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 On 08/01/2013 at 12:48 PM by The Last Ninja See More From This User » |
Man, I love Kirby music! It's so catchy, infectious, and fun. So this week's Amazing VG Themes is devotedly entirely to the little pink guy's music. I grew up playing Kirby Super Star for SNES (one of the best games ever), and I always enjoyed its music. Well, I came to find out that almost all Kirby music is like that. Kirby music has its own style, and I really like that; it's that ridiculously catchy fun style that gets stuck in your head at random points throughout the day. If you've never heard Kirby music before (gasp!), then take the time to listen to the six songs I've chosen; believe me, they will lighten your day. There are tons of great Kirby songs, but I picked six of my all-time favorites.
Orange Ocean from Kirby Super Star/Composed by Jun Ishikawa and Dan Miyakawa
This is my favorite Kirby song; for some reason, I've always loved it best. It captures a sense of adventure and fulfillment. It's short and enjoyable to listen to over and over again. It's a very happy tune (as many Kirby themes are). The pulsing beat keeps everything moving so that the song never slows down or takes a break (you don't want it to).
Down the Mountain Stream from Kirby 64/Composed by Jun Ishikawa and Hirokazu Ando
Kirby 64 was a decent game; it doesn't get as much love as the SNES Kirby games, but one thing is for sure, it has great music. This theme reminds you that you're indeed playing a Kirby game. The same melody plays over and over again, yet it is constanting climaxing until the strings come in and bring it back down to the original feel of the song. It's done very well.
Stage 7 Kracko from Kirby's Block Ball/Composed by Sukezo Ouyama and Ryoue Takagi
Despite the limitations of the GB, these guys were able to pump out some great tunes for Kirby's Block Ball, a really fun little puzzle game. Kirby actually was in several non-platforming games in the 90s. This particular theme stays true to Kirby music; it's catchy and enjoyable to listen to. The entire soundtrack captures this feel, which is great.
Ripple Field 1 from Kirby's Dreamland 3/Composed by Jun Ishikawa
This game was really overlooked because it came out for the SNES in 1997, long after the next consoles had come out. While it's not as good as Super Star, it's still a fun game, and it has some great tunes. This particular one is my favorite. It's very bouncy and fun, sounding like nothing but Kirby. Jun Ishikawa was the only composer for this game, and you'll notice he composed for most of the Kirby games. He is the Kirby composer.
Tangerine Towere from Kirby's Return to Dreamland/Composed by Jun Ishikawa and Hirokazu Ando
This Wii-exclusive game has a great soundtrack. Once again, the overall feel of the music is that Kirby feel, and no wonder, the same two composers of Kirby 64 were the ones behind the soundtrack. This tune is a little different though; it's not quite as upbeat. It's more smooth and flowing, peaceful and elegant; but at the same time, it injects a sense of adventure, and you'll even recognize an old Kirby theme come in near the end before it loops. Very nice.
Ending Theme from Kirby Super Star/Composed by Jun Ishikawa and Dan Miyakawa
This ending theme is phenomenal. It begins all peaceful, then takes off into an incredible and exciting melody. It gives you a sense of accomplishment, which is good considering you just saved the universe. Once again, it has that Kirby feel to it, and I love it. It also injects part of the Green Greens theme into it, which is really the main theme for all Kirby games. This song is a masterpiece, and has always been one of my favorite VG ending themes.
Great list man! As you might have guessed from my avatar, I am a huge Kirby fan (Kirby's Dream Course is still my favorite game of all time) and I really enjoyed this blog. I agree it is a shame that Kirby's Dreamland 3 is sadly overlooked because of when it was released, it is a great game in it's own right (especially when you go for 100% completion!) Here is a personal favorite of mine from that game - Long live the pink puffball in all of his quirky, genre-fearless awesomeness!
That's a great song. I love Kirby games and Kirby music. Kirby music really hasn't changed in the last 20 years, which is pretty amazing. Since you're a huge Kirby fan, I have to ask, what did you think of the Kirby 20th Anniversary Dream Collection?
I loved that they included the Dream Land Trilogy, Kirby's Adventure, Super Star, and Crystal Shards. That being said, I was disappointed that they didn't include any of the side games; one of the reasons the Kirby franchise is great is that it has this really solid foundation of great platformers, and then they'll experiment with really awesome titles like Kirby's Dream Course and Canvas Curse. Since this was the 20th Anniversary Collection of one of Nintendo's most beloved characters, I don't see why they couldn't have included those games (which in my opinion, and some of Kirby's best and most definitive games). In the best of all possible scenarios, I think a Collector's Edition Wii/Ds game bundle would have kicked ass!
I'm digging the vibe from all the colorful, feel-good stuff I've seen and heard today. First I see Game Grumps playing Super Mario Sunshine and Kirby's Epic Yarn, now this. Makes my heart smile.
Awesome. But how can a heart smile? Eeew...lol
Well, I was thinking of a cartoon heart, but ok Mr. Dark Knight, everything needs to be taken in the most realistic way possible. 
In all seriousness, that would be a serious problem. lol
Kirby music is awesome! Some really great ones also come from Kirby Air Ride, and some even sound orchestrated!
I didn't include any Kirby Air Ride songs because they have a completely different feel to them; as you mentioned, they're orchestrated, which is awesome, it's a great soundtrack, but I wanted that catchy infectious Kirby feel for this post. KAR is probably the only Kirby game that does not have that feel.
Some of the tunes in Kirby Air Ride made it in Kirby Mass Attack as well.
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