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It's funny you say this. WiKirby (The Kirby Wiki) documents each recurring theme in the series and all the various leitmotifs and remixes of that theme from other games. They even have clips of each instance on their corresponding pages! I would highly recommend scrolling through Wikirby and just listening to all the variations, starting with my favorite, King Dedede's Theme or All My Friends and the Setting Sun (Meta Knight's Theme)!
17:57 Really glad you mentioned Jun Ishikawa by name! He's been making Kirby music since the original Kirby's Dream Land (30+ years ago!), and is responsible for something that wasn't mentioned in this video, the "Kirby Beach Aesthetic". If you listen to other Kirby beach songs made by Ishikawa (Examples include "Aqua Star" from Kirby 64, "Bountiful Star" from Kirby Planet Robobot, "Reef Resort" from Kirby Star Allies, and "Abandoned Beach" from Kirby and the Forgotten Land), you'll hear a bit of Float Islands DNA! If you ever feel like coming back to Kirby music, a topic I HEAVILY recommend is the fact that most mainline Kirby music over the past 3 decades has been made by only two people, the aforementioned Jun Ishikawa, and Hirokazu Ando, who first started making Kirby music with Kirby's Adventure on the NES (That said, new composers have joined HAL Laboratories in recent years.) There's a very nice juxtaposition between the two composers For example, the bizarre techno arrangements at 9:40 & 9:55 were by Jun Ishikawa, and the jazzy rendition at 14:11 (Which is my personal favorite Float Islands arrangement) was by Hirokazu Ando! A cool bit of trivia about Hirokazu Ando's compositional style (You might have detected this in Industrial Laboratory at 14:11) is that he disregards human playability in his music! He prefers to make songs with a simple melody, but complex backings (Citation for this is from a 2018 Forbes article called "The Music Of Kirby: Still Tickling Gamers Pink".) This mindset can be seen in songs like "Dreaming of Clouds" from Kirby's Return to Dream Land, "Fatal Blooms in Moonlight" from Kirby Triple Deluxe, and "Blue Blizzard Remix" from Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe. (All 3 of these songs are EXTREMELY HIGH recommendations personally) By the way, some extra trivia, the Float Islands renditions at 5:13 & 13:42 with the cool reharmonizations were (most likely) done by Shogo Sakai, famous for making music for Super Smash Bros Melee and MOTHER 3. (Last bit of extra trivia, I promise.) If any of this info interests you, you can read up on WiKirby for more composer facts!
I was so mentally prepared for a typical Green Greens/Gourmet Race analysis (also great songs, but everyone knows those). Seeing love for Float Islands was a pleasant surprise! Kirby has numerous masterpieces and it's nice to see more of them appreciated!
I love that Charles has leaned super hard into making content about video game and anime music. It's clear he has developed a much stronger appreciation for this stuff the more he dives into it rather than it being solely just catering to what he expects will get views. Love all of your videos Charles but hearing your analyses on some of my favorite tunes from my favorite hobby is so great!!
I’m sure he does genuinely enjoy it, because what’s not to love. But also, catering to the video game and anime audience is way more likely to find you success than just talking about traditional jazz music
@@zynthio For sure!! I agree totally, that's what makes me happy. Watching him discover stuff and lending his expert ear and sensibilities to things near and dear to me is a real treat and I love watching his joyful laughs upon hearing certain clever musical devices in classic vg or anime tunes etc.
@@MegaTheman25 His videos about movie soundtracks get plenty of views too. Would you consider that part of a similar nerd audience? I wouldn't say so. It's more like covering every niche of pop culture generally gets you more traction than just focusing on one niche or music genre. Mmusic that is not part of some kind of pop culture zeitgeist will probably get less attention in general obviously.
music is best enjoyed with someone else, and watching someone discuss and break down a tune they can’t get enough of is just UGH Thank you Mr. Cornell :3
Something I like about Kirby is that the music feels more rewarding the more you know and listen. Final boss themes are often remixed with other themes you’ve been hearing throughout the game! First thing I find on a new Kirby soundtrack is the main theme/themes, the first stage, and the boss music.
I have a real jazz bias in my own writing. In my opinion, the Kirby series is the most beautifully composed of any Nintendo franchise. It's out of this world gorgeous.
I really find the Kirby and the Forgotten Land one of my favorite soundtracks along Kirby Mass Attack. Mass Attack mostly made my childhood, so their tracks are more memorable to me. But Forgotten Land is very smart for using leitmotifs revolving on the main theme.
I have heard both the floating isles and the melee intro music many times and I never made the connection that they’re the same tune. That is BRILLIANT
when I was a kid, I was so into making Kirby inhale all kinds of characters and copy their abilities. now I'm trying to inhale Kirby themes and copy its harmonies. great video!!
The Crystal Shards soundtrack is fantastic. I don't think there's a single song in that OST I couldn't listen to for 20 minutes straight and not get bored.
