Kirby Air Ride: City Trial Ultra Deluxe

Kirby Air Ride: City Trial Ultra Deluxe
Developer(s)	Hal Laboratory
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Nintendo Switch
Genre(s)	Racing
Release Date(s)	April 20, 2022

Kirby Air Ride: City Trial Ultra Deluxe is a racing game developed by HAL Laboratory for the Nintendo Switch, serving as a sequel to Kirby Air Ride. As its name suggests, the focus of the game this time is the expanded City Trial mode, which is now the main mode of the game. The game features an expansive lineup of characters, racecourses, and other content which considerably expands upon the scope of the original Air Ride. This time, up to 8 players can play at once, with up to 4 players on a single Switch. All modes can be played both offline and online.

Gameplay and Controls

The basic gameplay is the same as Kirby Air Ride, with players racing around on their Air Ride Machines. Players can "Charge" their Air Ride machines, causing them to drift, which makes them to slow down but lets them take corners more tightly and provides a burst of speed once the Charge is unleashed. Players can also execute a "Quick Spin", which allows them to rapidly spin in order to attack other players and do extra damage to breakable objects. It is also possible to Brake, which allows players to stop more quickly than by Charging, but without the benefit of charging up a speed boost. Players can also Dismount from their machines, which is mainly used in order for players to switch to a new Machine.

There are two different control modes: Default and Simple. With Default controls, different actions are mapped to different buttons, whereas Simple controls mimic the controls of the original Air Ride and tie all actions to the stick and A button, providing a streamlined control scheme.

Controls

Action	Default	Simple
Steer/Glide	Left Stick	Left Stick
Charge/Drift	A	A
Quick Spin	B	Spin or flick Left Stick rapidly
Brake	X	A + tap back on Left Stick
Use Item	Y	A (while holding item)
Dismount	A or X + hold back on Left Stick	A + hold back on Left Stick

Playable Characters

City Trial Ultra Deluxe features a wide variety of playable characters, with a grand total of 15. All characters can ride all Air Ride Machine types. This differs from the original Air Ride, where only Kirby had a choice of which machine to use, Meta Knight had no Machine, and Dedede was locked to his own unique Wheelie Bike.

Every character has 8 different selectable color schemes - however, each character only has 4 unlocked by default, consisting of their basic color scheme and 3 alternates. Additional color schemes can be unlocked using Paintbrushes, which are earned from various Checklist boxes.

Characters are differentiated by their base stats - in City Trial mode, each character (except Kirby) gets unique modifiers to their starting stats in the form of boosts and penalties to various stats.

Playable Characters

Character	Stat Modifiers	Unlock Method
Kirby	None	Available from the start
Meta Knight	+2 Offense, +2 Glide, -2 Defense, -2 Charge	Available from the start
King Dedede	+2 HP, +2 Top Speed, -4 Boost	Available from the start
Bandana Dee	+3 Turn, +1 Charge, -3 Defense, -1 Top Speed	Play 1 City Trial match
Magolor	+2 Charge, +2 Boost, -2 Defense, -2 Glide	Play a match on each starting City map
Susie	+3 Boost, +1 Top Speed, -3 Turn, -1 Charge	Assemble each of the 3 Legendary Machines at least once
Taranza	+2 Turn, +2 Boost, -2 Offense, -2 Glide	Play every type of Stadium event in any mode
Marx	+3 Boost, +1 Offense, -4 Charge	Ride every Machine at least once in any mode
Gooey	+3 Turn, +1 Top Speed, -2 Glide, -2 Boost	Check off 30 items on the Checklist
Adeleine	+3 Charge, +1 Turn, -3 Defense, -1 HP	Spend 15 Paintbrushes
Ribbon	+4 Glide, -3 HP, -1 Defense	Raise a stat above 15 in a City Trial match of at max 5 minutes
Daroach	+3 Boost, +1 HP, -3 Charge, -1 Turn	Check off 60 items on the Checklist
Dark Meta Knight	+4 Offense, -3 Defense, -1 Charge	Destroy a rival's Star 15 times in the City phase of City Trial matches
Hyness	+3 Charge, +1 Top Speed, -2 Turn, -2 HP	Pick up a total of 2000 items across matches
Dark Matter	+2 Defense, +2 Offense, -3 Charge, -1 Boost	Check off 90 items on the Checklist

Air Ride Machines

City Trial Ultra Deluxe features a wide variety of Machines to race with, including both Stars and Wheelie Bikes. Many of the Machines from the original Air Ride return, along with several brand new ones. Some machines are unlockable, and will not appear in City Trial mode until they are unlocked via the Checklist.

