22 November 2025

How to Unlock All Characters in Kirby Air Riders

By newsgame

There are 21 unlockable characters in Kirby Air Riders, and although you can get a lot of them by completing challenges in Road Trip mode, some can only be obtained by playing the other modes, like City Trial, Top Ride, and Air Ride. Luckily, we have all the characters down below in Kirby Air Riders, along with their unlock methods, special skills, and stat info.

Here’s how to get every rider in Kirby Air Riders.

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How to Unlock All Characters and Riders in Kirby Air Riders

Rider	Unlock Method(s)
Kirby	Unlocked at the start
King Dedede	Unlocked at the start
Meta Knight	Unlocked at the start
Waddle Dee	Unlocked from the start
Bandana Waddle Dee	Road Trip – Clear three Top Ride Challenges
Chef Kawasaki	Road Trip – Clear three Air Ride Challenges Air Ride (Mount Amberfalls) – Eat the Onigiri from the teahouse
Knuckle Joe	Road Trip – Power up all stats to 1 or higher City Trial – Steal a machine another rider is riding.
Rick	Road Trip – Enter the Shop three times Top Ride (Mountain) – Win with at least five seconds between you and second place.
Cappy	City Trial – Clear without getting any power-down items Top Ride (Flower) – Complete a lap within 30 seconds with Warp Star
Rocky	Road Trip – Open a treasure chest on the road Top Ride – Use 30 items.
Lololo and Lalala	Road Trip – Defeat 10 riders that are riding on star-type machines Air Ride (Crystalline Fissure) – Finish within 3:30.
Susie	Road Trip – Hit three enemies with a single attack Air Ride – Perform a perfect landing five times in a single race.
Starman	City Trial – Fall for six seconds after only boosting once Top Ride (Crystal) – Complete 4 laps in the lead position
Magolor	Top Ride – Send the same rider flying twice with the Drill Driver. City Trial – Enter all secret rooms during event.
Gooey	Top Ride (Air) – Win after getting swept up in the tornado three times. City Trial (Skydive 1) – Get 2k points in a single match.
Waddle Doo	Air Ride (Floria Fields) – Finish without crashing into enemies Top Ride – Hit a rider with a Course Quaker.
Taranza	Air Ride (Beanstalk Park) – Ride for a total of 5489 yards. City Trial – Win a short race.
Daroach	Air Ride – Find and defeat Gemaine. Top Ride – Win after lapping 1 other rider.
Scarfy	Air Ride (Waveflow Waters) – Defeat an enemy Scarfy without making it mad. City Trial – Destroy a rider’s machine within the first 60 seconds.
Marx	Air Ride (Free Run) – Complete an entire lap without dropping below 19 mph. Road Trip – Spend 300k Road Miles.
Noir Dedede	Road Trip – Defeat the true boss and watch the secret ending.

How to Unlock Kirby in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Lift	Ultra Sword – Unleash a series of slashes with your giant blade.

Kirby is unlocked from the start of the game (duh!).

How to Unlock King Dedede in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Top Speed/Offense	Jet Hammer – Activate the jet engine hidden in your hammer and rocket forward!

King Dedede is also unlocked at the start.

Best Stat	Special Ability
Flight Speed	Night Wing – Spread your dark wings and fly forward at incredible speed.

Meta Knight is also unlocked at the start.

How to Unlock Waddle Dee in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Grip	Golden Waddle Dee – Become golden and shiny as you race ahead with increased speed.

Waddle Dee is available by default.

How to Unlock Bandana Waddle Dee in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Grip	Spear Cyclone – Twirl your spear in front of you as a shield or above you as a propeller.

To unlock Bandana in Kirby Air Riders, clear three Top Ride Challenges in Road Trip.

How to Unlock Chef Kawasaki in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Top Speed/Max HP	Superspicy Cooking – Serve spicy curries all around you to make rivals spew flames.

Complete three Air Ride challenges in Road Trip to unlock Kawasaki. You can also eat the Onigiri from the teahouse in the Mount Amberfalls stage in Air Ride mode.

How to Unlock Knuckle Joe in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Offense	Knuckle Rush – Charge up energy, then unleash a powerful uppercut!

Unlock Knuckle Joe in Kirby Air Riders by powering up your stats to 1 or higher in Road Trip. You can also get him by stealing a machine from another rider in City Trial.

