Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I have a lot of catching up to do regarding this—I have not missed any unique events yet since I started playing this game, but the catchup effort begins around now. Might be hard to fit Kirby Air Riders videos alongside Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble, Pokémon Champions, Pokémon TCG Live AND Pocket, Mario Kart World, and soon, Rhythm Heaven Groove. But I’ll try.
As you might have figured, Eight-Player Top Ride! is an event where you play Top Ride with up to 8 players instead of 4. Masahiro Sakurai said outright that Kirby Air Ride can accommodate far more racers than it currently does, but he feels that the odds of getting 1st place would be too low if there are too many racers. I don’t really care; I’m one of the weirdos who wants even MORE than 24 racers in Mario Kart World. So this event was a better version of Top Ride for me.
This event was held on the last weekend of May 2026 from May 28th to May 31st from Pacific Daylight Time, and unlike some of the previous events, remained the same from day to day. And if you’re just tuning in, all matches use motion steering.
00:21 - Race #1
Top Ride
Course: Steam
Character: Susie
Machine: Jet Star
Not sure what happened, but I was gradually falling behind on the final lap. I think I was getting attacked, but it’s hard to tell in Top Ride. A few others were seriously falling behind though. The controls for Top Ride can be weird.
02:12 - Match #2
Top Ride
Course: Cyber
Character: Starman
Machine: Wheelie Bike
There is a small patch on a straightaway towards the end of a lap that allows pople to catch up in a matrix of panels that turn into boost pads when someone moves across it, meaning only the one who gets there first does not get any boosts out of it. I thin I also got hit by my own Gordo.
04:14 - Match #3
Top Ride
Course: Crystal
Character: Knuckle Joe
Machine: Bull Tank
Using the Bull Tank, I remember to check my gauge at the beginning of a race, but gradually, I forget…people who use the Bull Tank a lot probably get into the habit of remembering though. In Top Ride, this is denoted by a little gauge directly underneath your character at all times, so I didn’t forget. I kept getting caught in these bombs though—how do people avoid getting hit?
05:59 - Match #4
Top Ride
Course: Mountain
Character: Gooey
Machine: Wheelie Scooter
Mountain has the sharpest turns of any Top Ride course, so theoretically, the Wheelie Scooter, with the best handling, would be the best fit for it. In practice, I wound up oversteering at a couple of points and fell behind.
07:28 - Match #5
Top Ride
Course: Cave
Character: Marx
Machine: Wheelie Bike
I missed the Wheel powerup over there; I think I was close enough to the lead that I could seize it with that speed boost. At some point, I was locked between 2nd and 3rd though, which is good enough for me.
09:31 - Match #6
Top Ride
Course: Mountain (again)
Character: Rick
Machine: Swerve Star
I was dreading this one because the randomizer gave me the Swerve Star, which is not an easy machine to use in Top Ride, and not on something as twisty as Mountain. But I managed to keep up with the pack! In this race, everyone was close enough together that everyone crossed the checkered line to start the final lap within 1 second of each other. You could also see the game correcting itself with the 5th and 6th place finishes, and everyone still finished within 1.5 seconds of each other.
I don’t know who would be proud to be a micromanager though…
I have a lot of catching up to do regarding this—I have not missed any unique events yet since I started playing this game, but the catchup effort begins around now. Might be hard to fit Kirby Air Riders videos alongside Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble, Pokémon Champions, Pokémon TCG Live AND Pocket, Mario Kart World, and soon, Rhythm Heaven Groove. But I’ll try.
As you might have figured, Eight-Player Top Ride! is an event where you play Top Ride with up to 8 players instead of 4. Masahiro Sakurai said outright that Kirby Air Ride can accommodate far more racers than it currently does, but he feels that the odds of getting 1st place would be too low if there are too many racers. I don’t really care; I’m one of the weirdos who wants even MORE than 24 racers in Mario Kart World. So this event was a better version of Top Ride for me.
This event was held on the last weekend of May 2026 from May 28th to May 31st from Pacific Daylight Time, and unlike some of the previous events, remained the same from day to day. And if you’re just tuning in, all matches use motion steering.
00:21 - Race #1
Top Ride
Course: Steam
Character: Susie
Machine: Jet Star
Not sure what happened, but I was gradually falling behind on the final lap. I think I was getting attacked, but it’s hard to tell in Top Ride. A few others were seriously falling behind though. The controls for Top Ride can be weird.
02:12 - Match #2
Top Ride
Course: Cyber
Character: Starman
Machine: Wheelie Bike
There is a small patch on a straightaway towards the end of a lap that allows pople to catch up in a matrix of panels that turn into boost pads when someone moves across it, meaning only the one who gets there first does not get any boosts out of it. I thin I also got hit by my own Gordo.
04:14 - Match #3
Top Ride
Course: Crystal
Character: Knuckle Joe
Machine: Bull Tank
Using the Bull Tank, I remember to check my gauge at the beginning of a race, but gradually, I forget…people who use the Bull Tank a lot probably get into the habit of remembering though. In Top Ride, this is denoted by a little gauge directly underneath your character at all times, so I didn’t forget. I kept getting caught in these bombs though—how do people avoid getting hit?
05:59 - Match #4
Top Ride
Course: Mountain
Character: Gooey
Machine: Wheelie Scooter
Mountain has the sharpest turns of any Top Ride course, so theoretically, the Wheelie Scooter, with the best handling, would be the best fit for it. In practice, I wound up oversteering at a couple of points and fell behind.
07:28 - Match #5
Top Ride
Course: Cave
Character: Marx
Machine: Wheelie Bike
I missed the Wheel powerup over there; I think I was close enough to the lead that I could seize it with that speed boost. At some point, I was locked between 2nd and 3rd though, which is good enough for me.
09:31 - Match #6
Top Ride
Course: Mountain (again)
Character: Rick
Machine: Swerve Star
I was dreading this one because the randomizer gave me the Swerve Star, which is not an easy machine to use in Top Ride, and not on something as twisty as Mountain. But I managed to keep up with the pack! In this race, everyone was close enough together that everyone crossed the checkered line to start the final lap within 1 second of each other. You could also see the game correcting itself with the 5th and 6th place finishes, and everyone still finished within 1.5 seconds of each other.
I don’t know who would be proud to be a micromanager though…
