I feel like I'm the only one happy here about the shieldstun changes, please don't be angry at me, I promise it's not just because I'm a Jigglypuff !
It's been ok for me, too.
Random question, if say, a sequel to Kirby Airride was in development, how likely would it be for Bandana Dee to be playable in it and what kind of new air ride machines would you want? I'd think he's pretty likely for that, considering both Dedede and Meta Knight were in the original, no reason not to bring him along, and for the new machine I'd like to see either a miniature Lor Starcutter or a literal Nruff.
Whilst I don't think that that's the angle they'd take for a follow-up, anymore (more on that later in the post), I'd imagine that Bandana Waddle Dee would be a shoe-in for it. For a new Air Ride Machine, I'd like to see the miniature Lor Starcutter, too - I love that idea.
I don't think a new Air Ride would have the same charm the original gave off if Sakurai wasn't involved somehow. That's just my two cents though.
I suspect any new Kirby racing game, if one were to exist, would be a little more conventional, and I'm fine with that - it wouldn't be trying to be something that it can't be (let's be honest, Air Ride is a unique game, in every sense of the word
).
On that note, and bearing in mind how much over-complexity has gotten into the Mario Kart series in terms of vehicles over the course of Mario Kart 7 and 8, I'd imagine a new Kirby racer wouldn't go with all of the fine-grained car parts and whatnot, and would have a simpler "Pick a character, pick a vehicle" setup...
So, what vehicles would be chosen, that in mind? The most obvious, to my mind, are Warpstars and Wheelie Bikes. Obviously there'd be more than that, though - maybe they'd include the Dragoon as a nod to Kirby Air Ride, for example.
As for characters, I'd say that Kirby, Dedede, Bandana Dee, and Meta Knight would definitely all be there, with other choices including the likes of Lololo and Lalala, Adeleine, and, as an unlockable racer, Magolor.