How to Unlock Rick in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Top Speed	Rip-Roaring Rick – Hop off your machine and switch to a full-speed dash on foot.

Enter the shop three times during Road Trip to unlock Rick. You can also play on the Mountain Top Ride course and win with at least five seconds between you and second place.

How to Unlock Cappy in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Grip	Booster Cap – Use mushroom-cap propulsion to rush ahead in a steady burst!

Unlock Cappy in Kirby Air Riders by clearing City Trial without getting power-down items. You can also unlock them by clearing a lap within 30 seconds in the Top Ride Flower stage with Warp Star.

How to Unlock Rocky in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Max HP	Meteor Rocky – Fly up into the air, then crash down as a mighty meteorite and explode.

Open a treasure chest on the road during Road Trip to unlock Rocky in Kirby Air Riders. You can also get them by using a total of 30 items in Top Ride.

How to Unlock Lololo & Lalala in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Offense	Emerald Framer – Throw around sliding blocks with abandon to slow down rivals.

Defeat 10 riders that are riding on top of star-type machines in Road Trip to unlock this dynamic duo. You can also get them by finishing the Crystalline Fissure Air Ride course within 3:30.

How to Unlock Susie in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Top Speed	Roboboosters – Ignite your high-tech boosters and rocket forward at high speed.

Hit three enemies with a single attack in Road Trip mode to get Susie in Kirby Air Riders. You can also get her by performing a perfect landing five times in a single Air Ride race.

How to Unlock Starman in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Grip	Super Starman – Soar high in the sky with your rainbow-colored cloak.

You can unlock Starman in Kirby Air Riders by completing either challenge:

City Trial – Fall for six seconds after only boosting once
Top Ride (Crystal) – Complete four laps in the lead position

How to Unlock Magolor in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Offense	Magolor Cannon – Rocket forward by firing a beam of light behind you.

Get Magolor by completing either objective:

Top Ride – Send the same rider flying twice with the Drill Driver.
City Trial – Enter all secret rooms during event.

How to Unlock Gooey in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Grip	Mock Dark Matter – Fire six shadowy bolts, three in front and three behind you.

You can complete either objective to get Gooey on your roster:

Top Ride (Air) – Win after getting swept up in the tornado three times.
City Trial (Skydive 1) – Get 2k points in a single match.

How to Unlock Waddle Doo in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Boost/Charge	Waddle Doo Barrage – Raise your trusty beam rod and fire off a full-power barrage of blasts.

To get Waddle Doo, you can complete Floria Fields (Air Ride course) without crashing into enemies. You can also hit a rider with a Course Quaker in Top Ride.

How to Unlock Taranza in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Top Speed	Spider Shots – Slow down rivals by firing balls of sticky spider silk to tangle them up.

Complete either of the challenges below to unlock Taranza in Kirby Air Riders:

Air Ride (Beanstalk Park) – Ride for a total of 5489 yards.
City Trial – Win a short race.

How to Unlock Daroach in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Offense	Sneaky Dash – Vanish, then surprise your rivals with a sneak attack.

You can unlock Daroach by completing either challenge in Kirby Air Riders:

Air Ride – Find and defeat Gemaine.
Top Ride – Win after lapping one other rider.

How to Unlock Scarfy in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Grip	Scarfy’s Losin’ it – Let your terrifying rage loose and run wild around the course.

Complete either challenge to get Scarfy in Kirby Air Riders:

Air Ride (Waveflow Waters) – Defeat an enemy Scarfy without making it mad.
City Trial – Destroy a rider’s machine within the first 60 seconds.

How to Unlock Marx in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Grip	True-Form Marx – Reveal your true nature and jinx any rivals you touch.

You can unlock Marx in Kirby Air Riders by completing either challenge:

Air Ride (Free Run) – Complete an entire lap without dropping below 19 mph.
Road Trip – Spend 300k Road Miles.

How to Unlock Noir Dedede in Kirby Air Riders

Best Stat	Special Ability
Offense/Top Speed	Shadow Ride – Slip past rivals like a shadow and leave them trapped in darkness.

To get Noir Dedede, you’ll need to complete Road Trip mode in New Game Plus after collecting all machines. This will take you at least two/three runs of the mode.

Systems

Released: November 20, 2025
ESRB: Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence
Publisher(s): Nintendo