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From WiKirby, your independent source of Kirby knowledge.
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- This article is about the legendary Air Ride Machine, and should not be confused with Burning Leo or Fire Lion.
| “ | A lion of justice who defies cosmic disaster! Bounds through the air with a trail of ferocious flames! | ” | — Leo's flavor text in Kirby Air Riders |
Leo is a legendary Air Ride Machine that appears in Kirby Air Riders. Described as a "lion of justice", Leo appears at the end of Road Trip's New Game + to help the rider defeat Galactic Nova. It can also appear in City Trial if its three pieces are assembled.
Appearance[edit]
Leo is a quadrupedal, leonine beast which is mostly orange in color, with four sharp claws on each paw, similar to Fire Lion. It has blue eyes, a mane made of fire, pointed rocky ears, and further rocky details on its face, back, and three of its legs. These three legs are orange, as is much of the rest of Leo's body, though its right foreleg is distinctly blue, engulfed in blue flame, and has slightly larger claws. Leo also has four sharp teeth, and the inside of its mouth is purple. Bright blue flame-like streams protrude from the mane in two large plumes, with smaller blue flames being present on its hind legs and the tip of its tail. Leo leaves a trail of this same blue fire behind it as it runs. After a boost charge or use of a Dash Panel, a burst of orange and blue flames emerges from Leo, with the blue fire concentrated in a stream behind it, and the orange fire surrounding the body and producing some "rings" around it that turn blue before dissipating. Additionally, it can leap into the air, and upon slamming back downwards, will emit orange and blue flames radially on the ground around it, with the orange flames covering the left-hand side, and blue covering the right.
Game appearances[edit]
Kirby Air Riders[edit]
As a legendary machine, Leo may appear in City Trial as three parts, which must all be collected by one player (or team) in order to assemble it. One of these pieces consists of the top of Leo's head, and contains both of its eyes. The other two are its mouth and a shrunken version of its blue leg, respectively. They can be located rarely in red boxes, but can be found more commonly in rare boxes. Occasionally, pieces of Leo can also spawn around the map on their own, ready for a rider to pick up. When two pieces are collected by a single player, they will fuse and cannot be separated from that point on. They can be knocked out of a rider, and in most cases will automatically be given to the attacker if they succeed at doing so. When all three are assembled, a short cutscene plays for the player who did so before they are enabled to use Leo on the field. If Leo is collected whilst on another legendary machine (barring Gigantes), the previous vehicle will be left behind and the rider will hop onto Leo's back. Likewise, if another machine is completed while on Leo, the lion will be left behind for another player to take.
It can also appear in a handful of other ways in City Trial. For one, there is a secret floating star-shaped island that can spawn around Skyah, and the top of this island always has a complete set of legendary pieces on it. If the set is of Leo, the first rider to make it there can help themselves to it easily. It can also appear as a wild legendary in a Field Event, where it will run around Skyah aimlessly. If it is destroyed, its pieces are scattered and can be picked up. However, if it is weakened, a rider can lock-on to it and directly take control of Leo. It also has a chance to appear on the deck of the Halberd if it shows up.
Mechanics[edit]
Leo is a midweight machine with most of its stats being very high. It has the second highest Offense of all Air Ride Machines (only being behind the Hydra) in that regard. Its Boost is average, but it can come to a stop quite quickly and turns extremely well, giving it excellent handling overall. Additionally, it charges its boost gauge extremely quickly. Much like a bike-type machine, Leo is completely incapable of flight, though it can travel considerable distances if it jumps off a ramp. It can reach a top speed on the ground of 34 mph (55 km/h) when ridden by Kirby. Like the Hop Star, using a Quick Spin will cause it to jump into the air, and holding the boost button while in the air will cause Leo to plummet downwards, acting as a strong attack when it hits the ground. If one wants to perform a more traditional Quick Spin, they can flick the Control Stick back and forth while having the boost button pressed. With Kirby, it jumps up at a speed of up to 50 mph (81 km/h), slows to a speed of 39 mph (63 km/h) at the apex of its jump, then speeds back up until it reaches the ground or its maximum air speed of 74 mph (120 km/h). Leo also automatically attacks enemies, riders, or boxes in front of it using claw slashes. The trail of blue flames it leaves behind itself will also damage other riders should they drive over them. Due to its fiery nature, if the rider makes contact with water while riding Leo, Leo will take chip damage continuously and start smoking in the manner of fire being put out by water. This chip damage cannot destroy it and instead will drain its HP all the way down to 1. [1] It also will be rendered unable to produce a fire trail behind itself until it exits the water.
