{"id":46663,"date":"2025-04-03T16:57:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T07:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=46663"},"modified":"2025-04-03T19:12:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T10:12:48","slug":"how-to-tell-if-a-kirby-game-is-designed-by-masahiro-sakurai-fans-notice-telltale-sign-in-new-kirby-air-riders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/how-to-tell-if-a-kirby-game-is-designed-by-masahiro-sakurai-fans-notice-telltale-sign-in-new-kirby-air-riders\/","title":{"rendered":"How to tell if a Kirby game is designed by Masahiro Sakurai? Fans notice telltale sign in new Kirby Air Riders\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>One of the highlights of April 2&#8217;s Nintendo Direct<strong> <\/strong>was the announcement of a new Kirby game, directed by the franchise\u2019s original creator Masahiro Sakurai himself. Set to release as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive in 2025, <strong>Kirby Air Riders<\/strong> is a sequel to GameCube classic Kirby Air Ride \u2013 the last Kirby game Sakurai directed before leaving HAL.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kirby Air Riders \u2013 Nintendo Direct | Nintendo Switch 2\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oJVsNMp_nAU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With the release of Kirby Air Riders\u2019 trailer, fans were quick to notice a telltale characteristic of Sakurai\u2019s involvement that distinguishes his games from other franchise directors like Shinya Kumazaki and Shinichi Shimomura. The answer lies in the design of the Warp Star \u2013 Kirby&#8217;s star-shaped ride that appears throughout the series.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1125\" height=\"629\" data-id=\"46665\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-004.jpg\" alt=\"Warp Star in Kirby Air Riders\" class=\"wp-image-46665\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-004.jpg 1125w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-004-380x212.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-004-768x429.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1125px) 100vw, 1125px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Warp Star in Kirby Air Riders <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"912\" height=\"610\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 912px) 100vw, 912px\" data-id=\"46667\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-005.jpg\" alt=\"Warp Star in Kirby Air Ride (2003)\" class=\"wp-image-46667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-005.jpg 912w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-005-380x254.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-005-768x514.jpg 768w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Warp Star in Kirby Air Ride (2003)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/zio_grando\/status\/1907434919619625071\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Japanese fans on X point out<\/a>, Sakurai\u2019s depiction of the Warp Star has consistently been flat and thin \u2013 as seen in numerous Kirby and Smash titles, while Kumazaki\u2019s has been thick and fluffy-looking by comparison (as seen in titles like Kirby and the Forgotten Land or Kirby Star Allies). <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TeanoHito\/status\/1907617136807407713\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">As one fan described it<\/a>, \u201cKumazaki\u2019s Warp Star is soft and squishy, like a companion; while Sakurai\u2019s is like a high-spec sports car that will throw you off if you can\u2019t handle it.\u201d This might have to do with the fact that Kirby rides the Warp Star while standing (as opposed to sitting or lying down) a lot more often in Sakurai\u2019s games.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1191\" height=\"596\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1191px) 100vw, 1191px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-002JPG.jpg\" alt=\"Warp Star in Kirby and the Forgotten Land\" class=\"wp-image-46668\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-002JPG.jpg 1191w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-002JPG-380x190.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-002JPG-768x384.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1188\" height=\"595\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1188px) 100vw, 1188px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-003JPG.jpg\" alt=\"Warp Star in Kirby and the Forgotten Land\" class=\"wp-image-46671\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-003JPG.jpg 1188w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-003JPG-380x190.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250403-46663-003JPG-768x385.jpg 768w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Warp Star in Kirby and the Forgotten Land<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s also been pointed out that Sakurai\u2019s portrayal of Kirby tends to have smaller eyes, shorter hands and a peachier hue (as opposed to pure pink) when compared to Kumazaki\u2019s. With Kirby Air Riders coming back after 20 years under Sakurai\u2019s direction, nostalgic fans are up for a treat.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kirby Air Riders is scheduled to launch in 2025 as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fans have pointed out a characteristic that sets apart Kirby games directed by Sakurai Masahiro from other franchise directors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":46670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-46663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to tell if a Kirby game is designed by Masahiro Sakurai? 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