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Kirby Air Riders 1.2.0 update out now, patch notes – tons of balance adjustments and more

Posted on December 11, 2025 by (@NE_Brian) in News, Switch 2

Kirby Air Riders 1.2.0 update

A big version 1.2.0 update has just been released for Kirby Air Riders.

A bunch of different elements are included in the update. Highlights include the ability to use amiibo in paddocks and play courses solo during matchmaking. Tons of balance adjustments and bug fixes are also in.

The full rundown is as follows:

Kirby Air Riders version 1.2.0 update patch notes

General

  • You can now scan amiibo in the paddock and race with figure players (FPs).
    • They can be scanned from the amiibo terminal in the paddock.
  • You can now try out courses solo in Online Matches during matchmaking.
    • In City Trial, you can ride around Skyah after being matched with at least one person.
    • In Air Ride and Top Ride, attempting to leave mid-matchmaking after you’ve entered the test-course screen will result in a penalty.
  • It is now possible to seek playback position when playing a video from Movie Replay under Spectate in the Connect menu.
  • Replay videos will now play on the monitor in the paddock.
    • Replay videos uploaded by players will be played at random.
  • You can now select Local Play through Online Match in each mode when you are not connected to the internet.
  • You can now set Featured Player to Auto, even when the Replay playback setting is set to Full.
  • The version number will now display in the lower-right corner of the screen when bringing up the pause menu in Free Run and Time Attack.
  • When you reach the ending of Road Trip, the “Everything Resets” memory will be unlocked even if you didn’t unlock it.
    • This memory will be unlocked in the same way even for save data where the player has already reached the ending.

Balance Adjustments

The performance of a rider has been adjusted.

Rider nameAdjustment details
RickAffected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Lowered HP and Defense.
  • Lowered the power of the Rip-Roaring Rick Special.

The performance of some machines has been adjusted.

Machine nameAdjustment details
All machinesAffected modes: All modes

  • The backlash when hitting a wall with Quick Spin has been weakened. For some machines, the condition where you can hit a wall with Quick Spin and still maintain high speed has been reduced.
Star-type machinesAffected mode: City Trial

  • Lowered initial Defense value.
Tank-type machinesAffected mode: City Trial

  • Raised initial Defense value.
  • Raised Defense growth rate.
Bike-type machinesAffected mode: City Trial

  • Lowered Defense growth rate.
Chariot-type machinesAffected mode: City Trial

  • Lowered Defense growth rate.
Warp StarAffected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when continuing to touch a wall.
Winged StarAffected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when continuing to touch a wall.
Shadow StarAffected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.
Slick StarAffected mode: City Trial

  • Raised Top Speed growth rate.

Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when continuing to touch a wall.
  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.
Formula StarAffected mode: Top Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.
Bulk StarAffected mode: City Trial

  • Raised Defense growth rate.

Affected mode: Top Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.
Turbo StarAffected mode: City Trial

  • Raised growth rate for Top Speed when riding on the ground.

Affected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when continuing to touch a wall.
  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.

Affected mode: Top Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.
Jet StarAffected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when continuing to touch a wall.
  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.
  • Raised braking ability when exceeding maximum speed.
Rex WheelieAffected mode: Top Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.
Vampire StarAffected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when continuing to touch a wall.
  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.
Battle ChariotAffected mode: City Trial

  • Lowered Top Speed growth rate.

Affected mode: Top Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.
Tank StarAffected mode: City Trial

  • Raised Top Speed growth rate.

Affected mode: Top Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.
Bull TankAffected mode: Top Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when crashing while nearly perpendicular to a wall.
Transform StarAffected modes: City Trial/Air Ride

  • Strengthened deceleration when continuing to touch a wall.

