New Kirby Amiibo Are Up for Preorder – Here’s How They Work

If you’re a fan of Kirby the adorable pink puff ball, you’re surely looking forward to Kirby Air Riders, which hits Switch 2 on November 20. As Nintendo is wont to do, the company is also releasing a pair of amiibo figures to go along with the new game. There’s a Kirby and Warp Star amiibo and a Bandana Waddle Dee and Winged Star. They both retail for (a somewhat shocking) $49.99, and are set to release the same day as the game itself.

The reason for the extra expense is that these are more elaborate than most amiibo figures. With each of them, you get a character and a vehicle that work together in interesting ways, particularly if you have both figures. Read on for the details.

Kirby and Warp Star amiibo – Kirby Air Riders Series

Bandana Waddle Dee and Winged Star amiibo – Kirby Air Riders Series

How the Kirby Air Riders amiibo Work

So how do these things work, exactly? When you put Kirby on the Warp Star vehicle and tap it on your Switch 2 controller, it creates an in-game Figure Player (think NPC) that will race around the tracks in your matches. As the FP competes in races, it will level up, and its machine proficiency level will also increase. (Machine proficiency is basically a score for that character-and-vehicle combo).

If you have both of the above amiibo figures, you can swap riders on the vehicles. That way, you can have an FP of Kirby riding on the Winged Star, or Bandana Waddle Dee riding on the Warp Star. When you do this, the FP character maintains its level, but starts from zero in its machine proficiency since it’s a new vehicle. You can watch the video above to see it in action.

Nintendo says more of these Kirby Air Riders amiibo will be released in the future, creating more character/machine combinations for your FPs. Also, Nintendo is planning a second Kirby Air Riders Direct hosted by Sakurai, during which he may offer additional details about these (and upcoming) amiibo.

Preorder Kirby Airy Riders