This article is about the musical theme. For the anime episode with the same Japanese name, seeFright to the Finish.

"Fly, Kirby!"^[2] is a theme fromKirby's Return to Dream Land that is associated with the final level,Another Dimension. It was composed byHirokazu Ando.^[1]

Composition[edit]

"Fly, Kirby!" makes heavy use of synthetic instrumentation. It plays at 170 beats per minute in a 4/4 time signature in G minor. It begins with an intro which immediately presents the main motif (somewhat based on the middle section of "Green Greens") and its counterpoint, which has melodic functions despite its supporting role throughout the piece. The intro ends on a dramatic dominant. The melody then comes in. It plays twice, the second time with quiet responses from a piano. It once again ends in a dominant function with a rising phrase that shares intonations with "Four Adventurers: Cookie Country". A response and a transition based on this phrase follow up.

The first section repeats at a lower pitch omitting the final phrase, and the intro repeats. Then, a minor version of "Four Adventurers: Cookie Country" (in the rhythmical pattern of its use in "The Adventure Begins") comes in its full glory. Following it is the main melody once more. However, rather than repeating, it continues with a climactic "Kirby's Triumphant Return" and a "Four Adventurers: Cookie Country" response. After this, the track loops from the intro.

Game appearances[edit]

Kirby's Return to Dream Land[edit]

"Fly, Kirby!" made its debut inKirby's Return to Dream Land. It plays during the main portion of gameplay withinAnother Dimension, and continues into the boss fight againstLor & Magolor. The theme also plays during the Lor & Magolor fight inThe Arena andThe True Arena. The track can be listened to as music 82 in theSound Test. "Fly, Kirby!" is also foreshadowed in "Mid-Boss Battle in Another World", the Mid-Boss theme inHalcandra.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe[edit]

InKirby: Triple Deluxe, the original theme plays in theAnother Dimension stage inKirby Fighters and can also be found in the game'sJukebox as track 053.

Kirby Star Allies[edit]

InKirby Star Allies, a brief portion of "Fly, Kirby!" is included in the medley "Supreme Ruler's Coronation - OVERLORD", which replacesMorpho Knight's regular battle music when player 1 isMagolor.

Super Kirby Clash[edit]

InSuper Kirby Clash, the theme plays when fightingParallel Susie in both her Tougher and Toughest battles. Like other music inSuper Kirby Clash, it has been remixed with additional drum-and-bass and orchestral embellishments.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe[edit]

InKirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, a remastered version of "Fly, Kirby!" plays the same role as the original game. The track can be listened to as track 123 in theJukebox. "Fly, Kirby!" is also foreshadowed in "Mid-Boss Battle in Another World", the Mid-Boss theme inHalcandra, just like in the original game.

Additionally, part of "Fly, Kirby!" is arranged into the credits theme forMagolor Epilogue: The Interdimensional Traveler, known as "Crossing into the Parallel with You". It can be found as track 186 in the Jukebox.

Finally, "Supreme Ruler's Coronation - OVERLORD" fromKirby Star Allies is reused when fightingMagolor Soul at the end ofThe True Arena. Initially unchanged from the track's prior appearance inKirby Star Allies, an added choir plus what sounds like Magolor's cries for help get mixed into the track for the second phase. A variation that fades the second phase version in after one complete loop can be found in the Jukebox as track 197.

Other appearances[edit]

"Fly, Kirby!" is given an orchestral remix on theKirby Wii Music Selection as part of the medley track ボーナストラック：サイゴノタタカイ (Bonus Track: Last Battle). It appears alongside "Let Me Explain Everything", "Welcome Your New Overlord", and "C-R-O-W-N-E-D".

The theme was performed live at theKirby 30th Anniversary Music Festival as part of the "Kirby Through the Years: 2005-2022" medley, along with "Opening" fromKirby: Canvas Curse, "Squeak Squad Title Screen", "Heavy Lobster", "The World to Win", and "Northeast Frost Street".

Trivia[edit]

• The internal name of this track in the game files isst_halberd, which is particularly unusual considering that theHalberd doesn't appear in the game at all, and most of the other tracks with names starting withst play in stages. While it's unclear why exactly this is the case, it's speculated that this track was originally planned to be used inone of the three canceledKirby games, playing in a stage or boss battle related to the Halberd in some form, as a battleship greatly resembling the Halberd appears in certain pre-release footage for the GameCube title.
  • This is further supported by the fact that the track ends with a small section of "Kirby's Triumphant Return", which shares commonalities with "Havoc aboard the Halberd". This is something that was later done in "VS. Star Dream", which plays during a battle in which the playercontrols the Halberd.
• The Japanese name of this track, 「飛とべ！星ほしのカービィ」, is shared with the Japanese title of the final episode of theKirby: Right Back at Ya! anime. A nearly-identical phrase also appears in thespecial pages forMarx inKirby Super Star Ultra andMagolor in both versions ofKirby's Return to Dream Land:「飛とべ！ぼくらの星ほしのカービィ！」("Fly! Our Kirby of the stars!").
  • Incidentally, a cutscene inKirby Super Star Ultra (the variant of the "Grand Opening" cutscene with Meta Knight in place of Kirby) has a similar name, "Fly! Meta Knight".

Names in other languages[edit]

References

• Music in Kirby's Return to Dream Land
• Music in Kirby: Triple Deluxe
• Music in Kirby Star Allies
• Music in Super Kirby Clash
• Music in Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe
• Music from Kirby 30th Anniversary Music Festival

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