If you’re stuck on the Top Ride – Steam checklist task that says:
“Go through the hidden passage and finish within 0:55.00”
…you’re absolutely not alone. The timer is tight, the shortcut feels random, and it’s one of the most annoying steps toward unlocking Tank Star in Kirby Air Riders.
This guide walks you through:
- How Tank Star is unlocked from this mission
- How the Steam course and its secret passage actually work
- The exact race settings, machine choice, and route that make 55 seconds realistic
- Backup ways to get Tank Star if this challenge is driving you crazy
By the end, you’ll know exactly what to set, what to ignore, and what kind of run you’re aiming for.
All Ways To Unlock Tank Star in Kirby Air Riders
First, quick overview so you know why this Top Ride challenge matters.
Tank Star can be obtained by:
- Top Ride – Steam checklist
- Objective: “Go through the hidden passage and finish within 0:55.00.”
- Reward: Tank Star machine on completion.
This is listed as the Steam-related Tank Star unlock in the Top Ride checklist for Kirby Air Riders.
- Road Trip – Air Ride checklist
- Objective: Perform perfect landings 2 times in an Air Ride challenge.
- Miles Shop purchase
- Once unlocked as a checklist reward, Tank Star is also available to purchase for Miles (6,250 Miles) if you haven’t already.
This article focuses on the Top Ride – Steam method, since that’s the one people are getting stuck on.
Understanding Top Ride – Steam and the Hidden Passage
What is Top Ride?
Top Ride is the overhead, mini-track mode where you race tiny circuits with Kirby on special Top Ride machines. You only steer, charge, and boost; there’s no gliding or inhaling.
On Switch 2’s Kirby Air Riders, Top Ride returns with new tracks and a big checklist system. Steam is one of these Top Ride courses.
The Steam course at a glance
On Steam you’ll see:
- A central fan / gear area you loop around each lap
- Hazards and tight corners that punish sloppy steering
- A pair of pinball paddles (flippers) on the left side of the map
- A small, easy-to-miss secret passage that cuts part of the track if you enter at the right time
How the secret passage opens
Right now, players testing this have noticed:
- Sometimes the entrance is open as you arrive.
- Sometimes it seems to open right when the flippers hit you or another rider.
- Sometimes it stays open for a bit; sometimes it closes before your next lap.
A recent Q&A thread on Arqade tested the behavior and concluded that there isn’t a reliable, fully controllable trigger you can use every time. The best answer basically treats the secret entrance’s opening as random or semi-random, tied loosely to the pinball paddles.
That means the smartest way to play this challenge is:
Don’t fight the RNG. Shorten the race so the one lap where the passage opens is enough to clear 55 seconds.
Challenge Requirements (And The Trick Hidden In The Wording)
The checklist line only says:
- “Go through the hidden passage and finish within 0:55.00.”
Notice what it does not say:
- It does not require 4 laps.
- It does not require CPUs.
- It does not require a specific machine or Kirby color.
Other Steam objectives explicitly mention “Finish 4 laps within 1:15.00” or “Complete 4 laps in the lead position”. The Tank Star one doesn’t, which strongly implies you can use whatever lap count you want, as long as the final total time is under 55 seconds and you used the passage at least once during that race.
That’s the main “secret” most players miss.
Optimal Race Settings for the 55-Second Hidden Passage Clear
Before you worry about lines and paddles, set up your race correctly.
1. Mode and course
- Mode: Top Ride
- Course: Steam
- Rules: Standard race
2. Lap count
- Set laps to the lowest value the game allows (usually 2 laps in Top Ride on Kirby Air Riders).
- This keeps your overall target pace very forgiving:
- 55 seconds for 2 laps means ~27.5 seconds per lap.
- Compare that to the default 4 laps, where you’d need ~13.75 seconds per lap, which is brutally tight, especially with the time loss of entering a secret passage.
