So, Kirby And The Forgotten Land is out and it's absolutely fantastic, easily my favorite Kirby game to date. I'll reveal my full thoughts when I finish my Kirby retrospective post, but for now, I wanted to go over the soundtrack like I did for all the other games to see how it stacks up as a Kirby soundtrack:
Spoiler Warning: I am going to be spoiling Forgotten Land here, particularly the final boss and extra boss, as well as some story beats. I warned you!
Kirby And The Forgotten Land's soundtrack took a bit of time for me to appreciate it. While I adored the game as a whole right from the start, my initial impression of Forgotten Land's soundtrack was that it was a bit weaker than the past few in the series. This is because Forgotten Land's music is a lot lengthier, more ambient, and complex, meaning that it doesn't really have the same amount of catchy hooks that pretty much all of the prior Kirby soundtracks. As I listened to this game's tracks more and more, however, I started to warm up to them a lot because of how complex they are. It helped that the bulk of the game's best tracks are in its second half, but I even began to love some of the earlier tracks as well. Songs that I originally felt weren't catchy enough ended up having much listening value because of how dynamic they all are, constantly changing tempo and rhythm. I also found myself loving how, for lack of a better word, raw many of Forgotten Land's songs are. From Hirokazu Ando's several improvisational piano experiments, to the testosterone-fueled remix of Dedede's theme, to Morpho Knight's theme being easily the heaviest rock tune in the series. There's something very gritty and hard-hitting about a lot of the tracks that make them feel more impactful, especially considering that Forgotten Land is easily the darkest Kirby game to date.
The other thing worth noting about this Kirby soundtrack is the sheer amount of variety in its genres and musical styles. This is because Forgotten Land's score has a whopping four composers, the most in any mainseries game to date. Thankfully, this doesn't make Forgotten Land's soundtrack sound all over the place, every track sounds distinctly Kirby, yet if you know who's composing what it's not hard to parse out each composer's style. Jun Ishikawa is the most well-known Kirby composer, so he has a lot of the standard cheerful and synthy Kirby-esque tracks like Abandoned Beach and Through The Tunnel, but he also has the most experimental tracks in the game as well, with the bizarre Pitch-Black Terror being a highlight. Hirokazu Ando tends to have a more grand and orchestral style and is notable for using the same cymbal crash sound effect in many of his songs (seriously you won't be able to unhear it), so he got a lot of really elegant tracks like Metro On Ice, Battle Of Blizzard Bridge, Faded Dream Of A Psychomeddler, and of course, the final boss theme. Yuuta Ogasawara returns from his minor contribution to Kirby Star Allies's score and knocks it out of the park, mostly doing all of the melancholy and rock-heavy themes like Northeast Frost Street and Morpho Knight. Oddly enough though, he also worked on the game's incredibly lighthearted main themes which shows a pretty impressive amount of range. And finally, there's the newest addition to the team, Yuki Shimooka, who manages to emulate the bombastic style of Shogo Sakai (Composer for Kirby Air Ride and Mother 3) so well I thought he was working on the soundtrack. Songs like Fast-Flowing Waterworks, Care For A Refreshment, and Moonlight Canyon feel like they belong in Kirby Air Ride, and I'm saying this in the best possible way. It's impressive how well Forgotten Land's soundtrack is balanced between the four composers while still feeling cohesive despite all the varying styles. Each composer has their times to shine and no one gets the bulk of the best songs.
Just like I do with episodes of the TV shows I review, I wanted to list out the "highlights" of this game's soundtrack, so to speak. These are the songs that really stuck out to me:
Through The Tunnel (Ishikawa): I was unimpressed by this song at first, only for me to realize that it's actually the world's best bait-and-switch. The first 5-10 seconds of the second seem as light-hearted as a Kirby song could be, only for the track to elegantly transition into a much darker cave theme that sounds right at home in Kirby 64. There are so many layers to this track too, from the jamming acoustic guitar in the background, to the wailing electronic guitar in the chorus, to the Klonoa-esque chimes halfway through the song. Through The Tunnel shot up from one of my least favorite tracks in the game to one of my absolute favorites.
Fast-Flowing Waterworks (Shimooka): It's hard to really pin down what composer Fast-Flowing Waterworks reminds me of, as the slow tempo and melancholic tone gives me David Wise vibes, but it also sounds a lot like the forest and volcano themes from Kirby And The Rainbow Curse. Don't take those similarities as a knock against Shimooka's skill, though, this still sounds unlike anything we've heard in a Kirby game like this and immediately stood out as one of the game's best tracks. Its slow and melodic pacing, tribal sound, and dramatic vibe really makes this one hit different.
Northeast Frost Street (Ogasawara): While there were plenty of tracks I enjoyed up to this point, Northeast Frost Street was the first song of Forgotten Land that really blew me away. I really can't rave about it enough. I love the laid-back rock vibe it has going for it, with its wailing guitar, heavenly violins, and calm drums. As a matter of fact, it sounds a lot like an overworld theme for a Xenoblade game, which just makes it that much better. The slow buildup to the soaring dramatic climax makes for a truly satisfying and beautiful piece of music. Winter levels categorically have fantastic music, but this might be one of the greatest winter themes ever.
The Battle Of Blizzard Bridge (Ando): This was another theme that really had to grow on me, but now that it has, this is easily one of the most impressive, complex, and smooth tracks in the whole series. There's so much to go over here but to put it simply, this whole track is basically a piece of progressive fusion jazz. I love the slow and chilly-sounding keyboard intro, the fantastic drum track in the background, the crazy piano improv, the back-and-forth between the keyboard and the piano, the fact that Ando's cymbal crash sound effect is probably the best-utilized out of any of his tracks, the fact that the second half of the track is taken over by an insane guitar solo. Seriously, you need to hear this tune for yourself, it's unlike anything I've ever heard in a video game. The more I think on it, the better it gets.
