Kirby Air Ride (1996 Beta Version)

Kirby Air Ride is a 2003 game featuring everybody's favorite pink puffball. It's a unique kirby in the fact that it's not a platformer and is thusfar the only racer in the series. The game had unique controls, allowing for a vehicle to drive without having to hold a button. It had 3 modes: a straightforward racer called Air Ride, an overhead racer called Top Ride, and an adventure-like mode called City Trial.

The game had a very lengthy production spanning from 1996 to 2003 entering several different stages of development. At E3 1996, the game was shown in a completely different version than it's final product. It appeared to have started out as an adventure-racing game, something that would have been new to the video game industry back then. Not much is known about what was intended of it, but a video was leaked onto the internet showing early beta footage.

There have been some unconfirmed claims that what eventually became City Trial was orginally supposed to be bigger and more ambitious. Very little early footage has been seen of City Trial, however a player can exit the boundaries set by the game in City Trial and it appears that there are other lands off in the distance blocked off from the player.

Besides the leaked video, no other early material from this game has surfaced.