Last Nintendo Direct October 23 brought us an hour-long dive into Kirby Air Ridersand a surprise availability announcement. The Direct event, hosted by game director Masahiro Sakurai, showcased additional features, gameplay and modes of the racing game released for switch 2 November 20. However, towards the end of the presentation, Sakurai spent a few minutes Kirby Air Riders'Accessibility settings. It was a welcome focus on an aspect of game design that Nintendo regularly neglects, although it's not necessarily a sign of wider changes at the company.
The impressive range of options includes button remapping, resizable text – something missing in many games, but vital on the Switch 2's smaller undocked screen – colorblind filters, preset options for changing HUD size and opacity, and a toggle for screen outlines (though this was the only menu item not shown off during Direct). Unlike the developer's previous Switch 2 games, inputs can be remapped in-game rather than solely through the Switch 2's system-level options. You can also save named profiles for quick switching, and customize controls so the game can be played with one hand.
After presenting this list, Sakurai focused on what he wanted to accomplish “no matter what”—mitigating the effects of motion sickness. IN Kirby Air Riders you can add markers on the screen, supposedly of different thicknesses and colors, and change the field of view to reduce the perception of motion. Additionally, you can turn off camera shake and tilt completely, all of which can be visualized in the menu. For added simplicity, there are also preset visual accessibility options ranging from none to medium to strong.
It's a boon for players, especially disabled players, not only that these features are included, but that they are communicated before release. Accessibility menus that go beyond the basics are still rare in Nintendo games, and it's significant that the popular Switch 2 title takes such a major step towards a more accessible and customizable experience. However, we should temper our expectations about what this means going forward.
To be clear, this must will be a precedent for Nintendo to follow – not only in keeping these features in future games, but also in further developing accessibility. But it should be noted that Sakurai has taken a greater personal interest in accessibility in the last few years. especially regarding the effects of seasickness. Data from the last six months suggests that the incentive behind Kirby Air RidersThe accessibility considerations likely come from Sakurai and his team rather than from Nintendo as a whole.
None of this is to say that we shouldn't celebrate this amazing and sudden increase in availability in Nintendo's original release, or that players shouldn't be worried. Looking at the care that Sakurai and his development team took, Kirby Air Riders more affordable is a rare bright spot in this industry. However, we shouldn't get carried away by viewing this as a turning point in Nintendo's history, given how strongly history suggests otherwise.