Several general checklist guides for Kirby Air Riders already recommend adjusting lap count to make time-sensitive tasks easier – either lower laps for short, fast clears or raise them when you need more attempts in a single race.
3. CPU settings
- CPU: Off or Level 1 if the game forces at least one bot.
- Fewer competitors = less chaos around the pinball paddles and fewer random bumps.
4. Items and rules
If the rules menu lets you tweak:
- Items: On – but don’t rely on them. If you get a big speed-up item, that’s bonus; if not, your route should still work.
- No special handicaps or extra rules – keep it simple so you’re just racing and watching the paddles.
Best Machines and Control Style for Steam
Top Ride only has its own special machines (Free and Steer style). In Kirby Air Riders, the Top Ride guide confirms you’re limited to these simple variants rather than the big City Trial machines.
Free vs Steer controls
- Free Control
- The machine points wherever you tilt the stick.
- Good for players used to twin-stick style steering, less momentum-based.
- Steer Control
- Feels more like classic Air Ride machines: left/right to turn relative to your current direction.
- Often better for tight, circular tracks like Steam if you’re comfortable with drifting-style steering.
If you’re consistently overshooting corners on Steam:
- Swap to Steer; it makes the outer circle easier to trace cleanly.
Why people recommend “Wagon Star” style machines (and how that translates here)
The original Arqade answer suggests using Wagon Star in combination with reduced lap count to clear the secret passage challenge.
In the modern Kirby Air Riders Top Ride context you’re not literally picking Wagon Star in Top Ride, but the logic behind that advice still applies:
- Choose a stable, high-grip / good-turning setup, not something hyper-slippery.
- You care more about consistent lines and surviving the secret passage entry than crazy top speed.
So for your article, you can phrase this as:
“Pick the Top Ride machine/control style that makes Steam’s tight circular layout feel comfortable and predictable. Anything that turns smoothly and doesn’t skid out is ideal.”
Where The Hidden Passage Is on Steam
Picture the Steam map as a loop with hazards. The key area is on the left side:
- You’ll see a pair of pinball paddles (flippers) near a side route.
- When the hidden passage is active, the entrance opens right in front of these paddles.
- If a paddle hits you at the right angle while the passage is open, it will launch you directly into the shortcut, cutting off part of the outer loop. Game8 explicitly confirms the left paddles can fling riders into the secret passage when timed correctly.
During your laps, you want to:
- Hover on the inside edge near those left-side paddles.
- Watch for the doorway / passage entrance to open.
- Let the paddle knock you in, or drive in manually if it’s aligned.
Step-By-Step Strategy: How To Clear the 55-Second Challenge
Now let’s put it all together into a repeatable plan.
Step 1 – Set up a 2-lap, low-pressure race
- Top Ride → Steam
- Laps: 2
- CPUs: Off (or lowest possible)
- Items: On
- Controls: whichever of Free / Steer feels most precise for you
Hit start, and don’t stress if this first attempt is purely a “scouting” run.
Step 2 – Aim for clean, tight lines on the outer loop
Because the secret passage is RNG-ish, your best weapon is consistent, fast baseline racing:
- Stay near the inner edge of every curve where possible.
- Avoid bumping walls – every wall tap on Steam hurts momentum.
- Use Boost charges on the longest straight segments rather than spam-tapping.
Your goal is to be comfortably under 30 seconds per lap without even touching the secret passage. Once that’s easy, adding the shortcut will just give you breathing room.
Step 3 – On Lap 1, camp the pinball paddles area
For the first lap:
- Approach the left-side paddles slightly slower than usual.
- If the passage is clearly open as you arrive, steer yourself into it or let the paddle yeet you.
- If it’s closed:
- Zig-zag a bit just in front of the paddles to give them a chance to fire.
- If nothing happens after a second or two, move on and finish the lap rather than destroying your time.
Because the target is 55 seconds total over only 2 laps, you can afford a small delay on lap 1 waiting for the passage to cooperate.