Charles - great video! Something I think you missed is that the new melody added to the "Laboratory" version is the MAIN THEME of that game (Planet Robobot), called something like Noble Haltman. Robobot, Star Allies, and now Forgotten Land have been AMAZING with how they have woven their main leitmotifs across the existing kirby music to give it a new identify. In fact, in Planet Robobot, the main theme itself is part of the meta narrative!
What I really love about this format is that it seems super genuine in its reaction-based, unscripted nature. We get to see Charles feel out the song and try to parse it down while also getting his initial reactions to the sound. It genuinely feels like I'm in music class again.
I wanna mention how the "Mag Mount" theme from Canvas Curse is also a remix of "Castle Lololo" from Kirby's Dreamland, where the protagonist from Adventures of Lolo (the origin game for float islands' theme) appears as a boss I just think that's neat
Glad you have taken a dive into one of the most iconic leitmotifs of the Kirby franchise. Love it! Speaking of which, there is no end to the reoccurring leitmotifs in this franchise, some of being reoccurring within the very games they debuted in. *Sky Tower* from Kirby's Return to Dreamland has become a modern staple in Kirby's roundhouse of reoccurring leitmotifs, as have *The Far-Flung Traveler* and *CROWNED* as leitmotifs associated with Magolor, a character introduced in that game. *The Noble Haltmann* practically courses through the vains of _Kirby Planet Robobot_ with there seldom being a track within the game that doesn't incorporate it, from the opening credits to the very final boss fight.
Jun Ishikawa is probably one of my favorite composers ever. Him and Hirokazo Ando made music for some of my best gaming memories growing up. Float islands was my favorite song from Kirbys dream land, followed by King DeDeDe's them, which was also just freaking awesome, but there is not a bad song in that whole game.....PERIOD!
Absolutely love the big emphasis on VG ost's lately. Easily brings in that nostalgia and answers the questions I too had as a kid and in some cases, an adult. Thank you for your work.
Kirby and the forgotten land (the newest one) has one of my favourite game soundtracks ever, the way it blends some of the classic themes with a mysterious adventure score is awesome!
It's actually one of the games with LESS recurring themes from past titles. But when it does, it's pretty damn cool, shoutouts to "Scattered Souls across Isolated Isles", what a banger. Also not many people seem to realize that "Through the Tunnel" is quite reminiscent of Quiet Forest from 64... deliberately or not.
The main theme definitely sounds like "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now," the theme to the old TV show Perfect Strangers. Once you hear it, you can't unhear it. >:D
Forgotten Land is also one of my favorite soundtracks from Kirby. I like the constant use of leitmotifs not only from the main theme but ALSO from older Kirby titles.
SUPER interesting how it was originally WAY back from a Lolo game, THEN made tribute to it by having a boss name Lololo! Thank you for the great work, I really like your enthusiasm!
Gonna be honest, I didn't even clock that the rest area theme and float islands were the same until today XD and I've been playing Kirby since the beginning, lol. But this is why I love Kirby, the music is foundationally brilliant, and yet simple. Jun Ishikawa is a master of his craft and I'm happy Kirby has him. Also to Charles, your enthusiasm for music is so lovely and infectious, you're a joy to watch! Thank you for the great video :3
As a French Horn player, I love your perspective on how you hear music and chord progressions. I'm more focused on things that benefit a soloist style of playing where phrasing, resonance, and dynamics are highly rewarded and sometimes miss out on the basics of music composition that piano players are acutely aware of. Great stuff
What I would give to see you break down all the music in Ocarina of Time.. Your energy, passion and love for music is unparalleled. Your enthusiasm is so infectious, it makes me fall in love with music all over again, every time I watch one of your videos.
You should check out binks sake from one piece. Still in my opinion one of the saddest piano parts especially the walking down part when he said “it isn’t right leaving just the accompaniment” really made me cry. Even though Charles might not see this comment, would mean a lot if he would at least walk through it like he does with we are and coconut mall. Love ur vids man!
I never get tired of people geeking out over how PHENOMENAL Kirby's music truly is, nor will I ever tire of people finding out that Float Island and the Melee All Star theme are one in the same. It fills me with boundless joy every time!
Something I've always loved about the Kirby soundtracks is how deceptively melancholy they are. Like it's just a veneer of joy plastered over a crippling depression. Once the idea is in your head, you can't not hear it.
While still at the topic of Float Islands... Worth also taking a look at Grape Garden (from Super Star, not Adventure) which uses Float Islands as an intro but subverts it by being an original song, while still using a fairly recognizable rhythm section. Also Bountiful Star from Planet Robobot which does something similar.
Kirby games tend to come out in the waning years of a platform. By that time, the programmers know everything about the architecture & get the most performance out of it. People usually talk graphics, but the music in the Kirby games is using every trick in the book to sound that good.
My Childhood was playing Golden Sun and just leaving the Game Boy on to listen to Issac's Theme amongst all the other bangers in that game and then later realising it was the same guy who wrote the Dark Souls OST!
Some formats used for video game soundtracks: mp3, ogg, mpc (a variant of mp2, faster to decode than mp3 but larger for the same quality), ADPCM wav (even larger but very very fast to decode, ~353 kbps). Some interactive music systems will wrap those into a multi-stream container. Some games use sequenced music (either MIDI or MOD/S3M/XM/IT files, using sample playback).
