"A Visitor from Afar"^[1] is the opening cutscene theme ofKirby's Return to Dream Land andKirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe. It was composed byHirokazu Ando.^[1]

Composition[edit]

"A Visitor from Afar" sets the trend for cutscene themes of games to come: while lacking unique motifs of its own, it presents many of the game's main motifs and develops them in its own narrative. This theme is primarily supported by "Road to Victory" and "Magolor, the Far-Flung Traveler" while also featuring other recurring themes.

"A Visitor from Afar" is initially set in F major and 4/4. With a twinkling glockenspiel and piano,Popstar is charted with a delicate intro based on "Road to Victory". As the action zooms in on the everyday lives inDream Land, a mundane and cheery version of "Magolor, the Far-Flung Traveler" with lead oboe plays with springy piano accompaniment and percussion. As adimensional rift appears in the sky, flute, metallophones and strings are gradually added to the instrumentation. The glockenspiel repeats "Road to Victory" in quick modulations through B-flat and A-flat major, adding an air of mystery. However, heavy brass and percussion take over in the dramatic C minor while theLor Starcutter plummets from the rift. The music is fittingly chromatically descending (and derived from "Exploring the Cave" and "Road to Victory"'s common motif), and has occasional high-pitched musical noises representing the detachingEnergy Spheres and Part Spheres. WhileKirby and his friends run to check on the ship, dramatic and dissonant iterations of "Green Greens" and "Four Adventurers: Cookie Country" follow them. With final repeated loud tritones, the Starcutter crashes.

The air of mystery returns during the group's examination of the ship: a loose clarinet version of "Four Adventurers: Cookie Country" in C major is accompanied by steady beeping noises. Less coherent and more spread out beeping illustratesMagolor's daze and the Starcutter's negative results, resulting in quick D minor iteration of "Magolor, the Far-Flung Traveler". When Kirby runs up to offer help, a rhythmically smooth G minor string version of "Road to Victory"'s middle section plays out, quickly developing into major. Now full of hope, "Magolor, the Far-Flung Traveler" continues in C major in alternating registers. As Magolor waves good-bye to the group leaving the Starcutter, string timbres and warm chromatic C major harmonies signify the bright adventure ahead. Strings lead the music to a high point, ending in a piano imitating the rays of sunshine at the end of the cutscene.

Game appearances[edit]

Kirby's Return to Dream Land[edit]

"A Visitor from Afar" plays during the opening cutscene with the same name inKirby's Return to Dream Land. It can be found as track 1 in theSound Test.

Additionally, several allusions to the track are made throughout both games:

• "Halcandra: A New Enemy" — the cutscene scene for the trip toHalcandra, track 52. It mirrors the crash landing segment and is thematically similar for the rest of the track.
• "Each to His Own World" — the ending cutscene theme and track 107, has a near identical version of "Magolor, the Far-Flung Traveler" when Kirby and his friends return toDream Land, referring to the starting point and coming full circle.
• "Return to Dream Land" —staff credits music and track 108, a musical narrative of the game, its intro "Road to Victory" parallels that of "A Visitor from Afar".

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe[edit]

Besides reprising its role from the original game, which can be found as track 2 in theJukebox, inKirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, relative tracks "Judgment of the Malus Pumila" and "Onward to a Pain My Heart Knows Well", feature segments of "A Visitor from Afar" inmediately before the loop point: the Lor exploration and crash landing sequences, respectively inMagolor Epilogue: The Interdimensional Traveler. The latter in particular draws close parallels to "Road to Victory"'s descending motif.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World[edit]

InKirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World, "A Visitor from Afar" plays as one of the sections of "Judgment of the Malus Pumila" and "Onward to a Pain My Heart Knows Well" during the first phase and second phase of the battle againstForgo Leon inThe Ultimate Cup Z EX respectively. After clearing The Ultimate Cup Z EX, the tracks also appear at theWaddle Live! Corner Stage as tracks 136 and 137, respectively.

Other appearances[edit]

While it doesn't include the original track,Kirby Wii Music Selection features three bonus tracks, of whichボーナストラック：4人の仲間と彼方からの旅人 (Bonus Track: Four Adventurers and the Far-Flung Traveler) features a faithful arrangement of "A Visitor from Afar" alongside "Four Adventurers: Cookie Country", "Magolor, the Far-Flung Traveler" and "The Adventure Begins".

Names in other languages[edit]

References

• Music in Kirby's Return to Dream Land
• Music in Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe

• Articles which list Japanese names
• Articles which list Chinese names
• Articles which list Dutch names
• Articles which list French names
• Articles which list German names
• Articles which list Italian names
• Articles which list Korean names
• Articles which list Portuguese names
• Articles which list Spanish names