Leo is an excellent machine in most aspects. Its high offense, auto-attacks, and great handling mean it is easy to chase down other players and destroy their machines while atop its back. It will also perform well in a wide variety of Stadiums. Its handling allows it to excel in Gourmet Race and Button Rush, and said handling alongside its high offense ensure that it often dominates Kirby Melee. It is also a strong choice for racing Stadiums like Single Race and Drag Race due to how fast it is, and a great choice in combat Stadiums like Dustup Derby. The only Stadiums Leo cannot perform well in are any that involve flight, such as Air Glider or Target Flight, where it is almost entirely unviable due to it being unable to glide whatsoever. Single Races on water-filled courses, such as Waveflow Waters and Celestial Valley, may also pose issues due to the damage it will inevitably accumulate from water exposure.
How to unlock[edit]
Before Leo's parts can appear in City Trial, one must complete the True Ending and fill out the following Checklist item in Road Trip:
- Road Trip - Defeat the true final boss and fill in at least 140 Checklist blocks (in the Road Trip Checklist)
After this is done, riding atop Leo — whether that be after gathering its three parts, weakening a wild Leo, or stealing it from another rider — during a game of offline City Trial will unlock Leo for use in all of the Free Run and Time Trial modes. Doing this will fulfill the following Checklist item, which is what unlocks Leo:
- City Trial: Field (Offline) - Ride on Leo's back
When playing City Trial online, Leo can be obtained and ridden even by a rider who does not have it unlocked. However, riding on it will not allow it to be used in Free Run or Time Trials.
Road Trip[edit]
Leo first appears during the New Game + of Road Trip after Noir Dedede (whilst riding a fusion of the Hydra and the Dragoon) merges with the defeated Hyper Gigantes and creates Journey's End. A small orange flame appears near the heroic rider and jumps around several times, getting progressively larger until Leo emerges from the fire with a roar. The rider watches this in awe and then jumps onto Leo's back to travel through Journey's End with it and fight Robo Dedede, 0², Nightmare and Marx in that order, before confronting Galactic Nova itself. After the destruction of Nova's core, the rider is seen emerging from the explosion atop Leo, and rider and machine fly back home to Popstar. The rider is then seen riding Leo during the True Credits sequence.
Update history[edit]
| Version | Adjustment details |
|---|---|
| Version 1.2.0 |
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Gallery[edit]
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Leo as it first appears during Road Trip
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Kirby riding Leo in City Trial
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Kirby riding Leo
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Meta Knight using Leo to attack Chef Kawasaki
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Leo's icon in Kirby Air Riders
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My Machine decal of Leo's icon, from Kirby Air Riders
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Leo's idle animation from Kirby Air Riders
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Leo in the Retirement screen in Kirby Air Riders
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Nintendo Switch Online icon for Kirby Air Riders
Trivia[edit]
- The lyrics of "Starlit Journey" allude to Leo in the bridge: "An arc of red streaks through the stillness of dark. It flashes, then fades away, far into the stars."
- Leo does not leave behind stars as it moves while holding a Boost, despite having the highest movement speed while doing so (among machines such as the Hydra and Slick Star).
- While riding Leo, tilting the control stick (or pressing and holding the + Control Pad) up or down will cause Leo to look in the corresponding direction.
- Leo's size does not change regardless of its rider.
- Because Masahiro Sakurai's birthday is August 3rd, Leo is his zodiac sign. Leo may be a reference to this fact, though this is unconfirmed.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | レオ Reo |
Leo |
| English | Leo | "Lion" in Latin; also the name of a constellation and Western zodiac sign |
| Traditional Chinese | 猛獅 měngshī |
Mighty Lion |
| Simplified Chinese | 猛狮 měngshī | |
| Dutch | Leo | - |
| German | Leo | - |
| Italian | Leo | - |
| Korean | 레오 reo |
Leo |
| Portuguese | Leo | - |