I love how the electric-ish versions and the big band version sound super jazzy. Almost like something you'd expect to hear at a cajun restaurant or nightclub.
Thank you fore this video ! I didn't expect that this theme had as much of an impact on you as it did on me. I'm really glad you talked about it. It's one of the first pieces of music that I took the time to analyze when I started playing music. A great reference!
Your enthusiasm, delight, and sheer *joy* are infectious! Sometimes I wait to watch your videos until I'm feeling a little bit low, because it's impossible not to grin while you're getting excited about music! Oh yeah, and... Space Harrier has some great tunes I think you'd enjoy (and I'd love to hear you gush about them, too!)
The musical evolution is phenominal accross all the series' history. So many themes from the first games return, recomposed to fit their specific environment. What I love most is when leitmotifs of certain songs appear in longer arrangements which leave story-wise implications of e.g. the origin of certain characters (most notably "The Stat-Conquering Traveller"); or how certain locations are connected.
This whole video was a nostalgia trip for me, starting from the Float Islands theme, then to SSBM rest area, then you referenced foreverkirby who is literally the first RU-vidr I saw when I looked up covers for Kirby Superstar Ultra.
I’m proud to say that the melee theme was one of the first songs I used my ears and knowledge of chord structure to completely figure out on my own. I was so happy to find out I could finally do that just by ear.
Charles, I would LOVE it if you listened to some classic/original songs and then listened to their Smash Bros remake. Kirby’s fountain theme, Donkey Kong’s gangplank galleon, there are some wonderful homages done by people who love and respect the originals. I can get you a track list of my personal top ones if you wish!
The amount of recognition, detail, and love you give to these songs from our childhoods needs to be documented in gaming history. SERIOUS props to you man!!
FINALLY! FLOAT ISLANDS LOVE! Woooo it's so nice to see someone give Float Islands the credit it deserves! I think this is the first time I've ever ooohed and ahhed and HAHAH'ed and pointed at the screen at the same points Charles did, lol.
I've been waiting SO LONG for a kirby video!! These games are FULL of incredible music, especially Forgotten Land!! If you ever do another one of these, you should take a look at the percussion in Battle of Blizzard Bridge!
I too played Kirby games as a kid and continue to engage with the franchise to some extent to this day. Kirby Super Star Ultra was the first game I ever got 2 copies of, my sister and I used to play it together and I still have our original 100% save file. I also have fond memories of doing a playthrough of Kirby's Return to Dreamland with my buddies from school for a friend's RU-vid channel, let's just say there were a lot of footstooling shenanigans. The music from Kirby games is the element that has had the longest lasting appeal for me, regularly evoking emotion in me to this day.
When I'm making a song, I usually have a part where I just say "and here I go Kirby with the harmony" which is where you out of pocket modulate to like 3 different keys in succession and get way more murky than your cutesie song really needs to be. Also the Kirby 64 version got jipped. I think that one has the same outro progression, but then it switches from horns to flute, modulates even harder, and then lands on a little harmony oasis before repeating
Kirby OSTs were actually the reason why I got into music theory. I always loved the games growing up alongside the music (Grape Garden, Rainbow Resort, Cocoa Cave, Gourmet Race, Queen Sectonia, etc.), but when I found the sheet music to Gourmet Race, I just knew I had to learn how and why Now I'm still flabbergasted by Kirby music. Especially Cocoa Cave, but all of them are honestly amazing. It's also one of the reasons why Kirby is my favorite franchise of all games
Jun Ishikawa has a really distinctive composition style, and is one of my favourites. To go off into the weeds a little bit, look up the soundtrack from Alcahest and Arcana (aka Cardmaster in some markets); really good stuff.
Kirby really does that! There's more tracks that keep coming up in the next games and it is amazing! I really like Kirby's soundtrack, too. More people should listen to it.... Great video as always!
I feel like if I could have Charles Cornell listen to whatever music I'm listening to and geek out over it I would enjoy it so much more. Your enthusiasm is so great!
You know Charles, going back to the music from Portal in the last video and also looking at this video from this guy compiling the video game variations. I was thinking you should check out “8-bit big band” their versions of portal music is amazing. They also do a lot of other game music as well.
As soon as that first song starts, you know it's NIntendo. It's amazing to me how the hardware of the Gameboy, the NES and the SNES defined such a lasting personality, until I realize that instruments are a big part of musical identity.
RU-vid suggested this to me because I was trying to find a specific Kirby song that I couldn't remember the name of (it was gourmet race), and I'm so glad it did! This guy has such infectious excitement about these songs and chords. I love it!
I think my favorite thing about the original version of this theme is the way the melody synth has that subtle swell to it that gives you that sense of floating on waves. Just brilliant melodic imagery. My all time favorite kirby track, though, will always be "Trees In The Depths of The Earth" from Super Star. Such an intense melody that constantly changes and transforms. And just like with all the rest, it perfectly captures the part of the game that it's from.