King Dedede's Theme
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King Dedede's Theme (also known as the Tower of Midbosses theme, or just Dedede's Theme for short) is a musical track that first appeared in Kirby's Dream Land, and has reappeared in several titles since, with several changes, rearrangements and remixes along the way. As the name implies, the theme is associated with King Dedede, though this was not strictly the case until later in the Kirby series.
Development of King Dedede's Leitmotif
The leitmotif of King Dedede wasn't fully developed until Kirby Super Star.
Kirby's Dream Land and Kirby's Dream Land 2
In Kirby's Dream Land, this theme first appears during the final boss fight with King Dedede in the boxing ring on Mt. Dedede. Compared to later iterations of the track, it is relatively simple, with only the first section of the song on loop.
In Kirby's Dream Land 2, the same track from Kirby's Dream Land would be used again for King Dedede's fight at the end of Dark Castle.
Kirby Super Star
In Kirby Super Star, the final boss fight with King Dedede on Mt. Dedede in Spring Breeze is where Dedede's Theme first got its second section and became the full theme, which has persisted to the present.
It also plays during King Dedede's fight in The Arena.
Arrangements in Kirby series
Arrangements of King Dedede's Theme in later Kirby games are mostly based on the two-section version from Kirby Super Star.
Kirby's Dream Land 3
In Kirby's Dream Land 3, Dedede's Theme is remixed and appears during the boss fight with King Dedede at the end of Iceberg.
Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land and Kirby: Squeak Squad
Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land
King Dedede's Theme doesn't appear in the original Kirby's Adventure. The regular boss battle theme is used during his fight at the end of Rainbow Resort.
In the remake Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, King Dedede's boss battle in Rainbow Resort uses a GBA remix of Fountain of Dreams from Super Smash Bros. Melee, which is originally an orchestral remix of Gourmet Race (theme).
However, a GBA remix of King Dedede's theme appears in Stage 2 (the Mid-Boss Tower) of Rainbow Resort. This version is titled Tower of Midbosses (Track 17) in Kirby's Dream Collection: Special Edition Compilation Soundtrack.
Kirby: Squeak Squad
In Kirby: Squeak Squad, Tower of Midbosses version of Dedede's Theme is used during the boss fights with King Dedede and Meta Knight.
Kirby Super Star Ultra
King Dedede's Theme
In Kirby Super Star Ultra, King Dedede's Theme is remixed with Nintendo DS sound chip, similar to other remixed soundtracks.
It still plays during the boss fight with King Dedede in Mt. Dedede of Spring Breeze and The Arena.
Masked Dedede's Theme
In Kirby Super Star Ultra's Revenge of the King, Dedede's Theme is remixed to create the specific new version associated with Masked Dedede.
Masked Dedede's theme is titled The Masked King (Track 29) in Kirby's Dream Collection: Special Edition Compilation Soundtrack. It's arranged in a much faster tempo than the original version.
Kirby: Triple Deluxe
Masked Dedede & Shadow Dedede's Theme
In Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Masked Dedede's theme is remixed and titled Dedede's Royal Payback in Triple Deluxe Soundtrack. This version plays during the following two fights in Royal Road:
- Masked Dedede's Revenge, in Story Mode and The Arena (the first phase, simply called Masked Dedede, plays the theme Revenge of the Enemy);
- Shadow Dedede, in DededeTour! and The True Arena.
Dedede's Drum Dash
In Kirby: Triple Deluxe's sub-game Dedede's Drum Dash, King Dedede's Theme is remixed to serve as the music for Level 3, with instrumentation similar to the other tracks.
This version can also be heard in the rest areas of DededeTour!.
Kirby Fighters (Deluxe)
Dedede Arena
In Kirby Fighters and its upgrade version Kirby Fighters Deluxe, Kirby's Dream Land 3 version of his theme reappears on Dedede Arena stage.
History of Dedede
In Kirby Fighters Deluxe, a new version called History of Dedede appears in the final battle against King Dedede when the 'Very Hard' difficulty is selected.
History of Dedede is a retro melody of his theme's different versions. For further information, see History of Dedede (theme).
Kirby: Planet Robobot
Dedede Clones & D3's Theme
In Kirby: Planet Robobot, when Dedede Clone is defeated (multiplied into three during the boss battle), the three Dedede Clones ride on the D3 cannon and become Dedede Clones & D3, challenging Kirby for a rematch.
Although Dedede Clone's fight uses the soundtrack VS. Evil Company (Planet Robobot's regular boss battle theme), Dedede Clones & D3's fight uses a different boss battle theme.
Dedede Clones & D3's boss battle theme is titled 伝導電磁式三連砲:D.D.D. (The Maglev Triple Turret Cannon: D3) in the Japanese soundtrack. It's an orchestral mashup of King Dedede's Theme and Revenge of the Meta Knight Ending Theme.
Unlike King Dedede's Theme in 4/4 time signature, Dedede Clones & D3's Theme is composed in 6/8 time instead, which resembles Revenge of the Meta Knight Ending Theme.
Team Kirby Clash Deluxe
King D-Mind's Theme
In Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, King D-Mind is fought as the final boss, who appears to be a fusion of Shadow Dedede and Dark Mind.
The first phase of King D-Mind's fight plays a remix of Castle Lololo which is also used in Landia EX's fight.
The second phase of King D-Mind's fight plays a new orchestral mashup of Dark Mind's Theme and Dedede's Royal Payback (Masked Dedede & Shadow Dedede's Theme from Kirby: Triple Deluxe).
Kirby's Blowout Blast
King Dedede/Giant King Dedede/Giant Masked Dedede
Kirby Star Allies
Macho of Dedede
In Kirby Star Allies, a new version of King Dedede's Theme plays during his boss fight. It's arranged by Hirokazu Ando and titled Macho of Dedede[1]. It's an orchestral arrangement of Dedede's Theme, featuring notable use of bass guitar. This version adds an additional section before his regular two sections.
Macho of Dedede can be found as Music 016 in Kirby Star Allies Sound Room.
History of Dedede
History of Dedede from Kirby Fighters Deluxe reappears and replaces Macho of Dedede during his boss fight on 'Soul Melter' difficulty of The Ultimate Choice.
Other Appearances
King Dedede's theme has been performed live in the Kirby 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert.
In addition, elements of this theme can be heard in other tracks, such as the Taking Over the Halberd theme, and Taranza's Theme.
See Also
- Gourmet Race (theme): another theme song often associated with King Dedede.
References
- ↑ Nintendo DREAM magazine, May 2018 Issue, pg.26
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