Presentation - 7/10: While the menu layout feels very Smash Bros. Melee-ish, the options and selections are simple and work pretty well.
Graphics - 6.5/10: Honestly this game looks pretty okay, The locations seen in-game very vibrant and colorful, and the textures are well animated and detailed as what you'd expect a Kirby game to be. Another thing is that the frame rate was nearly perfect for the entire game. The only time it would slowdown was in City Trial at random points, but most of the time this was very rare and only lasted a couple of seconds. And while my only minor complaint I have is that the graphics themselves can kind of look a bit bland or even boring at times, what we got here was definitely solid.
Sound - 9/10: The soundtrack itself is fully orchestrated and like any other Kirby game it is filled with remixes from previous games. The game even takes certain themes from Kirby Super Star, and even the Japanese version of Kirby: Right Back At Ya! Anime. The soundtrack itself... it's incredible! No Seriously, this is my fourth favorite soundtrack in the entire series. The music is very upbeat, bright and cheery, and can even sound epic at times.
Gameplay - 6/10 The gameplay is sadly OK. There are three different game modes to choose, Air Ride, Top Ride, and City Trial. (Sadly I won't be talking about City Trial in this review.)
Air Ride is the racing mode of the game, having you race against the CPUs using any of the vehicles known as Air Ride machines to win a race. There are a total of 14 Air Ride machines for you to use, each one of which have it's own advantages and disadvantages affecting either control, acceleration, boost, and gliding. Winged Star for instance is very slow on the ground, but moves a lot quicker when gliding in the air. Swerve Star can LITERALLY not be able to move left or right until you drift, but it's the quickest machine in Air Ride. There are a total of 8 courses in this mode, you can even unlock one more course if you do 100 laps total in Air Ride. The best part part about these courses are the enemies. You see, when ever you see an enemy on screen you make Kirby suck them up. If they have a symbol above them, they'll have a Copy Ability. There are 11 abilities including Sword, Fire, Wheel, Wing, Bomb, Sleep, Plasma, Mike, Tornado, Ice, and Needle. Each of which are used to slow your opponents down.
Top Ride is the more simple version of Air Ride. Like Air Ride, Top Ride is another racing mode, but this time this races are displayed in a birds-eye view perspective with only 7 courses, and only two machines this time around. These machines are Free Star and Steer Star, either one of which you'll use depending on how you wan't you're machine to control. The Free Star moves in any direction you tilt the analog stick in, and the Steer Star only moves left or right. Another thing is that there is actually items in the each race to slow you're opponent down. These includes bombs, Walky (Microphone), Stun Birdies, and Torches. Along with Air Ride mode, Top Ride, besides from not having enough courses, both modes are kind of fun on their own. The tracks are pretty well designed and it's really addictive to see which machines can help you on each course. It can also be addictive when you play with your friends. And while it's not Sonic All Stars Racing or F-Zero GX, what we got here is pretty solid.
Lasting Appeal - 7/10: The best part of the game is the checklist. The checklist is a collection of achievements where if you do a certain mission for an achievement, you will hear a chime or jingle during or after a race. There are a total of 120 achievements for each mode, which totals to 360 of them in the game. Each checklist square or box when you've completed a mission is green, red, or purple, but the most important ones are purple and especially the red ones. If you get a purple checklist box it can really help you because on any mission that is too difficult for you, you can skip it using a purple box so you won't have to worry about clearing the mission any time. The red checklist boxes are the best though because most of them will get you unlockables including new settings, new Air Ride machines, King Dedede or Meta Knight (In Air Ride Only), new colors for Kirby (Green, Purple, White and Brown), alternative music for a certain stage in any mode or for the sound test. If you stick with it, this will be a fun experience for you if your'e the completionist type.
Final Verdict - 6.5/10: Kirby Air Ride with it's nice visuals, fantastic soundtrack, fun multiplayer, and addictive gameplay and missions is a great time if you're a Kirby fan. It's not for everyone though, and while it's not that stupid Mario Kart or F-Zero, if your'e a casual gamer for something decent to mess around with your'e friends as a distraction, then this game is solid enough for you.