Good (?) things never seem to last, as an immensely popular custom Flight Warp Star – designed to look like Chef Kawasaki wearing a microbikini – has disappeared from the Kirby Air Riders Machine Market. Referencing a longtime meme among Japanese Kirby fans, the provocative depiction of Chef Kawasaki was at the top of the Machine Market’s most popular (and expensive) custom rides before suddenly becoming unavailable, as confirmed by disappointed players.
While Japanese players are expressing dissatisfaction with Nintendo over this, it’s not clear why the custom machine has disappeared from the Machine Market. Granted, there is history of a fangame depicting Chef Kawasaki being taken down by Kirby developer HAL Laboratory, but since this was a result of the game being sold commercially, it might be early to jump to conclusions when it comes to the custom Air Riders machine.
On the flip side, although the OG micro bikini Chef Kawasaki is gone, there has been a bunch of similar user creations spawning in its wake. Most notably, this succubus-reminiscent Chef Kawasaki, sporting a red bikini and matching bat wings, tail and shoes. This abomination quickly became the most expensive ride in the market, which shows there’s a shockingly high demand for this stuff (although, there could be some inflation going on due to players fearing the design might be taken down).
There’s also a funny theory going around about why the succubus Chef Kawasaki is still fine even though its predecessor vanished – it covers more skin than the “micro bikini” design. Indeed, the succubus design doesn’t put Kawasaki in a flimsy G-string, opting for a more standard bikini bottom. Of course, it’s not possible to verify whether the former was actually purposely taken down by the platform, and the craziness going on in Kirby Air Riders’s Machine Market is not showing any signs of slowing.
Kirby Air Riders is out now on Nintendo Switch 2.