List of Machines

Machine	Description	Unlock Method
Compact Star	This is the machine which every player starts with in City Trial mode. It is slow and fragile, but has very good handling and acceleration, which makes it good for collecting Patches.	Available from the start
Warp Star	This is a basic, well-rounded star which isn't particularly weak or strong in any category. It's a solid all-around choice for beginners.	Available from the start
Winged Star	This Star isn't particularly fast on the ground, but can glide exceptionally well and is speedy in the air.	Available from the start
Shadow Star	A combat-specialist machine with great attack power. It also sports above-average gliding.	Available from the start
Wagon Star	A unique Star with good speed and handling - however, it cannot Charge at all.	Available from the start
Jet Star	This unique machine gets big boosts of speed when taking off from jumps and ramps, but its speed on the ground is somewhat underwhelming. It can also do a pretty decent amount of damage, although it is lacking in bulk.	Available from the start
Fluffy Star	A star with high acceleration and good handling. It's light as a feather, and can glide for a very long time, but struggles to gain altitude compared to other glide-specialist machines. Has very poor attack. A solid choice for beginners.	Available from the start
Whirl Star	It has a uniquely large hitbox when using Quick Spin, since parts of its chassis extend outwards when spinning. When it hits another player or enemy creature with a Quick Spin, it gets a burst of speed, making it a highly technical machine.	Available from the start
Wheelie Bike	As a type of Wheelie, it rides on the ground instead of floating, which means it can't glide. It has fairly well-rounded stats. It's the most basic form of Wheelie machine.	Available from the start
Wheelie Scooter	A Wheelie machine with good acceleration and great handling. It can jump incredibly high off ramps, letting it reach considerable heights despite not being able to glide.	Available from the start
Swerve Star	An unusual star that is quite fast, but only travels in straight lines. It stops on a dime when charging, which is the only time which it can turn on the ground - it controls normally in the air.	Play 5 City Trial matches
Slick Star	A speedy star with pretty good stats all around, but has incredibly slippery traction and turning on the ground, requiring careful use to take advantage of its capabilities.	Play 10 City Trial matches
Rocket Star	A star which takes a very long time to charge, but gets an enormous burst of speed when fully charged. Right after it releases a full charge, it temporarily gets a big boost to its Offense and Defense power.	Unlocked via Checklist
Formula Star	Boast an incredibly fast top speed, but is slow to accelerate. Has poor turning and gliding. Difficult but rewarding to master.	Unlocked via Checklist
Heavy Lob-Star	A formidable Star with good damage and incredible bulk. Its claws have hitboxes but not hurtboxes. Great in fights, but tough to use in races due to its poor handling.	Play 10 City Trial games as Meta Knight
Canvas Star	Its starting stats are weak all around, but it benefits a bit more from stat boosts than other machines. Changes color to reflect what kind of patches it has.	Play 10 City Trial games as Adeleine
Glass Star	Has overall good stats and does an immense of damage, but has incredibly low HP and uniquely loses more speed than usual when it collides with obstacles in courses.	KO other players 20 times during City Trial
Magnet Star	When Charging, it emits magnetic waves which attract items towards it and can even pull nearby players in its direction. Good for collecting Patches and other items using its ability, as well as for drawing in fragile enemy racers for the KO.	Unlocked via Checklist
Rex Wheelie	A very bulky, powerful Wheelie with good top speed, but is somewhat unwieldy to control.	Unlocked via Checklist
Nitro Wheelie	A unique Wheelie with poor handling and a very long Charge time; however, it hardly slows down while Charging, meaning it can drift over large distances. It also gets a considerable boost of speed when fully charged. Difficult but rewarding to master.	Unlocked via Checklist
Dragoon	A Legendary Machine with overall very high stats. It particularly excels at gliding, and can gain altitude and remain in the air remarkably well.	Built from Machine Parts in City Trial; unlockable in other modes via Checklist
Hydra	A Legendary Machine with unrivaled combat abilities and blistering speed; however, it needs to be charged up for quite a while before it can unleash the full extent of its abilities.	Built from Machine Parts in City Trial; unlockable in other modes via Checklist
Lancelot	A Legendary Machine with truly frightening speed. It can hardly turn at all while moving forward, but turns well while charging. Once it builds up to its max speed, it deals extra damage. Its weakness is poor gliding - it drops like a rock in the air.	Built from Machine Parts in City Trial; unlockable in other modes via Checklist

City Trial Mode

City Trial matches are broken up into two segments - the City segment, and the Stadium segment. In the City segment players race around one of several "City" maps, trying to collect Patches to increase their stats. They can also find other Air Ride Machines around the map to switch to if they so choose.

Players may interact and fight with each other over the course of the match. Hitting, Quick Spinning, or using an offensive Item against another player will damage them, and may knock some of their Patches out of their machine. Dealing enough damage will "KO" another player's Machine, knocking them off of it, destroying the Machine and knocking many of their Patches out. That player must then proceed on-foot until they find another Air Ride Machine to ride.

