Nintendo just launched a $45 Kirby Air Ride amiibo
Nintendo is releasing a premium line of Kirby Air Ride amiibo, starting with a 6,600 yen Meta Knight figure. But there is still no sign of a Switch port.
Nintendo has released a new "Meta Knight & Shadow Star" amiibo for the recently released sequel, "Kirby Air Riders," which launched on Nintendo Switch 2 on November 20, 2025. The figure launched on March 5 in Japan for 6,600 yen (roughly $45), according to Game Watch Impress.
This is just the first wave of a dedicated lineup. A second figure, "King Dedede & Tank Star," is scheduled for a July 2 release. Nintendo also opened pre-orders for two more designs: "Sword Kirby & Dragoon" and "Noir Dedede & Hydra."
City trial mode
Dragoon and Hydra are the most famous vehicles from the original game. In the City Trial mode, players start on a standard Warp Star and explore a sandbox city to collect stat upgrades. The main goal for many players was finding the three red or green boxes containing the A, B, and C parts for these two machines. The Dragoon could fly across the entire map, and the Hydra had the highest top speed in the game but required a massive charge-up time to move.
A 6,600 yen price tag puts these figures in the premium tier of Nintendo's merchandise. A standard amiibo usually costs around 1,980 yen. This higher price point is reserved for massive, complex figures like the Guardian from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Modeling the complex mechanical parts of the Air Ride machines justifies the larger footprint.
A 23-year gap
HAL Laboratory released Kirby Air Ride in 2003. Directed by Super Smash Bros. Creator Masahiro Sakurai, the game used a strict one-button control scheme. You pushed the A button to brake and charge your boost, and released it to accelerate. It was a counter-intuitive system that frustrated reviewers at the time but made perfect sense once you learned the rhythm of the tracks.
The City Trial mode is the primary reason the game stayed relevant. Dropping four players into a map with a time limit to scavenge for upgrades before a random final minigame was highly unusual in 2003. Sakurai later reused the exact same concept for the Smash Run mode in Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo 3DS.
Currently, this lineup is only confirmed for the Japanese market. Nintendo of America has not announced Western release dates or localized pricing.
Comments ()