SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs - Kirby's Latest and Greatest (?) Edition

It's the start of another work week (but for me it's Fall Break), so you know what that means! It's time for another installment of SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs! Kirby celebrates his 20th anniversary this year, so I figured it would be an opportune time to dedicate an edition of the VGMs to him. His latest brand-new console release was last year's Kirby's Return to Dream Land on the Wii. I originally gave the game an 8.75, but playing it again I found myself enjoying it a whole lot more. Regardless, we have five tracks to represent that game. Let's begin, shall we?

v216. Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Wii) - Cookie Country

The entire soundtrack of Kirby's Return to Dream Land was composed by Hirokazo Ando and Jun Ishikawa, veterans of the franchise. The opening world of the game is Cookie Country, an area full of verdant plains, lush forests, and even a cave or two here and there. The world introduces a majority of the gameplay elements that inhabit Kirby's 2011 adventure. This theme is an uptempo tune with plenty of happy happenstance to go along with it. It is a song fitting for the relaxing stroll through the country.

v217. Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Wii) - Beach Area

An updated version of Kine the Fish's theme song, this beach theme from the third world in Return to Dream Land welcomes players to an area of clear blue water, sandy shores, and palm trees. Kine the Fish debuted in Kirby's Dream Land 2, one of the more difficult games in the series if you wished to nab that all-impressive 100% completion percentage.

v218. Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Wii) - Key Challenge

I don't know what it is about this bonus stage theme, but it always manages to put a smile on my face. From the opening guitar synth to the quirky melody, there is something special to enjoy with this Key Challenge theme. Many bonus areas of Return to Dream Land possess energy spheres, the collectibles of the game. Gathering as many as possible opens up new challenge stages within the Lor Starcutter ship. These challenge stages give Kirby (and the players that control him) mastery of a given power.

v219. Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Wii) - Steel Station

We have a percussive ambiance of factory noises alongside a rocking guitar to drive the theme of Steel Station, one of the level themes of the penultimate world in Kirby's Return to Dream Land. While earlier levels featured cutesy and happy-go-lucky themes, you know you're getting serious when this sixth world level song plays. This is all the while running on conveyor belts and avoiding being crushed by platforms.

v220. Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Wii) - Infinite Power

One thing I did not mention is that the song titles are by no means official. There is no full official soundtrack, so what you have been hearing is a game rip. Why Nintendo cannot come out with full official soundtracks for people who obviously would buy them is beyond me. Nonetheless, we have the theme of one of the final levels in Return to Dream Land, set in an otherworldly volcano. Just like the previous song's serious tone, we have another track that tells the player that they're in it till the end.

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That concludes this edition of my favorite VGMs. Next week we will have a game that is a PlayStation Portable remake of a Super Nintendo game. The remake is considered by many (yours truly) as very much superior to its original. Can you guess what it is? You'll know the answer for sure next week! Until then, check out my VGMs Database for every song I have put in the spotlight since the beginning of this year.