Yeah, Kirby. I figure a lot of you would take a single glance at it and dismiss it as crap. While I'm not here to encourage you to buy it, I am going to ask you to take a closer look and maybe give it a rent. You'll probably be surprised.
Anyway, I'll do the typical review setup:
GraphicsAnyone watching this game would probably not be to impressed with what this game has, compared to say, F-Zero. They are generally pretty simple, especially in City Trial and some of the simpler Air Ride courses (I'll get into modes of play later). Despite their simplicity, however, I still consider them to be pretty good. The graphics displayed in Air Ride certainly involve you in the dream world of Kirby, as the tracks range from Celestial Valley, a beautiful cliffside with a waterfall, to Checker Knights, a course with a sort of castle theme. Top Ride graphics are extremely good, since the track never moves, allowing for the detail they put into it. The graphics in City Trial are extremely simple, but are far from distracting.
I give the graphics a 8.5.
SoundPretty basic stuff. The music is fun and upbeat, and the sounds are all appropriate and satisfying (especially when you whack someone with Sword ability). A 9.5.
ControlsThis seems to be the most common complaint about the game, aside from it being just plain "kiddy". The only buttons you ever need to use are A and the joystick (though R and L substitute for A, and the C stick changes camera angles). Generally, it works out fairly well. You steer with the joystick and hold down A to brake, and on most ships, boost. You also suck up enemies with A, and occassionally use their powers with it (like Fire and Electricity). This can be somewhat aggravating at times, say if you have electricity charged up and you need to do a sharp turn, thus losing your energy. But it's usually not a problem, and the controls are really good for beginners. I give them an 8.
Attention to DetailSomething that's very important to me, and adds to the gaming experience overall. Games like Zelda and Metroid had me interested all the way through with all the tiny details they incorporated. Kirby does so as well.
For old Kirby fans, there are, of course, old enemies and some familiar locations. There are even some secret "ships" that might surprise you. The game has everything a Kirby fan could want.
Of course, others can be amazed by the amount of detail in the game as well. There's a great variety of enemies, lots of ships (all of them vastly different from each other), and a fun assortment of good tracks in both Air Ride and Top Ride. The items/abilities are large in number. City Trial especially has lots of details, since while you drive about events occur, many upgrades and items can be gotten, and different "stadium matches" at the end of every match leave you in suspense. I'll discuss stadium in Gameplay.
And last, there is the Checklist. This consists of 120 grey blocks, which become colored either green or red when you perform a certain feat. Red blocks give you new options, items, ships, or Kirby colors, while greens don't give you anything. The grey blocks, however, do not say what feats you need to perform. In order to find out, the grey blocks surrounding the colored ones become a lighter shade of grey, and have dark letters at the bottom of the screen, telling you what to do. Getting your first few colored blocks is not a problem. . . that will just happen. They can get pretty hard, though, and it's fun to try to fill all 120 blocks and earn new stuffs. Easily a 10.
GameplayThis game is outright fun. Top Ride, an overhead view that shows a short course that four players can race around, is chaotic, SSBM-esque fun (HAL made both games). There are several items and obstacles on the courses, which provide opportunities for much fun. Air Ride is not the epitome of great racing, but is still a lot of fun, especially with four players. The Checklist requirements for it can often be quite challenging, and the courses are innovative and interesting. Just the average, good mode.
And then there's City Trial, probably what my friends and I play the most. You race around one fairly large, open course, collecting power-ups for your ships (speed, defense, charge, boost, etc.). The more you get, the better your vehicle. You start out with a pretty standard Compact Star, but you can switch ships if you find others on the course. There are also many other items, like Supercharge, a few bad items (boost disabled, speed down, etc.), and ability squares, that give you the abilities enemies in Air Ride usually give you. You can try to get the best ship, fight your friends, try to fill up your checklist, or wait for the interesting events that pop up. Whatever you decide to do, you have up to seven minutes to do it, after which you stop and go into a Stadium match. You can set the stadium, but it's usually more exciting to have it on shuffle. Stadiums range from Destruction Derby (fight your opponents, either computer or human), Drag Race (go as fast as you can down a straightish track), and Target Flight (fly through the air and try to get the most points by hitting the numbered squares). There are many other fun options, as well. Other perks about City Trial are the ability to get parts for Legendary ships Dragoon and Hydra,
the vast array of locations, and, my friend's personal favorite, events, like meteors raining down or bouncing items.
Fun? Yes. A 10.
Overall (not an average)
An overall fun, exciting game. Best at multiplayer, though acceptable single player, and very good for people just starting out with video games (kids, girlfriends
). My score for Kirby Air Ride is a 9. Famitsu was right. . . it's as good, if not better, than F-Zero.
So give it a try. It really is a great game.
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May you get many awesome Nintendo games this day, and many more in the days to come.
