Sky Tower
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"Sky Tower"[2] (known as "Sky Building"[3][4] in the British English version of Kirby and the Rainbow Curse and the European versions of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) is a theme first heard in Kirby's Return to Dream Land. It was composed by Hirokazu Ando.
Composition[edit]
Hirokazu Ando composed "Road to Victory" and "Sky Tower" at the same time as dark and light versions of the same tune, respectively.[5] Ando originally wrote "Sky Tower" as stage music for Kirby for Nintendo GameCube, for a setting that would have been normal and bright at first but devastated and dark later on.[6] With these two light and dark versions of the stage motivating the composition of both "Sky Tower" and "Road to Victory", Ando also wrote the two tracks to serve as the root of the game's soundtrack by embodying certain common driving musical motifs, making "Sky Tower" originally quite an important track to the game.[6] The shared history and vision behind "Sky Tower" and its darker counterpart is evident in how "Supreme Ruler's Coronation - OVERLORD" transitions directly from "Road to Victory" to "Sky Tower", highlighting their similarities.
"Sky Tower" is an upbeat theme in C-sharp / D-flat major. This theme seems to have an uplifting tone to it. It first starts with an ascending piano and then goes into the first portion of the main melody. Afterwards, it goes into the second portion, which has the "Road to Victory" / "Bring On the Super Ability" motif.
The data of the original Kirby's Return to Dream Land contains an arrangement of "Sky Tower" which goes unused, featuring retro-style instrumentation. This version is composed in the key of C major, a semitone down from its typical C-sharp major. It is labeled "st_castle2," while the final version is labeled "st_castle," suggesting that the "retro" version was composed at a later point in development and then scrapped in favor of the original.
Game appearances[edit]
Kirby's Return to Dream Land[edit]
In Kirby's Return to Dream Land, "Sky Tower" plays in Nutty Noon - Stage 2 and can be found as track 40 in the Sound Test.
Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition[edit]
In Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition, an arrangement of this theme is used for the New Challenge Stages credits, combined with "A New Wind for Tomorrow". The title on the Playbutton included with Kirby Star Allies: The Original Soundtrack is バイバイカービィまたあした！ (Bye Bye Kirby, See You Tomorrow!).
Kirby: Triple Deluxe[edit]
In Kirby: Triple Deluxe, the original version of the theme is reused in Old Odyssey - Stage 7 EX. Here, it can be found as Track 075 in the Jukebox.
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse[edit]
In Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, an arrangement of the theme can be unlocked as a Treasure in Rainbow Across the Skies to be played in the game's Music Room as Track 015. Here is where the theme gets its official English titles for the first time.
Kirby: Planet Robobot[edit]
In Kirby: Planet Robobot, an arrangement of the theme plays in Stage 3 of Resolution Road. This theme is at a slower tempo than the previous versions, and is titled "Residential Laboratory" on the Kirby: Planet Robobot Original Soundtrack. The music is re-arranged by Hirokazu Ando and can be found as Track 016 in the Jukebox.
Kirby Star Allies[edit]
In Kirby Star Allies, during Morpho Knight's boss battle in Guest Star ???? Star Allies Go! and Soul Melter (EX) of The Ultimate Choice, if player 1 is Magolor, Morpho Knight's theme will be replaced by a medley of multiple themes from Kirby's Return to Dream Land related to Magolor, and "Sky Tower" is among them. This track is titled "Supreme Ruler's Coronation - OVERLORD" on Nintendo Music.
This medley is also arranged by Hirokazu Ando. It can be found as Track 181 in Jukebox as of Version 4.0.0.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the original version of the track is a default music track in this game, and can be played on any Kirby series stage, as well as Battlefield, Big Battlefield, Small Battlefield and Final Destination starting with Version 8.1.0.
Kirby's Dream Buffet[edit]
In Kirby's Dream Buffet, the original version from Kirby's Return to Dream Land, named Kirby's Return to Dream Land: Memorial Song 3 in the American English version and Kirby's Adventure Wii: Memorial Song 3 in the British English version, is unlocked for potential use in races and Free Rolling upon reaching Gourmet Rank 129.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe[edit]
In Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, a remastered version of "Sky Tower" plays in Nutty Noon - Stage 2 and can be found as track 48 in the Jukebox. Notably, the British English version of the game now refers to the track with its North American English title unlike in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse or Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
In addition, a slower arrangement of the theme in 3/4 appears along with "Planet Popstar" and "Northeast Frost Street" in the medley "Distant, Shining, Yellow Star", arranged by Yuki Shimooka. This medley plays when viewing the "Credits" cutscene in the Theater, and is accessible as track 204 in the Jukebox.