After the time limit for the City segment is finished (by default, this is 5 minutes), players will move on to a screen where they can allocate their Star Points to their stats, which are a new feature in City Trial Ultra Deluxe. Each Star Point lets the player increase any stat of their choice by 1. Characters start out with a fixed number of Star Points (3 by default) and they can collect more by finding Star Chunks as items in the city. Destroying another player's Machine will also steal 1 Star Point from that player.

Once everyone has allocated their Star Points, they move on to the Stadium segment, which consists of several consecutive events (by default, 3 different events) which range from full races on race courses to specific challenges like the High Jump event which tests which racers can jump the highest off a ramp. Players get points depending on their rating in each event, with the amounts depending on the number of players (for example, in a 4-player game, getting 1st in an event earns you 4 points; getting 2nd earns you 3; 3rd earns 2; and 4th earns 1). Whoever has the most points after all Stadium events wins the game.

Collectibles

During the City phase, players can collect many types of items to power themselves up permanently or temporarily.

Patches

One of the main goals of City Trial is to collect patches, which improve your stats. Patches can be found randomly throughout the City, by breaking open boxes, or by finding them in map-specific locations. There are 9 kinds of patches: one for each of the 8 stats, and the special All-Up Patch, which increases every stat by 1 but is very rare. All patches (except for the All-Up Patch) also come in Gray form (which subtracts from your stats instead) and Golden form (which give you +3 to a stat instead of +1)

List of Patches

Patch Type	Effect	Box Color
HP	Increases hit points	Red
Turn	Increases turn speed	Green
Top Speed	Increases top speed	Cyan
Charge	Increases charge rate	Yellow
Boost	Increases acceleration and boosts from charging or stage elements	Pink
Offense	Increases damage dealt by any means, slightly increases Quick Spin hitbox	Orange
Defense	Decreases damage received	Blue
Glide	Increases lift when gliding and total gliding time	Purple
All-Up	Raises all stats	N/A

The nine different Box types in the game

Boxes

Boxes also spawn throughout the city over the course of the match. Boxes contain one or more patches and/or other items and can be broken open by repeatedly hitting them and/or using Quick Spin. Boxes now come in many different colors, with a color for each Patch type (other than All-Up). Boxes of a particular color will be more likely (but not guaranteed) to contain Patches of the corresponding color. There are also Golden Boxes, which contain more Patches on average than other boxes and also have a chance to contain Legendary Machine Pieces.

Legendary Machine Pieces may appear inside of Golden Boxes. Each of the 3 Legendary Machines - Dragoon, Hydra, and Lancelot - has 3 Machine Pieces, and any player who collects all 3 pieces of the same Machine will then gain that Legendary Machine for the rest of the match. Damaging a player with a Machine Piece may knock a piece out of them, and KO'ing a player will knock ALL Machine Pieces out of them.

Items

Due to the addition of many new playable characters other than Kirby, the original style of Copy Abilities are no longer in the game - instead, the lineup of items in the game has been increased, and includes a few items which mimic the powers of Copy Abilities from the original. Like Copy Abilities and the items in the original game, all items have either a time limit or a limited number of uses. Some have automatic effects, while others are activated by pressing Y (with default controls). Items can be found in boxes during City Trial or obtained from Item Roulettes during races.

List of Items:

• Spike Orbiters - These spiky protrusions hover around your machine and slightly damage anyone who hits you. When you do a Quick Spin, they also spin rapidly and extend outwards, increasing your hitbox substantially in order to more easily damage other players.
• Thrust Jets - These two jet cannons hover behind your Star. They give you a passive boost to your gliding abilities as well as a slight boost to your speed. Pressing Y gives you a big boost of speed, but makes their fuel run out faster.
• Firework Launcher - Returning from Air Ride, this weapon launches firecrackers straight ahead automatically.
• Triple Gordo - Another returning item, this lets you throw three Gordos which grow to massive size and lodge themselves in the environment for a time, damaging any players who touch them. The distance thrown depends on how long you hold down a button. This time, an indicator will appear to show where the Gordo will land while you're aiming.
• Sensor Bomb - Plants an invisible mine in the ground which will explode and damage any racer who drives over it, as well as anyone in the vicinity - even the one who set it.
• Slashy Arm - An etherial arm appears in front of you holding a sabre. It will automatically slash at any players or enemies in front of you, similar to the Sword ability in the original Air Ride.
• Plasma Orb - Mimics the Plasma ability from the original Air Ride. Rocking the Left Stick back and forth will charge it.
• Ice Sprayer - A spinning device sprays ice in all directions when you press Y, not unlike the Freeze ability from the original Air Ride. Enemies hit by the ice will take a little bit of damage and also be significantly slowed down for a short period of time. If hit while slowed, they will also take increased damage.
• Starburster - Shoots projectiles which, when they contact the ground, erupt into a pillar of flame which persists for a long time and will severely damage anyone who touches them. These will even persist between laps on full courses. Can be used four times.
• Food - Food items come in many varieties and heal the user an amount that depends on the type of food. Maxim Tomatoes fully restore HP. Can't be found in Item Roulettes.
• Star Chunks - These grant 1 Star Point. Can't be found in Item Roulettes.
• Special Orb - A glowing orb that lets the racer who collects it use their Special Ability. Can't be found in Item Roulettes. These can be found in boxes during the City phase and appear in set locations in some Events.
  

