| Kirby Air Ride | |
|---|---|
 North American cover art | |
| Developer(s) | HAL Laboratory |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Masahiro Sakurai |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Designer(s) | Kenichirou Kita |
| Programmer(s) | Kouichi Watanabe |
| Artist(s) | Kazuya Konishi |
| Composer(s) |
|
| Series | Kirby |
| Platform(s) | GameCube |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Kirby Air Ride[a] is a 2003 racing video game starring Kirby, developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the GameCube.
Kirby Air Ride has the players and computer-controlled racers ride on Air Ride Machines. The game supports up to four players, and was the first GameCube title to support LAN play using broadband adapters and up to four GameCube systems. It was the final Kirby game directed by series creator Masahiro Sakurai.
The game had a convoluted development cycle, starting as one of the first wave of Nintendo 64 games before undergoing numerous revisions to the basic concept and being cancelled for a time. Upon its eventual release for the GameCube it saw a mixed reception from critics, who criticized its simplicity, but was a commercial success, selling over 1.2 million copies worldwide. The game has developed a cult following since then, with dedicated fans praising the game's battle royale multiplayer for being ahead of its time, and continuing to play the game through emulator online play.
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