Legendary Air Ride Machine

Legendary Air Ride Machines are powerful and rare Air Ride Machines in Kirby Air Ride, appearing most prominently in City Trial. The only two Legendary Air Ride Machines in the original game are the Dragoon and the Hydra, and their stats are much higher than other Machines. Obtaining one usually means victory in most Stadium events.

The parts required to build these Machines are found in Red Boxes scattered around the city. Each Machine requires 3 parts to assemble. The parts themselves look like the following:

Dragoon:
Hydra:

Legendary Air Ride Machine pieces are not guaranteed to appear in every match of City Trial.

Machines

Dragoon

Dragoon

The soaring Machine that cuts the sky, Dragoon excels in flight and sports a high top speed to boot. This Machine is especially effective in races and flying competitions, but doesn't do as well in combat.

When used in the Air Glider and High Jump Stadium events, Dragoon can only be beaten in the most extreme of circumstances.

Hydra

Hydra

The monstrous Machine built for battle, Hydra excels on land and has the highest driving speed of any Machine. This Machine is especially effective in races and combat competitions, but doesn't do as well in the air.

Of note is the fact that Hydra can instantly KO most other Machines with a single tap from the front, but only outside of the Stadium.

Spoiler alert: Plot-specific details are within this box
Gigantes Introduced in Kirby Air Riders, Gigantes is the final boss of the Road Trip mode. As the name implies, Gigantes is the largest known Machine, resembling a large aircraft carrier with tank treads and a glowing red eye. It was built by Galactic Nova as a modification to Zorah, and is capable of destroying Planet Popstar. Lacking the will to activate on its own, Gigantes sent a signal to Air Ride Machines across Popstar in the hopes of attracting them and awakening itself. The player must fight it with whichever Machine they have at the end of the Road Trip, by attacking all of its red weak points. Once defeated, the player must race Noir Dedede to shut it down. If Noir Dedede wins this race, Gigantes will self-destruct, resulting in the bad ending. If the player has obtained all 22 Machines (which is only possible with a second playthrough via New Game+), Gigantes absorbs all of the Machines, powering up into Hyper Gigantes. This form is identical to base Gigantes, but with yellow weak points, stronger attacks, and is fought using either the Dragoon or Hydra. After winning this battle, a path to the true final stage is opened. After defeating Gigantes in Road Trip, its parts can appear in City Trial - though unlike other Legendary Air Ride Machines, it cannot appear in any other modes. Once fully assembled, the player will use Gigantes for the remainder of the match, or until its health runs out. Gigantes is large enough to destroy the buildings in Skyah, and can attack other players either with a Boost Charge, Quick Spin, or lock-on missiles. If the match ends while any player is riding Gigantes, the Stadium will always be VS. Gigantes. This Stadium is identical to the Gigantes fight in Road Trip, except one player will have full control of the boss while the other players co-operate to defeat it. The Gigantes player wins either if they defeat the specified number of Machines, or if the other players fail to destroy Gigantes within the time limit. Due to how Online Play in Kirby Air Riders works, it is possible for other players who have yet to complete Road Trip to encounter and fight Gigantes in City Trial. Leo Introduced in Kirby Air Riders, Leo is a Legendary Air Ride Machine that resembles a Fire Lion with a blue mane. It was created from the remains of Zorah's will in the Road Trip mode, after defeating Hyper Gigantes. The player uses it through the entirety of the final stage, consisting of a boss gauntlet against Robo Dedede, Nightmare, Zero Two, Marx and Heart of Nova. Leo can attack with its claws automatically, and can jump with a Quick Spin input and then pounce with the Boost button, similar to the Hop Star. After watching the true ending and completing 140 Checklist tasks in Road Trip, Leo's parts can appear in City Trial. Assembling Leo and riding it at least once will unlock it for Free Run in all modes, though it cannot be used in regular Air Ride or Top Ride races. Similarly to Gigantes, it may be encountered in City Trial in Online Play before the player unlocks Leo's parts in Road Trip.
End of spoilers

Locating Parts

Red Box

In some locations throughout the city, Legendary Air Ride Machine Boxes can spawn in the same locations as ordinary Red Boxes:

• On the beach between Electric Lounge and the City Wharf
• On the beaches on either side of Castle Hall
• In Castle Hall itself
• In the Underground, beneath the city
• In Electric Lounge
• Inside the volcano in Heat Top

Additionally, some locations will only spawn Legendary Machine Boxes:

• In High Plains, both in the golfing area and above the water wheel.
• In the caverns beneath the forest.
• Inside the room connecting the volcano rail to the Underground, which is inaccessible from the Underground due to a one-way wall.
• The area containing "dilapidated houses".

Other things to keep in mind regarding Legendary Machine Boxes:

• Once a Legendary Machine Box appears, it will never disappear. If one hasn't been seen for a while, check the known areas for one.
• Legendary Machine Boxes will not appear if a certain number of them are already somewhere on the map. Sometimes the limit is one Box; other times it's two Boxes.
• During the What's in the Box? event, where every Box contains the same item, Red Boxes containing Legendary Machine parts will never spin. Additionally, in the Item Bounce event, boxes containing Legendary Machine parts will not bounce. Thus, these events may aid in finding them.

Gallery of Box Locations

Trivia

A seemingly inaccessible Hydra part

• One particular spawn location for Legendary Machine Boxes is directly on top of the center Super Jump Pad in Electric Lounge. It's usually offset a little, making it possible to claim the resulting Machine part without getting taken up by the pad itself. However, as shown in the picture below, the Box can sometimes appear exactly in the center of the pad. While it may seem impossible to obtain, there are a few simple steps that can be followed to obtain the part.

1. Eject from the current Air Ride Machine while accelerating toward the Super Jump Pad so the machine lands directly underneath the Legendary Machine Part. (Keep in mind: The distance at which the player should eject from the machine is directly proportional to the speed the machine is traveling before ejecting.)
2. Run along the ground toward the Super Jump Pad to a point where the player can float directly on top of both the Air Ride Machine and the Legendary Air Ride Machine's part. It helps to run in a straight line toward the Super Jump Pad, rather than having to fix the position once close.
3. Try to line up as best as possible, and jump on the Air Ride Machine.

If these steps are followed, the Legendary Air Ride Machine part should be obtained with little to no issues.

• If a rider assembles a second Legendary Air Ride Machine while riding the other, that rider will lose the Legendary Machine they are riding upon assembling the second. This can be circumvented by dismounting the first Legendary Machine and assembling the second with a normal Air Ride Machine, thus allowing both Legendary Machines to remain in play.
• There is a glitch in Kirby Air Ride that, if both Legendary Air Ride Machine parts are present and a rider collects the final piece for both machines at the same time, both machine assembly scenes will play simultaneously, resulting in the Dragoon and Hydra appearing fused together. Once the scene has played out, the resulting machine will be either of the two randomly.
  • In the true ending on Road Trip in Kirby Air Riders, the Dragoon and Hydra do fuse together into a singular machine, but only on a non-playable capacity.