Plundering Beast Battle

"Plundering Beast Battle" is the mid-boss and enemy ambush theme from Kirby and the Forgotten Land, composed by Yuuta Ogasawara.^[1] It is also used as a leitmotif in various other songs of the same game, as one of the main themes associated with the Beast Pack.

Composition[edit]

"Plundering Beast Battle" is a dynamic track consisting of four main sections: an intro, the theme proper, an outro, and a bridge. It is set in the key of A minor and has a huge emphasis on percussion, but still features a proper melody and other instruments.

The intro is short, opening up with drums and then followed by an electric guitar, that set the mood for the song. The song proper then starts; the first part introduces the theme's main phrase, that consists of six notes, the last one hanging up for at least a full bar, played by an electric guitar. This phrase is repeated a couple times, with minor variations of the notes. Notably, the backing melody of this part is based on "Mid-Boss Battle", albeit not featuring any key changes. This part is repeated with a different electric guitar, and the song transitions to its next part, that is mostly devoid of melody, and instead features short solos of other instruments: first acoustic guitar, then bass, then drums. Following is the last part, in which the electric guitar takes the mantle again, and repeats a new phrase four times. The song then loops, without the intro. The outro of the song, that plays whenever a battle is concluded, is as short as the intro, and is primarily played by the electric guitar and another instrument, and goes higher in pitch slowly until reaching a resolution. If defeating a Mid-Boss and not fully defeating it when it is in its "defeated" state, a bridge will loop until it's defeated proper; this bridge is simply played by drums, and is essentially the percussion part of the main theme, a bit altered.

Game appearances[edit]

Kirby and the Forgotten Land[edit]

It has been requested that music or other audio be uploaded and added to this page or section and clipped in accordance with audio standards if applicable. Remember to remove this once the clip(s) have been uploaded and applied. Namely: Sample from "VS. Psychic Power Given Form"

"Plundering Beast Battle" plays in most mid-boss and enemy ambush encounters, save a few exceptions, such as the ones in Treasure Road stages, The Battle of Blizzard Bridge, and Forgo Zone. It can be found as track 07 in the Waddle Live! Corner Stage. The version in the Corner Stage is different from the gameplay one, and doesn't feature the outro and bridge, and just loops indefinitely.

The theme is also incorporated into a few other themes of the game, most often to represent the Beast Pack and related entities alongside "VS. Dangerous Beast":

• "Mysterious Mouthful Mode" - The theme of the cutscene in which Kirby first discovers Mouthful Mode. The main phrase of "Plundering Beast Battle" plays when the Awoofies appear and attack Kirby, mashed together with "VS. Dangerous Beast".
• "Invasion of the Destroyed Town" - The theme of the cutscene at the end of Point of Arrival, showcasing the Beast Pack capturing Waddle Dees and going after Elfilin. The main phrase of "Plundering Beast Battle" plays when the Awoofies and Clockers are shown capturing the Waddle Dees, and plays again later in the song when Elfilin is being cornered by members of the Beast Pack; notably, the later part features the part of the song similar to "Mid-Boss Battle".
• "The Raging Lion Roars" - The battle theme for Leongar. A partial arrangement of the theme, using "Plundering Beast Battle"'s main phrase in an altered way.
• "VS. Psychic Power Given Form" - Counterpart of "Isolated Isles: Forgo Dreams", which in turn is an arrangement of "The Raging Lion Roars". Despite this correlation, "Plundering Beast Battle"'s main phrase is still quoted directly only in the intro.

Names in other languages[edit]

References