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Yes, yes, you need to unlock Rick immediately
Image: Bandai Namco Studios, Sora Ltd./Nintendo via Polygon
Kirby Air Riders has 21 playable characters, with most of them also having alternate colors that you’ll unlock as you complete goals off of the game’s massive checklists. You’ll need to check the boxes from the four main game modes (Air Ride, Top Ride, City Trial, and Road Trip) in order to unlock every character and color.
There are four default characters: Kirby, Waddle Dee, King Dedede, and Meta Knight. You’ll notice their silhouette in the checklists even though they’re default, as these will actually unlock alternate colors for the characters. The other unlockable riders function the same way. The first time you unlock one of their squares, you’ll get the character, and whichever square you unlock after will be alternate colors. Once you unlock the character or color, they’ll be playable in every game mode, not just the one you completed the checkbox in.
The riders have specific tasks you’ll have to do to unlock them or their alternate colors, so pay attention to the checklist board (or our list below) to see exactly what you have to do to unlock your coveted character.
Below you can see the list of all unlock requirements for each character in Kirby Air Riders.
[Ed. note: There are minor spoilers (the name of a character that was not revealed pre-launch) below.]
How to unlock all characters and alternate colors in Kirby Air Riders
Note that some characters can only be unlocked in specific race courses with certain settings or in specific stadiums. We’ve detailed that below. Note that some characters don’t have as many alternate colors as others.
Character
Unlock requirement #1
Unlock requirement #2
Unlock requirement #3
Bandana Waddle Dee
(City Trial) Destroy 2 boxes within 30 sec. of the start of the match
(Road Trip) Clear Top Ride challenges a total of 3 times
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Cappy
(Top Ride – Flower) Complete a lap within 0:30.00 with Warp Star
(City Trial) Clear without getting any power-down items
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Chef Kawasaki
(Air Ride – Mount Amberfalls) Eat the onigiri from the teahouse
(Road Trip) Clear Air Ride challenges a total of 3 times
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Daroach
(Air Ride) Find and defeat the special enemy, Gemaine
(Top Ride) Win after lapping 1 other rider
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Gooey
(Top Ride – Air) Win after getting swept up in the tornado 3 times
(City Trial – Skydive 1) Get 2,000 points in a single match
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King Dedede
(Air Ride) Win with course, rider, and machine selections set to random.
(City Trial – Gourmet Race) Get 80 points in a single match
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Kirby
(Air Ride) Finish without crashing into any walls
(Top Ride – Flower) Win without getting any Copy Abilities in a single race
(City Trial – Big Battle 2) Defeat a rider while shrunken
Knuckle Joe
(City Trial) Steal a machine that another rider is actively riding
(Road Trip) Power up all stats to 1 or higher
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Lololo & Lalala
(Air Ride – Crystalline Fissure, Laps) Finish within 3:30.00
(Road Trip) Defeat 10 riders that are riding on star-type machines
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Magolor
(Top Ride) Send the same rider flying 2 times with the Drill Driver.
(City Trial) Enter all secret rooms
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Marx
(Air Ride – Free Run) Complete an entire lap without dropping below 19 mph
(Road Trip) Spend 300,000 Road Miles
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Meta Knight
(Air Ride – Nova Belt, Laps) Finish a lap without crashing into walls more than 2 times.
(Top Ride – Nova) Complete a lap without attacking another rider
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Noir Dedede
(Road Trip) Defeat the true boss in Road Trip and watch the ending
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Rick
(Top Ride – Mountain) Win with at least 5 sec. between you and 2nd place
(Road Trip) Enter the shop 3 times
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Rocky
(Top Ride) Use a total of 30 items
(Road Trip) Open a treasure chest on the road
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Scarfy
(Air Ride – Waveflow Waters) Defeat an enemy Scarfy without making it mad
(City Trial) Destroy a rider’s machine within the first 60 sec.
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Starman
(Top Ride – Crystal) Complete 4 laps in the lead position
(City Trial) Fall for 6 sec. after only Boosting once
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Susie
(Air Ride) Perform a perfect landing 5 times in a single race
(Road Trip) Hit 3 enemies with a single attack.
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Taranza
(Air Ride – Beanstalk Park, Time) Ride for a total of 5,489 yd
(City Trial) Win a Short Race
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Waddle Dee
(City Trial) Defeat 30 riders during City Trial challenges
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Waddle Doo
(Air Ride – Floria Fields, Laps) Finish without crashing into any enemies
(Top Ride) Hit a rider with a Course Quaker
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