Nintendo has put a really simple question on their social media recently which has caused a lot of controversy among the fans of Kirby Air Ride. The question was nothing but “Who’s your main in #KirbyAirRiders?” For sharing your character they asked to take a screenshot and share it. The replies, oh boy, the replies have a chaotic vibe indicating the present condition of this cult classic game.
To put the news in a nutshell for the ones who just skim through: Just with one post on Twitter, Nintendo’s official account ignited a huge debate among the community about the classic GameCube title Kirby Air Ride and the players were asked to share their favorite characters or ‘mains’. The response was enormous as fans were using all their efforts to support their character choices such as Meta Knight, King Dedede, and Bandana Waddle Dee. However, together with the love of the characters, there were also large complaints about the high price of the game on Nintendo Switch Online service which caused some players not to buy it at all. The whole situation shows a great love for the game at the same time that the pricing strategy of Nintendo is being lamented.
Returning to the messy but amusing stuff, it’s important to note that Kirby Air Ride is a very odd but at the same time a very refreshing racing party game from 2003. It is currently available on Switch Online, which is why Nintendo tweeted about it in the first place. However, asking about mains might be taken as asking someone’s zodiac sign for gamers—it’s highly personal and it gets that way really quickly.
Character loyalty is like a religion. There are people who are calling their faves ‘the GOAT’ as well as ‘the GOAT’ on alternate occasions. User GhoulInStein just posted a picture with a caption ‘The Goats’. User eddiedster commented ‘My goat. 🐐’ along with a picture of Kirby riding the Warp Star. It is a complete situation. Bandana Waddle Dee is getting support from TheThomas5252, while tucker_law72835 is a great admirer of Meta Knight and regards him as his favorite character throughout the entire Kirby series. That’s very deep Kirby lore right there.
Nevertheless, it is not only the characters but also the vehicles that are ‘Riders.’ User coinedCharms shared a mini-strategy guide and said ‘Always wager on the Wheelie Bike. The speed and maneuverability are unbeatable in City Trial. Besides, what if the power-ups are just right? Chef’s kiss.’ This level of detail, nerdiness, and passion is the gold for these threads. People are not merely choosing a color, they are choosing a lifestyle. Apparently, a Wheelie Bike lifestyle.
And then there is the simple, outright joy. User alidoro_hound was super excited ‘OMG I ACTUALLY GOT HIM FIRST TRY!!!’ with a screenshot. This is the case of the old games getting new players. At that instant, someone, somewhere had their very first great Kirby Air Ride experience because of this tweet. How great is that?
And right, it’s not all sunshine and Warp Stars. Because in the middle of the ‘my goat’ posts, there is another very different and very loud feeling which is the price. User Validlsthe2nd3 totally missed the point of the question. Their response was ‘My main is DROP THE FUCKING PRICE.’ All in capitals, no chill whatsoever. User lunimoon05 also very bluntly said ‘not buying nintendo slop is my main.’ Ouch! That is pretty harsh.
This division is the main one in the community. There are the die-hard fans who do not care about anything else and just want the game to be playable with no accessibility issues and the people who, when they see the price of the Switch Online Expansion Pack, think, ‘Do you really want me to pay that much just to play a 20-year-old game?’ It’s a valid question! The conversation even expanded into a mini-thread about DLC, with user themremana answering to someone, asking for free DLC characters like the ‘Three Magic Sisters,’ and saying ‘ADD THEM IN DLC! NOT PAID DLC, FREE DLC. The way you do with Splatoon and stuff… right? 😟🌌’ So now we’re talking about possible updates for a two-decade-old port. The enthusiasm is there, but the business model is… contentious.
Other random gems were also present. User Sir_CipherGuy humorously found himself in a dilemma over a name: ‘Wait a damn second, you called a Kirby character RICK.’ Deep Kirby lore is something one just can’t help but appreciate. And user JeremKOYTB brought up an important issue regarding accessibility, tweeting ‘Even Nintendo forgets that there are epileptics in the community.’ A very strong reminder that games with flashing and fast-paced actions, available on platforms like PlayStation and Xbox, need to consider all players.