Names of machines under each machine type are as follows:

  • Star-type: Warp Star, Compact Star, Winged Star, Shadow Star, Wagon Star, Slick Star, Formula Star, Bulk Star, Rocket Star, Swerve Star, Turbo Star, Jet Star, Hop Star, Vampire Star, Paper Star, Transform Star (Star type)
  • Tank-type: Tank Star, Bull Tank
  • Bike-type: Wheelie Bike, Rex Wheelie, Wheelie Scooter, Transform Star (Bike type)
  • Chariot-type: Chariot, Battle Chariot

Bug Fixes

  • Improved communication stability during online play.
  • Fixed an issue with timer progression that could appear when playing for a long time in Air Ride or Top Ride Free Run mode.
  • Fixed an issue where “The Mysterious Bird Dyna Blade” City Trial event appearance rate would sometimes be lower than expected.
  • Fixed an issue where My Music settings were not reflected in City Trial Ranked Match or Quick Match.
  • Fixed an issue where My Machines purchased from the Machine Market would not appear in City Trial offline.
  • Fixed an issue where the sequence that plays when players complete a Checklist tab would sometimes not play properly when using an Open Block to complete that tab.
  • Fixed an issue with the following Checklist tasks where, if data was deleted by selecting Checklist in Delete Data after some conditions were achieved, the clear conditions would not be properly counted and the task could no longer be achieved:
    • Air Ride tasks: “Play every course,” “Set records with at least 10 kinds of machines”
    • Top Ride tasks: “Win on all courses”
    • City Trial tasks: “Play 8 kinds of Stadium contests,” ”Play 16 kinds of Stadium contests”
    • Online tasks: “Complete all courses without falling off a cliff,” “Play every course,” “Race on 5 different courses in Single Race,” “Play 10 kinds of Stadium contests,” “Play 15 kinds of Stadium contests”
    • Fixes have been implemented so that these conditions will be properly counted even for save data where these issues have occurred.
  • Fixed an issue where defeating a rider in an Online Match would not be counted toward the “Defeat other riders a total of 50 times” task in the City Trial checklist.
  • Fixed an issue where the “Land on the 1,000-point platform” Checklist task achieved through the Skydive 1 Stadium event could not be achieved when another player landed on the same platform in an Online Match.
  • Fixed an issue where if you performed a Quick Spin with Gooey on the Galactic Nova course in Air Ride on some grind rails, you would sometimes slip through terrain.
  • Fixed an issue where Gooey could glide in unusual places by performing a Quick Spin.
  • Fixed an issue where, when Gooey would continuously use Quick Spins while in possession of some Copy Abilities, the Copy Abilities would not drop as expected.
  • Fixed an issue where users could sometimes not upload replay data when they had completed certain courses quickly or retired early.
  • Fixed an issue where vacant machines that came close to a rider whose machine was destroyed would sometimes move away from the rider.
  • Fixed an issue in Road Trip where, while on the road, if you performed certain actions, you would sometimes not be able to advance to the next challenge.
  • Fixed an issue where handicap settings set for P1 in offline play in each mode would be reflected even in Online Matches.
  • Fixed an issue where an error would sometimes occur when returning to the previous screen immediately after transitioning to Rivals in the Collection menu when you have more than a certain number of licenses in your possession.
  • Fixed an issue where Gigantes would sometimes not appear when players riding Gigantes disconnected in the “VS. Gigantes” Stadium event in an Online Match.
  • Fixed an issue where laps could sometimes unintentionally lag while playing on the Crystal Top Ride course in a Road Trip challenge.
  • Fixed an issue where, after purchasing a machine from the Machine Market, if certain actions are performed, the purchased machine could unintentionally end up disappearing and no longer be able to be purchased again.
    • Fixes have been implemented so that machines that have been purchased are displayed even for save data where this issue has occurred.
  • Fixed an issue where, in the Dustup Derby 2 Stadium event in City Trial, when pushed up against a wall when being revived after being defeated by a rival, players would sometimes fall through the wall.
  • Made several other miscellaneous gameplay fixes.

The following issues have been confirmed but are not included among the fixes in this update.

  • An error will occur when opening the Gummies screen in the Collection menu when the number of Gummies is between 8,285 and 8,626. (This does not occur if there are 8,284 or fewer Gummies or 8,627 or more Gummies.)
  • If you unlock the last task in a Checklist using an Open Block and the completion mark is displayed, and afterwards, you transition to another screen with a specific procedure, the completion mark may disappear and you may not be able to receive the completion reward.

These bugs are planned to be fixed in a future update. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Kirby Air Riders previously received a day one update. In case you missed it, we have those patch notes here.

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