After so many years as a fan you’d think I’d stop being surprised when Masahiro Sakurai does something I never considered that makes perfect sense after the fact. Yet here we are, in the wake of a second Kirby Air Riders Direct, and he managed to blindside me yet again.
After spending an inordinate amount of time on Top Ride, it was announced that every single course from the original Kirby Air Ride would be returning for Kirby Air Riders! Now that isn’t a lot of courses, but it’s enough to double the amount featured and a huge show of love for the GameCube fan favorite.
Those tracks are the following:
- Fantasy Meadows
- Celestial Valley
- Sky Sands
- Frozen Hillside
- Magma Flows
- Beanstalk Park
- Machine Passage
- Checker Knights
- Nebula Belt
Each one has been touched up graphically to be consistent with the rest of the game. They also will all have their familiar musical themes back, which is fantastic news if you’re like me and have been humming Frozen Hillside and Checker Knights for over twenty years now.
With the brand-new courses, that brings the grand total to 18. Sakurai has kept one of the brand new courses under wraps, I’d assume due to its role in the game’s story, but otherwise we know where we’ll be flying and drifting through once the game’s out on November 20th!
Check out more Kirby content
Kirby Air Riders: Global Test Ride demo event set for November
Three new Kirby Air Riders amiibo confirmed for 2026, including one that transforms!
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Written by Ricky Berg
When he isn’t writing for Nintendo Wire, Ricky’s anticipating the next Kirby, Fire Emblem, or if the stars ever align, Mother 3 to be released. Till then he’ll have the warm comfort of Super Smash Bros. to keep him going.
