, and mechanics like boosting and drifting. With Mario Kart World still fresh in players’ minds, the overlap is hard to ignore. But Sakurai stressed that Air Riders isn’t trying to out-Kart Mario – it’s carving its own path.

The differences became clear as the Direct unfolded. While Mario Kart World boasts sprawling open-world tracks and 24-player races, Air Riders is deliberately smaller scale, capping at six participants. Sakurai even poked fun at Mario Kart’s chaos, saying too many drivers just made things messy. More importantly, Kirby’s beloved City Trial mode returns, putting emphasis on free-roam chaos, item collection, and last-minute showdowns. For longtime fans, that’s the heart of Air Riders – not the lap races themselves.

There’s also a tonal difference. Mario Kart has leaned into long-distance adventures, but Sakurai is doubling down on intensity: tight circuits, faster combat-style clashes, and balance improvements over the original. If Mario Kart is about colorful mayhem, Air Riders aims for controlled chaos with room for strategy and comebacks.

Of course, the Smash Bros. DNA is undeniable. The Direct’s production echoed his previous work, from the music to the way character reveals were staged. And that’s no accident – the original Kirby Air Ride already borrowed from Super Smash Bros. Melee, and its sequel is fully embracing that lineage. In a way, Air Riders looks like Mario Kart and Smash Bros. had a strange but exciting crossover baby.

Set for release on November 20, 2025, exclusively on the Nintendo Switch 2, Kirby Air Riders launches with a robust roster featuring King Dedede, Meta Knight, Gooey, Chef Kawasaki, Waddle Dee, and many more. Whether it will steal laps from Mario Kart World remains to be seen, but Sakurai has made one thing clear: Kirby isn’t just here to ride – he’s here to rewrite the rules of the race.