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Slick Star
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| “ | There's very little friction between this machine and the ground. It has tons of individuality, so try it out for a different racing experience! | ” | — Kirby Air Ride North American instruction booklet, page 33 |
TheSlick Star is a star-typeAir Ride Machine that appears inKirby Air Ride andKirby Air Riders. As its name implies, it is known for having terrible traction, but has a great top speed, gliding ability, and other strengths to make up for it.
Appearance[edit]
InKirby Air Ride, the base of the machine appears as a violet, circular disc, upon which the rider sits. The disc is composed of various straight strips of violet material, arranged in a spiraling pattern. Strangely, the areas between each strip are completely transparent. Surrounding the base are three floating pink spheres, which revolve around the base. The faster the vehicle's velocity, the faster the spheres revolve. When the vehicle is charged up, whether on the ground or while airborne, the spheres glow white--and glow brighter the higher the degree of the charge. While the machine is moving, small pink-and-white sparkles trail along behind it. Strangely, the sparkles propel straight out from the rear of the machine, even if the machine itself is sliding backwards.
InKirby Air Riders, the Slick Star remains essentially unchanged in design. The spheres no longer glow when it is charged however, as they instead emit yellow particles while moving (or blue particles while either moving particularly fast or after having been in the air for some amount of time). It also now emits a long pink trail behind itself while in motion, and the edges have trails of air coming from the while it moves through the air. Also, after aboost charge, a large amount of pink and white emission will be fired behind the Slick Star temporarily. Upon performing aQuick Spin, the spheres are pushed out slightly before returning to their original proximity.
Game appearances[edit]
Kirby Air Ride[edit]
| “ | Slippery handling makes for tough control. | ” | — Slick Star's flavor text inKirby Air Ride. |
Mechanics[edit]
The Slick Star's most standout characteristic is its terrible traction. Turning without charging often ends with the vehicle spiraling out of control, and hitting a boundary head-on at full speed can send the machine flying off in the opposite direction. However, this weakness can be overcome rather easily if the rider makes use of short, quick taps of the charge button (also known as "brake pumping"). The slightest charge will be able to re-adjust the vehicle's trajectory to a great degree, and since the machine has so little traction, the charge barely slows it down at all to boot.
Despite its major flaw, the Slick Star excels in various areas. Most notable is its ability to glide long distances; inAir Ride mode, it is only exceeded in this regard by theWinged Star. Aside from that, this machine also has an extremely fast grounded charge and good acceleration, relatively high boost, and an above-average top speed of 27.02 km/h (16.8 mph).
When used properly, it is often considered to be in the higher tier of machines for all-purpose racing, as its major only real flaw in Air Ride mode is easily overcome, and it has numerous other strengths to rely on as well. InCity Trial, it can be somewhat unwieldy to navigate the tight corners of the city itself, as well as some of the stadiums requiring more precision than the Slick Star can offer, but is nonetheless a strong contender in variousStadiums, particularlyAir Glider. Its low traction gives its rider the unique ability to simultaneously aim and move in completely different directions, which can be useful for combating other racers.
This vehicle is often compared with theSwerve Star, as the two both have unusual methods of control, but excellent top speed.
How to unlock[edit]
To unlock this machine for use in Air Ride mode, the player must beat a two-lap standard race ofChecker Knights in under 03:05:00 with any vehicle.
In City Trial, the Slick 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 Air Riders[edit]
| “ | Slippery and tricky to control, but offers a wholly unique approach to riding. | ” | — Flavor text fromKirby Air Riders. |
InKirby Air Riders, the Slick Star reappears as one of the Air Ride Machines that can be used inAir Ride,Top Ride,City Trial, andRoad Trip. It behaves virtually the same as it did in the previous game, having extremely low grip and fairly low combat stats, but great boost, charge, and turn. As measured when ridden byKirby, top speed is a respectable 25 mph (40 km/h), with its aerial top speed reaching 32 mph (51 km/h). It also retains its exceptional gliding capabilities. While in the air, the Slick Star is able to turn to match where the player is looking (albeit somewhat sluggishly).
Like in the previous game, brake pumping remains a highly valuable technique on this machine, as it allows the player to maintain much more precise control of the Slick Star when performed correctly. This is particularly useful inCity Trial, as mobility is essential in that mode, though breaking boxes can be somewhat difficult on this machine. Due to its ability to let the rider turn separately from the direction the vehicle is moving, it can often be advised to look in the direction one is going to turn into before doing so. Its great gliding statistics make it a solid choice for stadiums such asHigh Jump, and it can hold its own well inraces provided that the user is capable of managing its unique control scheme. Like theShadow Star andVampire Star, the Slick Star's speed also benefits from a variation of "snaking", a technique that involves turning side to side and chaining boost charges[1].
How to unlock[edit]
The Slick Star must be unlocked via theChecklist or theMiles Shop, where one costs 6000Miles. If the user obtains an additional Slick Star through either of these methods, that machine can now be customized inMy Machine.
- Air Ride: Defeat 3 enemies by spitting out stars in a single race
- City Trial:Drag Race 1 - Finish within 0:35:00
InRoad Trip, the Slick Star can be unlocked by jumping onto one that is found on the road. It can be found inNeon Promenade orThe Farthest Reach, though if it is not obtained it can be purchased in a shop.
Update history[edit]
| Version | Adjustment details |
|---|---|
| Version 1.2.0 |
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Gallery[edit]
Artwork fromKirby Air Ride
Smaller but transparent artwork
Artwork of BlueKirby riding atop the Slick Star
Ripped model from the game
The Slick Star as seen in theCity Trial ending
The Slick Star icon fromKirby Air Riders
Gummy of the Slick Star
My Machine decal of the Slick Star's icon, fromKirby Air Riders
The Slick Star's idle animation fromKirby Air Riders
The Slick Star in the Retirement screen inKirby Air Riders
The Slick Star inFind Kirby!!
Two Kirbys riding a Slick Star inFind Kirby!! Big Gathering at the Party!
Kirby riding a Slick Star inFind Kirby!! Big Gathering at the Party!
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | スリックスター[2][3] Surikku Sutā | Slick Star |
| Chinese | 滑行之星[3] huá xíng zhī xīng | Sliding Star |
| Dutch | Slipster[3] | Slip star |
| French | Slick Star[2] Étoile aéro[3] | - Aero star |
| German | Slick Star[2] Schlitter-Stern[3] | - Slide Star |
| Italian | Slick Star[2] Stella orbitale[3] | - Orbital star |
| Korean | 슬릭스타[3] seulik seuta | Slick Star |
| Portuguese | Estrela Orbicular[3] | Orbicular Star |
| Spanish | Slick Star[2] Estrella escurridiza[3] | - Elusive star |
References
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