Also in the remake, the Kirby Star Allies version from "Supreme Ruler's Coronation - OVERLORD" returns for the Magolor Soul battle in The True Arena with an added choir and Magolor's cries for help in the second phase. A variation that fades the second phase version in after one full loop can be found in the Jukebox as track 197.
Other appearances[edit]
In The Sound of Kirby Café, the theme receives a string-focused acoustic arrangement in Track 7: Sunset Tower / Sky Tower, arranged by its original composer, Hirokazu Ando.
The theme was incorporated in the Kirby's Return to Dream Land Medley of the Kirby 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert.
Additionally, the remastered version from Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, paired with "The Adventure Begins" and "Ordeal Doors", is the default music used for the game's Maximus Cup in Tetris 99.
Trivia[edit]
- Kirby: Planet Robobot's title theme, "Bright Spinning Planet", features a very similar opening sequence to this track. This is mostly likely a coincidence, however, considering that Sky Tower's own remix in that game doesn't appear to acknowledge that at all.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | スカイタワー[2] Sukai Tawā |
Sky Tower |
| Chinese | Sky Tower[4] 天空塔[1] tiān kōng tǎ |
- Sky Tower |
| Dutch | Sky Tower[4] Hemelhoge toren[1] |
- Sky-high tower |
| French | Sky Tower[4] Tour dans le ciel[3][1] |
- Tower in the sky |
| German | Sky Tower[4] Himmelsturm[3][1] |
- Sky tower |
| Italian | Sky Tower[4] Torre dei cieli[3][1] |
- Tower of the skies |
| Korean | Sky Tower[4] 스카이 타워[1] seukai tawo |
- Sky Tower |
| Portuguese | Arranha-céu[1] | Skyscraper |
| Russian | Sky Tower[4] |
- |
| Spanish | Sky Tower[4] Torre celestial[3][1] |
- Celestial tower |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe Jukebox
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kirby and the Rainbow Curse Music Room, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe Jukebox
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- ↑ "たとえば「スカイタワー」と「勝利への道」は、雰囲気は正反対ですが、実は"同じ曲の明るい版と暗い版”という"対になる曲"として同時期に作られました。" –Kirby's Return to Dream Land Sound Staff, Jun Ishikawa and Hirokazu Ando (Kirby Wii Music Selection card.)
(Translation: For example, "Sky Tower" and "Road to Victory" have exact opposite atmospheres, and in truth, they were composed at the same time as "paired songs," a light version and a dark version of the same tune.) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 "カービィＷｉｉの曲なんですけれども、カービィＷｉｉをやる前から（中略）ゲームキューブの頃に企画なって、そのころ作った曲なんですけど、（中略）これはあるステージの曲だったんですね。（中略）最初普通の明るにステージであったものが荒廃になるとすごくなんか荒らされっていて（中略） (This is a song from Kirby's Return to Dream Land, but before Return to Dream Land, at the time of planning for the GameCube was when I wrote the song [...] It was a song for a stage somewhere [...] The stage was initially ordinary and bright but then ended up in ruins and became incredibly devastated [...])
二曲が、本意図を、他の曲の元りもなっていて（中略）なんても支配的と言うか、シンボリックなフレーズとして、色んなところに使うよにして…たから本意図、この曲、なんか重要な役割があるって言うね。 (For these two songs, the original intention was for them to be the basis for other songs [...] such controlling or symbolic [musical] phrases to be used in various places. So this song, in the original vision, was supposed to play a somewhat important role.)" –Hirokazu Ando (Kirby 25th Anniversary livestream interview [13:36-15:32])
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- Music in Kirby's Return to Dream Land
- Music in Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition
- Music in Kirby: Triple Deluxe
- Music in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
- Music in Kirby: Planet Robobot
- Music in Kirby Star Allies
- Music in Kirby's Dream Buffet
- Music in Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe
- Music in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Music from Kirby 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert
- Music in Kirby Café
