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Full Kirby Air Riders Soundtrack Hits Nintendo Music as Sakurai Explains Melodic Focus

Sakurai frames the score around singable signature melodies that resist ambient trends.

Overview

  • Nintendo released the complete Kirby Air Riders album on the Nintendo Music app today, featuring 114 tracks running about three hours and marking the app’s first full Switch 2 soundtrack.
  • Alongside the drop, Nintendo posted an interview on the score with director Masahiro Sakurai and lead composers Noriyuki Iwadare and Shogo Sakai, crediting support from Akira Miyagawa and Bandai Namco musicians.
  • Sakurai says the overriding brief was a tune children can sing, with a clear signature melody that lingers after a single course run.
  • He described steering away from recent ambient, background-blending game music in favor of tracks that distinctly stand out.
  • Listening on Nintendo Music requires an active Switch Online membership, and the game was just updated to Version 1.3.1 with new amiibo support plus balance adjustments and bug fixes.