Special Abilities

All racers have special abilities they can use if they collect a Special Orb. Special Abilities are also similar to the Copy Abilities in the original Air Ride. Like items, some have time limits while others have limited uses. Kirby can still use the Copy Ability as his Special Move, but rather than enemies, this time he inhales other racers in order to copy their Special Moves.

• Kirby - Copy Ability - Pressing Y inhales any nearby racers, Machine and all, and copies their Special Move, which Kirby can then use. If Kirby inhales another Kirby, he'll get a random power chosen from the currently-unlocked characters.
• Meta Knight - Mach Tornado - Meta Knight gets the power of the Mach Tornado, which has four uses. It has two possible effects depending on how you activate it; pressing Y will shoot out a tall tornado pillar as a projectile in front of Meta Knight, while using Quick Spin will make a tornado around Meta Knight himself, which will draw in enemy racers and deal damage.
• King Dedede - Hammer Time - Dedede pulls out his massive hammer. Whenever he approaches another racer, an enemy, or a destructible object, he'll lean forwards and swing his hammer in a wide arc, dealing huge amounts of damage.
• Bandana Dee - Giga Spear - Bandana Dee will charge up his spear with power, causing it to grow to a huge size, and will then throw it straight ahead. It will curve a little bit in order to home in on enemy racers.
• Magolor - Mini Starcutter - Magolor's Machine will transform into a miniature Lor Starcutter (though still quite large compared to most machines), granting him a significant boost his stats, especially defense and gliding ability.
• Susie - Haltmann Works Mech - Susie's Machine transforms into her mech from Kirby Planet Robobot. It boasts immense offense and defense. Normally it's rather slow, but when you Quick Spin, it gets a huge burst of speed as well as a huge, powerful hitbox.
• Taranza - Sticky Webs - Taranza can shoot three balls of web in front of him, which will disappear similar to Sensor Bombs. Any racer who drives over them will get encapsuled into a ball of web, which will slowly damage them and lower their defense until they break free, leaving them open to attacks by Taranza or other racers.
• Marx - Hyper Laser - Pressing Y will cause Marx to stop moving, sprout wings, charge up power in place, and take aim. When he's done charging, he'll release a massive laser which does heavy damage. The aim can be adjusted slightly while he's firing.
• Gooey - Animal Friend Circle - Gooey's Machine temporarily disappears; Rick, Kine, and Coo appear and join with Gooey to form a ring, in a reference to the Friend Circle from Kirby Star Allies. They then roll around like a Wheelie with very high speed, squashing and doing massive damage to anything in their path.
• Adeleine - Magical Painting - Pressing Y will make Adeleine start painting. If she is damaged during painting, she will be interrupted and have to start again. She'll make two paintings - first, a random Food item to heal her, and then a random item from the Item Roulette list.
• Ribbon - Crystal Blaster - Ribbon will hold a large Crystal Shard above her head which will automatically shoot bursts of energy in front of her. These energy bursts don't do a great deal of damage individually but are fired quickly and will slightly home in on enemies.
• Daroach - Triple Star - Daroach will take out his signature Triple Star weapon. Pressing Y will shoot 3 star projectiles in a spread pattern, which will bounce off of walls or other objects.
• Dark Meta Knight - Mirror Shards - Six mirror shards will appear around Dark Meta Knight's machine. Giant copies of his sword will automatically appear out of the mirrors to stab any nearby enemy, and using Quick Spin will cause swords to come out of all the mirror to extend the hitbox of the Quick Spin attack.
• Hyness - Three-Element Onslaught - Hyness will throw three orbs of magic, each with a different element - first Ice, then Fire, then Thunder. When they hit the ground, they will rapidly expand into circular regions filled with their element, which will badly damage anyone caught in the blast radius. These regions will persist and continue to damage anyone who drives into them.
• Dark Matter Swordsman - True Form - Dark Matter's Machine will momentarily disappear and he will assume his true form. Pressing Y in this form will shoot three projectiles of black lightning in a spread pattern in front of him.

Happenings

Happenings (called "Events" in the original Air Ride, but renamed to avoid confusion with Stadium Events) are special situations that occur at random intervals throughout the City Phase with a wide variety of different effects which can help or hinder players. Some Happenings are exclusive to particular City maps, while others can occur on ANY map.

