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Rocket Star
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| “ | The machine's normal race speed isn't very fast, but if you hold down A to completely fill your Boost Gauge and then release it, this machine will do a massive charged-up Boost! | ” | — Kirby Air Ride North American instruction booklet, page 33 |
TheRocket Star is a star-typeAir Ride Machine that appears inKirby Air Ride andKirby Air Riders. It is best known for having, far and away, the highest boosting attribute in these games.
Appearance[edit]
The main body of the unit has an arrowhead-like shape, with convex left and right sides. Its body appears to be covered in a gray-brown leather-type material, which is sealed with a large zipper, running from the front tip of the vehicle, under the rider's seat, and to the back. There is also a matching zipper on the bottom of the vehicle. Dark purple lines can be seen on the Rocket Star, with a longer design appearing on top, and a shorter, more hooklike one present on the bottom. Extending out from the rear, on the left and right sides, are two propulsion units, which expel a yellow gas at diagonal angles pointing outwards somewhat, rather than straight behind. The most apparent feature of this machine's appearance is a large orb on the rear, which stores a glowing white core with a blue hue. This orb has small, yellow accessories wrapping around it. While this vehiclecharges on the ground, the orb grows dramatically larger, and as it does so, lines of white energy can be seen drawing towards the core. Just when the vehicle's charge is almost full, a unique sound plays, and immediately after it is full, the orb stops growing, and the lines of energy disappear. Upon release, the orb rapidly shrinks, firing blue propulsions behind itself.
InKirby Air Riders, the Rocket Star was given a redesign. Its general shape is still intact, with the main body maintaining its brown color and leather texture, though the zipper is now golden in color. The purple lines on it are now translucent, allowing one to view the internal structure of the machine. The two propulsion units at the back of the vehicle now expel blue emissions, instead of yellow. Trails of air can also be observed coming from the location of these two units while the Rocket Star is in the air.
By far the most substantial change, however, is to the orb at the end of the vehicle. It is now translucent, being filled with fiery blue gas while the Rocket Star is in motion. At lower speeds, this gas can take on a yellow (or even red) color. The orb is also adorned in far more ornate golden decoration than inKirby Air Ride, with the golden propulsion nozzle at the rear also appearing longer and resembling a bottleneck. The color of the exhaust it produces generally matches that of the orb itself, though it will glow red and produce red trails when the boost button is held down. It also produces a long blue trail while the machine is in motion. The orb still expands while the machine is charged until full charge is attained, though the unique sound has been changed in this game. At full charge, the gas inside glows brighter, and upon release, the orb shrinks and a massive blast of blue expulsion is released from the "bottleneck".
While the Rocket Star is in motion, the bottleneck constantly rotates but stops when a boost is being charged or when turning on the ground.
Game appearances[edit]
Kirby Air Ride[edit]
| “ | Charge all the way then get a super boost! | ” | — Rocket Star's flavor text inKirby Air Ride. |
Mechanics[edit]
The Rocket Star's most notable trait is its high boosting capability. After a full grounded charge is loosed, the vehicle will be shot forward at a speed above 31.07 mph (50km/h). However, most of its attributes are below average, with poor turning capabilities, gliding distance and flight height. Its top speed is a very low 9.64 mph (15.52 km/h), when not coasting off its immense boosting capability. In addition, its various combat statistics are considered to be relatively low. Despite its massive boosting capability, it completely lacks the ability to charge while gliding, and does not get any boost from a grounded charge unless it is charged to the maximum.
Its traits make the Rocket Star a very challenging machine to use in most modes in the game, with every attempt to boost having an inherent risk relying on whether or not the full charge can be built up in sufficient time. When used inCity Trial, a rider can have enoughpatches to boost its initially low stats and make it a formidable machine in variousStadium modes, especiallyDrag Race andSingle Race modes.
How to unlock[edit]
To unlock this machine for use inAir Ride mode, the player must enter aFree Run inMachine Passage with any vehicle. Once any lap is completed in less than 01:05:00, the machine will be unlocked.
In City Trial, the Rocket Star can occasionally be found randomly throughout the city and be mounted like most other air ride machines. It is always available in Free Run as well.
Kirby: Canvas Curse[edit]
This vehicle makes a cameo in thePaint PanicSub-Game ofKirby: Canvas Curse, as one of various picturesPaint Roller can create, and the player must mimic. The main body must be drawn before the blue orb on the rear.