Roar Of Dedede (Ogasawara): Dedede's Royal Payback will always be my favorite Dedede theme, but this is easily the best version of his original theme and it's not even close. It takes the additions made to the tune in Star Allies and ups them to eleven by turning it into heavy metal, with Dedede's grunts and the sound of hammers striking in the anvils in the background for good measure. And when the chorus finally hits and you hear that iconic leitmotif, it hits like a goddamn freight train. This is easily one of the best and headbangiest themes in the series, and quite possibly the most masculine one too.
The Wastes Where Life Began (Ogasawara): Now that I think about it, Kirby's desert themes tend to perfectly encapsulate the vibe the respective soundtracks are going for. Kirby 64's Rock Star feels as DnB-heavy as the rest of the soundtrack, Return's Desert Area is fast-paced and arcadey befitting the score's retro style, and Planet Robobot's Dried-Up Sea straight-up sounds like a rave because it's the techno game. Knowing all that, The Wastes Where Life Began is a perfectly encapsulation of what Forgotten Land's soundtrack does well. It's intense, bombastic, grandiose, adventurous, and oddly oppressive as well. Given that this is the first track you hear after Elfilin gets captured and that the whole level takes place in a literal dried-up ocean, a dark and melancholic desert theme fits perfectly, and sounds fantastic to boot.
Moonlight Canyon (Shimooka): This track gives me serious Sky Sands vibes with its dramatic sound and triumphant tone, and is made a lot better by how it's utilized in the game. Halfway through the titular level, you exit a pitch-black cave only for the camera to pan up to this massive canyon as one of the most soaring themes in the whole game. It really made for one of the most memorable cinematic moments in Forgotten Land, and it's hard not to picture that moment of awe everytime I listen to this track. I also just love the changes in tone and tempo, and how the track calms down every once in a while making the bombastic chorus all the more impactful.
Burning, Churning Power Plant (Ishikawa): Similarly to Through The Tunnel, Ishikawa pulls a bit of a bait-and-switch here. The song's buildup throughout the first thirty seconds are heavy and industrial-sounding, almost as if he's trying to lead you into thinking this track is going to turn into a remix of Factory Investigation. But then, the track suddenly bursts into a brief acid techno refrain and turns into something entirely new. This still sounds a lot like a Kirby 64 track in a lot of ways, with a few hints of Sand Canyon 3 as well, but the way Burning, Churning Power Plant shifts and changes while still keeping a sense of haunting intensity makes for a really fresh track. It's as if Ishikawa is just showing off all the different types of techno he can pull off.
Two Planets Approach The Roche Limit (Ando): Kirby final boss themes are always fantastic, but this is easily my favorite one since CROWNED. It's not as bombastic as some of the others in the series, but Two Planets Approach The Roche Limit makes up for it in sheer elegance, style, and complexity. And I really mean complexity, as the genius of this song is the fact that it actually changes depending on what attack Fecto Elfilis is using. Each segment of the track is unique and memorable, from the dramatic organ segment to the intense rock chorus that plays whenever Fecto Elfilis starts tossing meteors at you. And it works well as its own track too, each segment slowly layering on an instrument culminating in that aforementioned rock chorus. Two Planets Approach The Roche Limit sounds fittingly heavenly given that you're technically fighting god here, and the buildup and payoff makes for the perfect final boss theme for one of my new favorite antagonists in the series.
Morpho Knight (Ogasawara): I honestly wasn't all that impressed with Morpho Knight's first theme in Star Allies. It wasn't bad, mind you, but given that it essentially replaced the iconic heavy metal Galacta Knight theme, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. Thankfully, Morpho Knight's theme in Forgotten Land made up for that in spades, and is quite possibly the edgiest theme in the whole series. Right from the choral opening theme, Morpho Knight's leitmotif is given this sense of weight, as if the song itself is telling you to dread his arrival. From there, the song erupts into rock as the gritty central guitar keeps repeating that leitmotif, further outlining how dangerous this character is. And that's not even it, the second half of the song is the Waddle Dee Town theme in minor key, which gives this song even more of a hopeless and dread-inducing feel. And when you consider the addition of lore that paints Morpho Knight as essentially Kirby's version of the Grim Reaper, you get a boss theme that does a perfect job of capturing just how terrifying of a foe Morpho Knight is.
Other Honorable Mentions: Faded Dream Of A Psychomeddler (Ando) gives me Touhou vibes in the best way possible, Pitch-Black Horror (Ishikawa) is glorious in its weirdness, Metro On Ice (Ando) takes chill winter music to a whole 'nother level, and Sword Of The Surviving Guardian (Ogasawara) is one of Meta Knight's most badass themes to date.
Overall, Kirby And The Forgotten Land's soundtrack is a lot different than those of many other Kirby games. With its longer and more open 3D levels as well as its darker story, the tracks had to be longer, more complex, and more atmospheric than anything else in the series. While this may mean we might not have as many catchy hooks as in some other Kirby entries, Forgotten Land's soundtrack got better the more I listened to it, with a fantastic variety of genres and composers, an at-times intense and melancholic tone, and just simply a ton of very hard-hitting tracks. I still wouldn't call it my favorite soundtrack, it does have some weaker tracks like with some of the endgame bosses and it falls into the Robobot trap of using its leitmotif too often, but the high points are some of the highest in the series. It's an easy Top 5 Kirby soundtrack for me, and a fantastic new direction for the franchise.
5/5 Stars
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