General Happenings (can occur in any City):

• Heavy Fog - The entire city is covered in heavy fog, making it very difficult for racers to see in front of them.
• Fake Patches - Some Patches that spawn during the duration of the event will be 'fake' patches with slightly different designs; collecting these will damage racers instead of boosting their stats.
• Bouncy Items - Items and Boxes will start to bounce up and down, making them hard to collect or break open.
• Monochrome Boxes - For the duration of the event, all Boxes in the city will be the same random color. They will also be more likely than normal to contain their corresponding Patch.
• Meteor Strike - Three enormous Meteors will strike random points in the city, doing massive damage to anyone they hit and destroying any breakable objects such as boxes. After the meteors explode, they will leave behind 1-3 Star Chunks
• Mystery Pillar - A large, mysterious pillar will appear at a random location in the city. The pillar can be broken open, though players will need to do a great deal of damage to break it. Breaking it open will shower the surrounding area with the many Patches that were inside.
• Rail Station Fire - Every Rail Station on the map will catch fire, rendering them nigh unusable, since any player who enters them will take severe damage from the fire.
• UFO - A huge UFO appears and slowly moves across the entire map. There are plenty of Patches on top of the UFO, including a guaranteed All-Up patch in the middle. Getting on top of the UFO may be difficult and require different methods depending on the City.
• Machine Malfunction - For the duration of the event, all machines will have their steering controls reversed, so left is right and right is left.
• Ring Hunt - Four glowing rings will appear in randomly chosen positions out of a predetermined list of 10. The first player to go through all 4 rings will be granted an All-Up patch.
• Windstorm - Heavy winds will blow through the city in a random direction, slowing down racers who drive against the wind but speeding them up if they drive with it.
• Outlaw Bounty - A random, super-sized CPU-controlled player will appear and drive around the city. Destroying their machine and defeating them before time runs out earns you an All-Up patch.

Classic City Happenings:

• Dyna Blade - The sky will darken and Dyna Blade will descend onto the city. Damaging Dyna Blade will knock patches out of her, and defeating her will reward players with a ton of patches.
• Lighthouse Activation - The lighthouse will turn on and shine two lights onto the ground. Being inside of these lights will heal racers.
• Secret Chamber - The secret chamber in City Hall will open up, revealing many patches, all of the same kind.
• Volcanic Eruption - The volcano will erupt, showering the nearby area in flaming debris which deals considerable damage.
• Low Tide - The oceans will recede significantly, uncovering clams which can be knocked open for rare items

Titanic Towers Happenings:

• Kracko - A special Happening which is guaranteed to occur at least once every 3 happenings in Titanic Towers, meaning that it will occur at least once in nearly every match in this city. Kracko will appear, and fly around the upper layer of Titanic Towers. Riding under or near him may result in getting electrocuted which may even destroy your Machine, so players must be careful. Slamming into his eye with your Machine will knock patches or Star Chunks out of him; once he is hit several times, he will retreat and the happening will end.

Rules and Rule Presets

City Trial Ultra Deluxe features a great deal of customizability. The time limit of the City segment can be set to anywhere from 2 minutes to 20 minutes. The rarity of items and boxes can be set, with five levels - Very Low, Low, Standard, High, and Very High. The number and type of Stadium events can also be changed. You can have just one (like in the original Air Ride) or as many as 5 Stadium Events, and you can toggle each event on and off either individually or by category (e.g. "full course", "drag race", etc). You can also set an event or category to "guaranteed" in order to force either that particular event or at least one event in that category to appear - e.g. you can set the 'Destruction Derby' category to "guaranteed" and there will for sure be at least one Destruction Derby event chosen among the Stadium events. It's also possible to disable certain Air Ride Machines or Items from appearing during the City segment.

Being able to freely change the rules is not available at the start of the game, however, and must be unlocked via the Checklist by playing a match with each built-in rule preset at least once.

There are several "rule presets" built into the game. Once players unlock the ability to freely fine-tune the rules, they can also save their own rule presets, up to a maximum of 20. The built-in rule presets are:

Rule Presets

Name	City Phase Time Limit	Item Spawn Rate	Base Star Points	# of Stadium Events	Available Stadium Categories	Guaranteed Stadium Categories	Disabled Machines	Disabled Items	Unlock Method
Standard	5 Minutes	Standard	3 Star Points	3 Events	All Categories	Full Racecourse	None	None	Available from the Start
Quick	3 Minutes	High	2 Star Points	1 Event	All Categories except Full Racecourse	None	None	None	Available from the Start
Extended	10 Minutes	Low	4 Star Points	5 Events	All Categories	Full Racecourse, Gliding Challenge, Destruction Derby	None	None	Available from the Start
Gliding Throwdown	4 Minutes	Standard	3 Star Points	2 Events	Gliding Challenge	None	All Wheelie Machines, Wagon Star	None	Play 5 matches of City Trial
Hectic Battle	4 Minutes	Very High	3 Star Points	2 Events	None	Destruction Derby, Gold Rush	Winged Star, Formula Star, Swerve Star, Nitro Wheelie	None	KO Rivals during the City Phase 5 times
Kirby Grand Prix	7 Minutes	Standard	3 Star Points	4 Events	Full Racecourse	None	None	Legendary Machine Pieces	Unlock every Full Racecourse on the Checklist
Custom Preset (20 slots)	2-20 Minutes	Very Low - Very High	0-10 Star Points	1-5 Events	Any	Any	Any	Any	Play at least 1 City Trial match on each built-in Rule Preset

Other Modes

While City Trial is the main mode of the game, several other side modes are available.

