Kirby Air Riders is a controlled explosion of pure, pastel-colored mayhem. Whether you’re grinding rails in Air Ride, dodging tornadoes in Top Ride, or scavenging for upgrades in the chaotic playground of City Trial, the game constantly rewards skill, daring, and exploration. While the game is pretty easy to pick up and play, unlocking the best characters and the best machines gives you an edge.
While faces like Kirby and Meta Knight start strong, unlocking Starman gives you a dedicated speed and flight specialist, which is a necessity for skipping large sections of the course. Here’s a quick look at the two methods to unlock Starman in Kirby Air Riders, as well as the best machine to pair him with.
How To Unlock Starman
The first way of unlocking Starman involves the Top Ride method, which is considered the relatively easier way. This challenge takes place in the Crystallian Fissure, also known as the Crystal Course. The conditions for the challenge are simple: complete four laps while staying in the lead for the entire race. To make sure your attempt isn’t a wasted one, set the race to exactly four laps in the game settings and set the difficulty to the lowest setting to make it easy to maintain the lead.
The other way is the City Trial method, which is an aerial challenge. It takes place on the Field Course, and the condition for this one is to fall for 6 seconds after using the boost only once. This does not mean you can only use your boost once, but rather that you must perform a continuous, six-second freefall while holding down the boost button. To ace the challenge, use a vehicle with high Glide and fly to the highest point of the map.
Starman’s Special Moves, Vehicles, And Colors
Starman offers a significant shift in gameplay style compared to the core roster. Since he’s based on the enemy from Kirby Super Star, his abilities focus heavily on speed and flight. His preferred vehicles include the Winged Star, Slick Star, and the Warp Star. The Winged Star is the ultimate glider, so go with it if you care about flying. If you care for pure speed, go with the Slick Star. Finally, if you want a balanced option to get used to Starman, then use the Warp Star.
Starman has a permanent special skill set, which includes three special moves. The Star Boost is Starman’s standard boost and is more powerful and sustained than that of other riders. Next is Airborne Mastery. This provides superior air control and minimal speed decay while gliding, which allows him to maintain velocity off ramps. Then we have the Star Power Attack, which is his basic attack, a quick projectile used to stun rivals in proximity momentarily.
Starman comes in one different color (red) that is unlockable after you get the base character. Alternative rider colors in Kirby Air Riders are unlocked by following up with the second method of unlocking the character. For example, if you originally unlocked Starman in City Trial, the Top Ride challenge will reward you with his alternative color.
