The Switch is Perfect for a Kirby Air Ride Sequel

gamerant.com:

In the slew of new Nintendo titles scheduled to launch in 2022, Kirby and the Forgotten Land stands out as one of the more exciting announcements. This is the first mainline installment in the series since Kirby Star Allies in 2018, and Forgotten Land promises several new features previously unseen in Kirby games. Kirby will be able to upgrade his copy abilities, explore a town full of Waddle Dees, and suck up gigantic real-world objects in Mouthful Mode. Given the excitement surrounding the new title and its changes to Kirby, now may be the perfect time to capitalize with a Switch sequel to Kirby Air Ride.

A racing game for the Nintendo GameCube, Kirby Air Ride released in 2003 and hasn't been revisited by Nintendo since. The game's simple controls and clever design make it a fun and endearing GameCube title. Modernizing the designers' ideas in Air Ride would work well on the hybrid console, and Nintendo recently saw a positive response to the announcement of Mario Strikers: Battle League — which is a contemporary sequel to an old GameCube title. This, alongside fan excitement surrounding Forgotten Land, means it makes a lot of sense to revisit Air Ride.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Would Be a Great Anniversary Switch Port

Part of what made Kirby Air Ride so enjoyable was its simple, tight controls. Acceleration was automatic, and the control stick was used not only for turning but also for gliding. These inputs map perfectly to the Switch, and Joy-Con controllers' gyro capabilities could be utilized for gliding this time around. In the same way, a gyro feature can help aim in the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, so this would map well to controlling each vehicle's elevation by mimicking the angle of the its nose.

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