Step 4 – Once you get a successful passage lap, commit and finish
As soon as you manage to:
- Enter the hidden passage successfully at least once, and
- You’re still on pace for something like under 30–32 seconds at the first-lap split
…your focus shifts entirely to clean driving to the finish.
Tips:
- Don’t greed risky boosts near walls or hazards – a crash costs more than a small speed gain.
- If you picked up a speed-up item, save it for the second lap’s straight just after the secret-passage zone, or whenever you can get max value.
Step 5 – Check your time and repeat as needed
If you:
- Went through the passage at least once, and
- Your total time at the finish is 0:55.00 or faster
…the checklist entry should pop, and Tank Star unlocks from that Top Ride challenge.
If not:
- Don’t change everything at once.
- Instead, tweak one variable at a time:
- Try the other control type (Free vs Steer).
- Adjust how long you “wait” at the paddles before giving up and finishing the lap.
- Practice a few races where you ignore the secret passage and just aim for sub-25-second laps to build raw speed.
Because the entrance seems semi-random, think of this as a consistency + RNG problem: you bring the consistency; the game eventually hands you the open door on a good lap.
Common Mistakes That Make 55 Seconds Impossible
Here are the main things that usually sabotage this challenge:
1. Doing it on 4 laps by mistake
If you leave laps on the default 4:
- You need to average about 13.75 seconds per lap, including the time lost entering the passage at least once.
- That’s extremely tight unless you’re driving almost perfectly and getting lucky with items.
Switching to the lowest lap count is your biggest power move.
2. Wasting whole laps camping the paddles
It’s tempting to park yourself at the pinball section waiting forever for the passage to open.
Problem: the clock doesn’t care about your feelings. Spending even 5–6 seconds just hovering there usually dooms that attempt.
Better pattern:
- Give the paddles one quick chance each lap.
- If they don’t send you in almost immediately, finish the lap and try again next race.
3. Using a control style you’re fighting with
If every lap feels like a wrestling match with the steering:
- You won’t hit consistent times, and
- You’ll slam into walls just trying to line up for the passage.
Spend a few races in Top Ride Free Run or casual races on Steam just figuring out which of Free / Steer feels natural for you.
4. Letting CPUs body-block the passage
Leaving CPUs on higher difficulty:
- Crowds the paddles
- Adds random knock-back that throws off your entry angle
- Sometimes pushes you past the entrance before it opens
That’s why the simplest advice is minimum or no CPUs while you’re doing checklist work.
What If You Still Can’t Clear It? Backup Tank Star Plan
If this specific Steam challenge is making you want to uninstall the game, remember: Tank Star has another unlock path.
Road Trip – Air Ride perfect landings
The alternative checklist requirement is:
- “Perform perfect landings 2 times in an Air Ride challenge” under Road Trip.
For some players, especially those more comfortable with Air Ride physics than Top Ride chaos, this ends up being easier:
- You take on an Air Ride-based Road Trip challenge that involves ramps or jumps.
- Focus on timing jumps and landings:
- Charge and release boosts so you land smoothly, triggering a “perfect landing” prompt.
- Repeat until you log two perfects in a single challenge attempt.
Once you clear that Road Trip objective, Tank Star is also unlocked there, and you can then buy it with Miles if the game wants you to purchase after unlocking.
Quick Checklist Summary
- Mode: Top Ride → Steam
- Objective: Go through the hidden passage and finish within 0:55.00
- Best setup:
- Laps: 2
- CPUs: Off or lowest
- Items: On
- Control: whichever of Free / Steer gives you cleaner turns
- Strategy:
- Run clean inner-line laps.
- On each lap, briefly hover at the left-side pinball paddles, trying to get flung into the shortcut.
- As soon as you get one successful passage lap while on sub-30-second pace, focus entirely on safe, fast driving to the finish.
- Backup unlock: Road Trip – Air Ride objective “Perform perfect landings 2 times” also unlocks Tank Star.