Stadium Mode

In Stadium Mode, players can choose to play any of the Stadium events individually. There are two sub-modes: Standard Stadium and Star Stadium. In both modes, Events can either be played individually or combined into a series of Events with the same scoring system as in City Trial mode. This allows players to create a "Grand Prix" style series of races. Both modes can also be played with just one player.

In Standard Stadium, players simply play with 0 stat bonuses. This is the best way to play the individual full-length race courses on an even playing field, meaning that this mode can essentially function the same as Air Ride Mode in the original game if you choose a full racetrack.

In Star Stadium, before competing in the event, players will allocate a set number of Star Points to more closely simulate the Stadium segment of an actual game of City Trial. By default, players get 15 Star Points and can allocate a max of 5 to any particular stat, but these values can be changed in the Settings (once the option to do so is unlocked in the Checklist). Checklist challenges for Star Stadium will require the default rules to be used, however.

Free Run Mode

In Free Run mode, you can freely explore any of the City stages with no time limit and no Stadium events. Each map has a location containing every single Machine you've unlocked so far. Free Run can also be played with just one player.

Checklist

The Checklist feature from Kirby Air Ride returns, this time as one massive Checklist for all modes. This is a 13x13 grid of Checklist boxes, for a total of 169. Each box represents a specific task, achievement, or milestone which the player must reach. This time, every Checklist box has a prize for achieving it, such as unlocking a new Machine or playable character. At first, all of the requirements to unlock the boxes are hidden, but completing a Checklist item reveals the unlock requirements for all of the adjacent boxes so that players can be clued in on what they should try to do. Checklist rewards include:

• Playable characters
• Air Ride Machines (which will start appearing in City Trial mode and also become selectable in Stadium mode once unlocked)
• New Courses
• New Cities
• Paintbrushes, which can be used to purchase alternate colors for characters
• Super Checks, which can be used to check off any item on the Checklist that isn't yet achieved. If the player later successfully achieves that Checklist item, the Super Check will be returned to them
• Extra Songs, which are remixed tracks from previous Kirby games which will have a chance of playing on their corresponding Course or City once unlocked

Vault Mode

The "Vault" mode contains several features and options:

• Color Shop - Here, you can spend Paintbrushes (which are received as Checklist rewards) to buy alternate colors for the character's you've unlocked.
• Gallery - Here, you can view any photos or replays that you've saved in any of the modes. You can also view the opening cutscene, tutorial, or unlockable bonus cutscenes.
• Sound Test - Once you've unlocked this mode in the Checklist, you can play any track from the soundtrack here.

Stages

City Trial Ultra Deluxe contains many stages, including several different City stages playable in the City Phase, and a wide variety of stages used for Events in the Stadium Phase, including many full race courses and numerous other Event-specific stages.

Cities

There are 5 different "City" maps which can be chosen in City Trial mode. Each has its own unique layout and features. Two cities need to be unlocked before they can be selected.

• Classic City - The city from the original Kirby Air Ride returns, featuring a wide variety of environments. Everything you remember is here, but keep your eye out for new features and easter eggs.
• Sandy Settlement - This desert environment features sand dunes, cacti, a city built into a cliff wall, and... a mysterious, futuristic alien pyramid? This city features many hidden secrets and passageways.
• Boreal Borough - This bustling, modern city in the frigid north is nestled between snowy mountains, desolate chasms, and freezing-cold water. Be sure to visit the spooky cathedral, too.
• Titanic Towers - An unlockable city set high up in the clouds, with massive towers so tall you can barely see the bottom poking through the clouds. This map has a lot of verticality - but boxes and patches tend to spawn high up on this map, so try not to fall! And keep an eye out for Kracko, who may attack you!
• Halcandra Heights - This unlockable city features both perilous magma-filled environments and a sprawling, spooky factory filled with gears and machinery. The Lor Starcutter also appears - it's a massive ship that circles the map and is big enough that players can explore its interior. Getting onboard requires either boarding it at the right place at the right time, or perhaps an impressive Glide stat.