Kirby Air Riders[edit]
| “ | Dashes forward with superior acceleration on a maxed-out Boost Charge. | ” | — Flavor text fromKirby Air Riders. |
InKirby Air Riders, the Rocket Star returns as one of the Air Ride Machines that can be used inAir Ride,Top Ride,City Trial, andRoad Trip. Its functionality remains relatively the same as inKirby Air Ride, with great boost and charge at the expense of top speed. When cruising on the ground (and ridden byKirby), its top speed is 23 mph (38 km/h), but after a boost charge it can reach an impressive speed of 35 mph (56 km/h) when starting from rest. After attaining this speed, it will slow down rapidly at first, though its deceleration becomes far more gradual over time. Notably, unlike the original game, if a boost charge is released before it is fully charged, it will provide a weaker boost instead of no boost at all. This machine also has a decent amount of health, and can turn considerably more efficiently than in the previous game. However, it still lacks gliding prowess, being unable to charge while airborne and reaching a maximum aerial speed of 27 mph (45 km/h) as Kirby.
A particularly interesting quirk of the Rocket Star is that it maintains speeds from any type of boost quite well, whether they be fromBoost Panels or from defeating enemies. As such, if it is able to chain these speed boosts, it can maintain a startlingly high velocity. This is not as useful inAir Ride races, as other players will inevitably get in the way, but it does make the vehicle adept at time trials. The Rocket Star is also among the fastest machines onrails, allowing it to perform exceptionally well inCity Trial'sRail Panic Stadium. Like in the original game, the Rocket Star benefits greatly from Boost and Charge patches, and with enough of them can become powerful in racing Stadiums. It also synergizes well with theCharge Up item, as the ability to instantly and repeatedly receive maximum boost charges by simply tapping the button enables the Rocket Star to attain ludicrous speeds.
How to unlock[edit]
The Rocket Star is available in all modes, and must be unlocked via theChecklist or theMiles Shop, where it costs 10,500Miles. Obtaining any additional copies will allow them to be customized in theMy Machine mode.
- City Trial: Field - Swap to vacant machines 30 times
- Road Trip:Top Ride - Ride for 180 sec. during a Top Ride challenge
To use this machine in Road Trip, it must be either encountered and jumped on whilst on the road, or purchased in the shop if it was missed. It can be found inSunset Shoreline.
Update history[edit]
| Version | Adjustment details |
|---|---|
| Version 1.2.0 |
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InKirby: Right Back at Ya![edit]
| “ | Our next Air Ride Machine is the Rocket Star! It takes a while to charge up, but once the Rocket Star blasts off, look out! | ” | — N.M.E. Sales Guy, inAir-Ride-in-Style - Part I |
The Rocket Star appears inKirby: Right Back at Ya!, ridden by one of theAir Riders inAir-Ride-in-Style - Part I andPart II.Kirby rides it while battling the flail-wielding Air Rider, but is forced to ditch the Rocket Star when it runs out of fuel and then explodes. He does not end up riding one inFright to the Finish.
Gallery[edit]
Artwork fromKirby Air Ride
Smaller but transparent artwork
Artwork ofYellow Kirby wielding abomb while riding atop the Rocket Star
Concept art of the Rocket Star
Ripped model from the game's data
The Rocket Star as seen in theCity Trial ending.
The Rocket Star icon fromKirby Air Riders
Gummy of the Rocket Star
My Machine decal of the Rocket Star's icon, fromKirby Air Riders
The Rocket Star's idle animation fromKirby Air Riders
The Rocket Star in the Retirement screen inKirby Air Riders
Artwork ofKirby riding atop the Rocket Star fromKirby: Right Back at Ya!
Alternate artwork fromKirby: Right Back at Ya!
Kirby on the Rocket Star, which the reader must find inFind Kirby!! Big Gathering at the Party!
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ロケットスター[1][2] Roketto Sutā | Rocket Star |
| English | Rocket Star[1][2] | |
| Chinese | 火箭之星[2] huǒ jiàn zhī xīng | Rocket Star |
| Dutch | Raketster[2] | Rocket star |
| French | Rocket Star[1] Étoile fusée[2] | - Rocket star |
| German | Rocket Star[1] Raketen-Stern[2] | - Rocket Star |
| Italian | Rocket Star[1] Stella globo[2] | - Globe star |
| Korean | 로켓스타[2] roket seuta | Rocket Star |
| Portuguese | Estrela Foguete[2] Rocket Estrela[3] | Rocket Star |
| Spanish | Rocket Star[1] Estrella cohete[2] | - Rocket star |
References
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