The Nintendo GameCube's Kirby Air Ride seems to have become more popular in people's memories than it was on its 2003 launch. The racing game from HAL Laboratory and Super Smash Bros. legend Masashiro Sakurai was received with a collective "meh," reviewers frustrated by its simplicity in a world where Mario Kart ruled. This seems to have done little to dampen excitement around the game's very belated return, this time in the hands of Bandai Namco and Sora, complete with Masashiro Sakurai at the helm. And it seems to have worked out a lot better 22 years later, with Kirby Air Riders winning over a majority of critics.