Race Courses

There are 18 full-length race courses featured in the game - twice as many as the original Air Ride. 6 courses return from the original Kirby Air Ride alongside 12 brand-new courses. Under normal settings, every City Trial match will have at least one full course as a Stadium event, but this can be changed with custom settings. Unlike the original Air Ride, full courses are played with their full number of laps rather than just 1 when used as Events in the Stadium Phase.

List of Courses

Course Name	Description	# of Laps	Unlock Method
Fantasy Meadows	A short and simple track set in a peaceful meadow with a quick excursion through a nearby cave.	3	Available from the start
Sunset Seaside	A calming race taking racers on a tour along the sea and then through the nearby sand dunes.	3	Available from the start
Relic Mountain	A track taking racers on an expedition through dusty old ruins nestled inside towering mountains.	2	Available from the start
Celestial Valley	A course set in a mysterious valley featuring caves, rails, rapids, and more.	2	Available from the start
Stormy Cloudscape	A race through the clouds during a raging thunderstorm. Beware of lightning, and try and stick to the high route!	2	Available from the start
Dedede Stadium	Dedede converted part of his castle into a racetrack - but he rigged it with traps, too.	3	Available from the start
Frozen Hillside	An icy landscape with plenty of tight turns as well as many boost pads and rails to ride.	2	Available from the start
Cheesecake Country	This colorful course is literally made of candy, cake, and other sweets. Be on the lookout for tasty secret passageways!	2	Available from the start
Twilight Chateau	Explore an eerie chateau in the twilight hour. The route splits up inside, so learn which path is best for your machine.	2	Available from the start
Machine Passage	A long, tricky race through a mysterious facility, on the inside and outside.	2	Unlocked via Checklist
Murky Jungle	A course in a dense jungle filled with massive trees. Should you race on the forest floor, or take the rails through the canopy?	2	Unlocked via Checklist
Ravaged Ravine	A race along a ravine with rough terrain and countless hazards. Use the flowing water and geysers to your advantage.	2	Unlocked via Checklist
Beanstalk Park	An exciting course in the sky with two different paths and many rails to ride on to try and find the optimal path to victory.	2	Unlocked via Checklist
Crystalline Caverns	A lengthy race through a mysterious underground cavern, with shimmering crystals, subterranean root systems, and more.	1	Unlocked via Checklist
Whimsical Circus	Romp through a bustling circus attraction with many bouncy platforms and rails providing a challenging path to the finish.	2	Unlocked via Checklist
Checker Knights	A long, mysterious checkerboarded course that looks like a castle on the top parts but high-tech in the lower parts.	2	Unlocked via Checklist
Molten Forge	This treacherous factory is filled with lava and flame. Avoid getting caught in the machinery, or you'll be melted down too.	2	Unlocked via Checklist
Hyperspace Highway	A long trek through space on a road made of starlight. You may see familiar planets in the background...	1	Unlocked via Checklist

Stadium Stages

There are numerous Stadium stages other than the full race courses. Some Stadium courses are specific to the particular event associated with them, while some Stadium stages can hold several different kinds of Events - e.g., the same stage may be used for both a Kirby Melee and Destruction Derby Event. For stages which can hold multiple kinds of Stadium event, each individual City Trial game will only have one Event per stage - for instance, there will never be a game where both "Lumber Clearing: Kirby Melee" and "Lumber Clearing: Tag the Flag" are held as Events.

Events with their own unique stage:

• High Jump - Compete to see who can jump/glide the highest off a ramp. Everyone gets two tries, with only the highest score counting.
• Air Glider - Compete to see who can glide the furthest over a pit. Everyone gets two tries, with only the highest score counting.
• Target Flight Deluxe - Compete to try and glide precisely and hit targets on a wall, each rewarding a different number of points. The size of the wall/number of targets changes depending on the number of players. Everyone plays two rounds, and the sum of both attempts is your final score.
• Ring Weaver - Players ride off a ramp and are tasked with gliding through as many rings as possible. Five rings are placed in the air in regular intervals beyond the end of the ramp, plus one much smaller red ring at a random position. 1 point is awarded per standard ring, with 3 points for the red ring. Everyone plays three rounds, with the pattern of rings changing each time. Highest total score wins.
• Drag Race - Players race to the end of a very long, straight raceway in a battle of sheer speed.
• Loop Race - Players race three laps around a ring-shaped raceway. Should players take the turns tightly, or utilize the boost panels on the outside edges of the loop?
• Back-and-Forth Race - Players must race to the end of a straight raceway, then turn around and race all the way back, then repeat this process two more times for a total of three laps. Players who are going at different paces will likely crash into each other as they travel in opposite directions - they can take this opportunity to try to hit or even KO opposing racers.
• Vs. Dyna Blade - A boss fight event where each player fights separately against Dyna Blade. Whoever defeats Dyna Blade the fastest is the winner. Anyone who fails to defeat Dyna Blade within the time limit will tie for last place in the event. Takes place in an arena similar to the Classic City map.
• Vs. Kracko - A boss fight event where each player fights separately against Kracko. Whoever defeats Kracko the fastest is the winner. Anyone who fails to defeat Kracko within the time limit will tie for last place in the event. Takes place in an arena similar to the Titanic Towers map.
• Vs. Landia - A boss fight event where each player fights separately against Landia. Whoever defeats Landia the fastest is the winner. Anyone who fails to defeat Landia within the time limit will tie for last place in the event. Takes place in an arena similar to the Halcandra Heights map.

