Kirby Air Riders fans call out 'hateful' Adeleine omission

Kirby Air Riders players can't believe the game has such a massive roster, but somehow still completely lacks any representation for Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.

In many ways, Kirby Air Riders feels like a massive celebration of everything the series has achieved over more than 30 years. The clearest sign of this is its roster, which includes characters from nearly every Kirby game out there, from mainstays like Meta Knight and King Dedede to adorable deep cuts like Rick and Gooey.

As good as Kirby Air Rider's playlist is, there are some notable omissions that leave fans scratching their heads. The biggest example of this is the complete lack of representation from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, which has two very obvious characters that could have been in the game that are completely absent.

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If you're a Kirby diehard, you probably already know where I'm going with this, but fans have been disappointed to find out that neither Adeleine nor Ribbon from Crystal Shards are in the Air Riders at all. Not only are they playable characters, but they are simply not referenced in the game, even when there is a clear opportunity to do so.

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As pointed out by Twitter user dn_68171, there is an episode in Air Riders Road Trip where Kirby can use a crystal from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards to clear a path forward, which dn_68171 is “hateful” instead of featuring Ribbon or Adeleine. While not everyone thinks it's a purposeful dud, Kirby fans everywhere agree it's a very odd omission if nothing else.

On the Kirby subreddit, Hamlock1998 shared dn_68171's tweet and pointed out how odd it is that The Crystal Shard's two major characters aren't in Air Riders at all. Some believe it's because both look a little too human for the Kirby series, but that hasn't stopped fans from being upset that Ribbon and Adeleine have been left out of the fun.

It's little consolation right now, but it's very likely that Air Riders will get new characters as post-launch updates. With all the fuss kicked up, Adeleine and Ribbon could eventually do it.

That said, Ribbon and Adeleine aren't the only surprising omissions from Air Rider's list, as Forgotten Land and Star Allies are also curiously absent. Elfilin and the Mage-Sisters would have made perfect Riders, and I can't believe King Dedede doesn't have his original form as an alternate costume.

It's not really clear why such prominent characters in the Kirby series have been left out in favor of basic enemies like Knuckle Joe and Cappy, but it's a weird situation regardless. Anyway, it's clear that Crystal Shards fans are suffering a lot more than the rest of us, to the point where some fans are even adding Adeleine to the game as a pretty upset custom machine.