Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit
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"Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit" is the final boss battle theme of Kirby and the Forgotten Land, as well as Fecto Elfilis and Chaos Elfilis's theme song. It was composed by Hirokazu Ando.[1]
It can be found as track 71 at the Waddle Live! Corner Stage.
Composition
"Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit" can be seen as two themes, one for each phase of the fight. The song as a whole is set in a 6/8 time signature at about 130 beats per minute.
The first part of the song is in E flat major, and is around four minutes long. It features predominantly violins, but also female choir, triangle, bells, organs, and a bit of percussion. Most notably, however, it rarely uses patterns, creating a more chaotic or improvisical feeling. Several other melodies can be heard, like "Welcome to the New World!", "Running Through the New World", and "VS. Dangerous Beast". One part sounds similar to "The Battle of Blizzard Bridge", though it is unknown if it's intentional.
Once Fecto Elfilis has 40% health left, they will switch to the second phase and smoothly transition to the second part of the song. However, Kirby can do so at nearly any point of the battle, and by extension at any point during the theme. As a result, "Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit" is an interactive piece of music that has 14 unique transitions between phases. The version heard at the Waddle Live! Corner Stage uses the 14th transition. Chao Elfilis' second phase starts with "Eternal Echo of the Thrilling Tour-our-our", but abruptly switches to the second part of "Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit" when 70% of their health is left.
The second part is very hard rock-like, with leading instruments changing to electric guitar and trumpets, the drums changing to double time, and the key jumping to G flat major. This part loops until the battle is over. Overall, this part of the song is similar to "Suite: The Star-Conquering Traveler ~ Fourth Movement: Hope of Birth", another final boss theme that Hirokazu Ando composed.
Etymology
The theme's name refers to the fact Fecto Elfilis's attempt at making Popstar and the New World crash upon being defeated. The Roche limit is the region in which a celestial object gets too near to another and the smaller object is disintegrated as its center of gravity is overpowered by the tidal forces of the larger one. The title implies both planets' Roche limits are roughly equal, meaning both would tear each other apart.
In Japanese, the theme is called いつしか双星はロッシュ限界へ (Before One Knows, The Double Stars Will Go to the Roche Limit). 双星 means "double stars", which are stars that look like they are close to each other when observed from Earth. 双星 can also mean "diaster", which is a stage in mitotic cell division in which the divided and separated chromosomes group themselves near the poles of the spindle preparatory to forming new nuclei. Thus, 双星 here is both referring to the New World and Popstar going to crash to each other, but also of Elfilin and Fecto Forgo fusing with each other to form Fecto Elfilis. The same applies to Chinese and Korean titles too.
Trivia
- The ambience that plays between the hallway Fecto Forgo chases the heroes, and the arena where Fecto Elfilis fight takes place, is also a short remix of "Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit".
- "Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit" is Shinya Kumazaki's favorite theme composed by Hirokazu Ando for Kirby and the Forgotten Land.[2]
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | いつしか双星はロッシュ限界へ Itsushika Sōsei wa Rosshu-genkai e |
Before One Knows, The Double Stars Will Go to the Roche Limit See #Etymology |
| Traditional Chinese | 總有一天雙星會到達洛希極限 zǒng yǒu yītiān shuāngxīng huì dàodá luò xī jíxiàn |
Before One Knows, The Double Stars Will Go to the Roche Limit |
| Simplified Chinese | 总有一天双星会到达洛希极限 zǒng yǒu yītiān shuāngxīng huì dàodá luò xī jíxiàn | |
| Dutch | Twee planeten naderen de Rochelimiet | Two planets near the Roche limit |
| French | Deux mondes proches de la limite de Roche | Two worlds near the Roche limit |
| German | Zwei Planeten nähern sich der Roche-Grenze | Two planets approach the Roche limit |
| Italian | Due pianeti in prossimità del limite di Roche | Two planets near the Roche limit |
| Korean | 어느덧 쌍성은 로슈 한계로 eoneudeos ssangseong-eun losyu hangyelo |
Before One Knows, The Double Stars Will Go to the Roche Limit |
| Spanish | Dos planetas próximos al límite de Roche | Two planets near the Roche limit |
References
[[Category:Music in Kirby and the Forgotten Land]]