Events which are held on several different courses:

• Destruction Derby - The goal in Destruction Derby is simple - KO as many of your opponents as possible. When you get KO'd, you respawn shortly after. Many items appear throughout the course which you must use to your advantage to defeat all of your enemies.
• Kirby Melee - Enemies will be scattered throughout the course, and players need to kill as many of them as possible.
• Tag the Flag - At the beginning of the Event, a Flag will appear in the middle of the course. The first player to touch it becomes the flag holder, and starts gaining points. If another player manages to hit them, that player will steal the flag from them. However, as you hold the flag longer and longer for a single interval, your machine becomes slightly slower over time, making it easier and easier for others to catch you. At the end of the time limit, the player with the most points wins.
• Scavenger Hunt - Five glowing orbs will appear from a randomly-chosen set of pre-selected positions in the stage, and are indicated on the minimap. Each player's goal is to touch all five orbs as fast as they can. Carefully planning a route in order to touch all five orbs efficiently is the key to victory. Anyone who fails to touch all five orbs within the time limit will tie for last place in the event.
• Gold Rush - Gold coins will randomly spawn throughout the course. Collecting coins will add to your total, and KO'ing opponents will steal 50% of the coins they've collected. Players respawn shortly after being KO'd.

Stages used for multiple Events:

• Lumber Clearing - This simple stage takes place in a forest with several tree stumps acting as obstacles. Gliding off roots and onto the tree stumps can reward you with items to attack with.
• Magma Crucible - This stage is based on the Destruction Derby 2 map from the original Air Ride, but with changes and additions. The overall shape is a ring, though somewhat wider than the original version, and there are three round areas branching off towards the inside which each feature magma geysers in the center.
• Shimmering Oasis - A stage set around a large oasis in the desert with two criss-crossing bridges going across the water - enemies and items often spawn in the middle, making it the center of attention for racers.
• Regal Courtyard - A recreation of the Kirby Melee 2 map from the original Air Ride. This large stage takes place in a castle courtyard and features several layers of terrain to explore.
• Midnight Peak - A stage taking place at night in the mountains. Features a central arena with small tunnels to hide in and several paths leading off around the edges, which can provide hiding places or hold scavenger hunt orbs but will provide no items.
• Rustic Pyramid - A tricky level set in ancient ruins with two main layers. Mysterious artifacts which activate and deactivate can take players up to the higher layer when active - and players must be careful not to fall back down once they've gotten up. This stage must be unlocked via the Checklist before it can be played in any Event.
• Shivering Factory - A factory in a frozen environment, closely based on Shiver Star from Kirby 64. The stage layout changes as the machinery in the factory moves around; switches around the stage can allow players to affect how the layout changes. This stage must be unlocked via the Checklist before it can be played in any Event.
• Nebula Matrix - A large, complex stage taking place in outer space where players navigate a complex 3-dimensional maze of celestial matter. This stage must be unlocked via the Checklist before it can be played in any Event.

Stage/Event Compatibility Chart

	Destruction Derby	Kirby Melee	Tag the Flag	Scavenger Hunt	Gold Rush
Lumber Clearing	X	X	X
Magma Crucible	X		X		X
Shimmering Oasis	X	X	X		X
Regal Courtyard		X	X	X	X
Midnight Peak	X		X	X	X
Rustic Pyramid	X	X		X
Shivering Factory	X	X	X	X	X
Nebula Matrix		X		X	X

Stadium events are broken up into "Categories" which can be enabled or disabled in the options. The Categories consist of the following:

• Full Race Courses - The 18 Race Courses
• Gliding Challenge - High Jump, Air Glider, Target Flight Deluxe, Ring Weaver
• Speed Challenge - Drag Race, Loop Race, Back-and-Forth Race
• Boss Challenge - Vs. Dyna Blade, Vs. Kracko, Vs. Landia
• Destruction Derby - All 5 eligible courses
• Kirby Melee - All 5 eligible courses
• Tag the Flag - All 5 eligible courses
• Scavenger Hunt - All 5 eligible courses
• Gold Rush - All 5 eligible courses

Counting each stage/event combination as a different Stadium Event, the total number of events in City Trial Ultra Deluxe comes to 57, which is over twice the number of events in the original Air Ride.

A full listing of all Stadium events can be found here.