Kirby Air Riders is a racing game of deceptive simplicity, as you move forward automatically and have to worry about only one button. With controls so straightforward, players are drawn to its easy fun. That’s great, and it ultimately works with the vision of the game, but it also makes it easy to ignore stuff that could make the experience fun.
If you find yourself missing the podium regularly or feeling overburdened by the massive Challenge Checklist, you may be overlooking some crucial fundamentals. Our beginner’s guide is good to get you started, but if you want to get more out of your machine and your ride, here are some common mistakes you can immediately fix.
Relegating Road Trip To A Throwaway Mode
If you’re treating the Road Trip Mode as a mere tutorial or a secondary diversion, you’re doing it wrong. Players prefer playing Air Ride or the free-for-all mode due to the competitive aspect of them, which means Road Trip is ignored after a couple of sessions.
However, Road Trip is, in fact, the quickest way to attain many of the game’s initial characters, machines, and track unlocks. All of these unlocks are essential for expanding your roster for other modes.
On top of that, the game’s progression is tied to its Challenge Checklist, and most of the starting challenges are based on the Road Trip mode. So, try to look at Road Trip as a pathway to unlock new vehicles and secrets, instead of a throwaway story. This will prepare you for every other mode of the game, as more options will be available to choose from.
Failing To Master The Perfect Landing Boost
Perfect Landing is a mechanic that I reckon many players know about, but fail to execute properly. The problem here is that many beginners either tap the brake rarely or completely let go of the control stick. They treat the brake button as a means to stop or turn, which is not the best way of going about it.
When you jump off a cliff or a ramp, you have to press the brake button right before your machine hits the ground. This will initiate a Perfect Landing, indicated by a puff of smoke and a flash of speed, giving you a temporary speed boost.
This technique is the main difference between a momentum-building jump and a speed-killing bounce. If you want to set a competitive time, try and use this technique on every big jump on the circuit.
Over-Focusing On Raw Speed In City Trial
In the chaotic City Trial mode, raw speed is the most straightforward way of winning for new players. They often chase Max Speed stat boosters blindly, often disregarding the importance of Handling and Defense. This will result in a machine that may be incredibly fast in a straight line, but is difficult to control around tight corners and is weak to attacks.
The fix is to have a balanced collection: finding a Wing for better gliding, and a healthy mix of Speed, Handling, and Defense stats enhancers. A machine that has exceptional handling but moderate speed will be able to navigate tight corners, dodge obstacles, and collect stars more efficiently than a machine with only high speed.
Neglecting The Art Of Star Stream Defense
The idea of Drafting, or using a rival’s slipstream to gain a burst of speed, is a key concept in racing. This applies to both real life and Kirby Air Riders. You might know how to track down speed streams of rivals, but fail to defend your own stream, giving away free speed to your opponents.
An experienced racer will use both offensive and defensive tactics. To do the same, you have to constantly position yourself behind enemies to gain speed, and if a rival clings to your rear stream, perform a Spin Attack by tapping the control stick either back and then forward or in a circle.
This action will not only damage the rear opponent but also steal the speed boost they had, making you even faster. This is not only a defensive technique but also an offensive opportunity to get ahead of your rivals.
Grinding The Checklist Under Default Rules
As you may know, the Challenge Checklist is the main way to progress in Kirby Air Riders, unlocking almost everything available. However, several players attempt difficult objectives, like a challenging time trial or completing a maneuver, under default rules.
When you have to compete against maximum CPU opponents and complete a five-lap race for every challenge, it often gets annoying. The simple solution is to manipulate the match rules; for objectives that don’t require restricted settings, dive into the rules menu and lower the CPU difficulty, reduce laps to one, and turn items off.
This change will drastically save your time and effort when it’s required to complete a race with a specific character or any other difficult task, letting you complete the checklist faster than ever.
