0² Battle
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"0² Battle" (also spelled "O² Battle"[1] and "02 Battle"[2]) is the name of the theme that originally appeared during the fight against 0² in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.
Composition
"0² Battle" plays in melodic A minor at 4/4. It starts off by closing in on a low-pitched F, followed by a fast beat ranging within a tonic third. The melody, played by the strings an octave apart and eventually joined by bells, is sorrowful and alternates between large intervals (namely the opening seventh) and gradual movement up and down a scale. It is rhythmically steady, with each note corresponding to a beat. The melody is in constant movement, descending and rising restlessly. In the middle segment, the melody plays again but doubles in speed due to the addition of connecting notes. It finally reaches a stop at its climax between E and F before rapidly descending in parallel thirds. The track then loops.
On a technical note, this song would normally be "too much" for the game to handle, due to it relying heavily on chords and percussion and also due to the Nintendo 64's lack of dedicated audio chip (audio is handled by the CPU). The composer, Jun Ishikawa, pre-sequenced the drumline and the guitar chords, and then sampled those sequences; the drumline and chords being sampled means that there are fewer audio channels for the CPU to handle, which allows the game to save resources for other areas, like gameplay logic and graphics.
Ishikawa's inspiration for "0² Battle" was "electronic music from before the birth of technopop, and songs from the era of symphonic rock and electronic progressive rock". He felt that songs of these styles were not commonly heard in video games of the time, and that it would also be a surprising contrast from the jazz music heard in "Ripple Star". He believes that the two pieces ultimately formed "the image of the unexpected" during the game's finale.[3]
Game appearances
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
This theme debuted in this game, for the fight against 0². The track can be found as Music 31 in the Sound Check mode.
Super Smash Bros. series
"0² Battle" was given a remix in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and is one of the many songs that can be played in the Halberd stage. This version has a faster tempo and energetic rhythm, scored with electric guitars and synths. The remix was arranged by Koji Hayama.
This remix later reappeared in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Kirby Star Allies
This theme was combined with Miracle Matter's theme and Ripple Star's map theme for a medley in Kirby Star Allies. It is used for the fight against Morpho Knight in Guest Star ???? Star Allies Go! and the Soul Melter or Soul Melter EX difficulties of The Ultimate Choice if P1 is Adeleine & Ribbon. This version is orchestral, while featuring a repetitive, synthetic bass and drumline similar to Morpho Knight's theme.
As of Version 4.0.0, this remix can be heard as Track 178 of the Jukebox, and is named おとめたちのやみとのたたかい (The Girls' Battle With the Darkness) in Kirby Star Allies: The Original Soundtrack. It was arranged by Hirokazu Ando.
Other appearances
In the The Sound of Kirby Café, "0² Battle" was given a slow-paced jazzy remix as Track 10: Sixty-four／VS. ゼロ・ツー (Sixty-four / 0² Battle). It was arranged by the original composer, Jun Ishikawa.
In the Kirby 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert, this theme was played live as part of "Kirby's Dream Land 3 / Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards Medley". It is the final track of the medley, scored as a crescendo; it begins with quiet woodwinds and builds up with brass and strings while retaining a steady snare drum rhythm. The medley was arranged by Shogo Sakai.
The theme was performed live at the Kirby 30th Anniversary Music Festival as part of the "Kirby Finale Battle Fest" medley, along with "Final Boss" from Kirby's Adventure, "Vs. Marx", "C-R-O-W-N-E-D", "Fatal Blooms in Moonlight", and "Vagrant Counting Song of Retrospection". This arrangement only loosely follows the original song and adapts it into a fast-paced swing jazz arrangement, with the first segment being a call-and-response between the brass and saxophones, followed by a piano playing the middle segment, then the final segment abandoning the original melody entirely in favor of solos (trumpet, organ, and drums).
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 0² (ゼロ・ツー)[4] zero tsū VS.ゼロ・ツー[5] VS. Zero tsū ゼロツー戦[6] zero tsū sen |
0² (Zero Two) VS. Zero Two Zero Two Battle |
| Chinese | 02 Battle |
- |
| Dutch | 02 Battle | - |
| French | 0² Battle 02 Battle |
- |
| German | 0² Battle 02 Battle |
- |
| Italian | 0² Battle 02 Battle |
- |
| Korean | 02 Battle 0² 배틀 jelo tu baeteul |
0² Battle |
| Portuguese | 02 Battle | - |
| Russian | 02 Battle |
- |
| Spanish | 0² Battle 02 Battle |
- |
References
- ↑ Taken from Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition Compilation Soundtrack
- ↑ Taken from the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate track list
- ↑ 2017 Keyboard Magazine Interview with Jun Ishikawa and Hirokazu Ando
- ↑ Hoshi no Kirby 64 Original Soundtrack
- ↑ Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition Compilation Soundtrack, The Sound of Kirby Café, Kirby 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert pamphlet, Kirby 30th Anniversary Music Festival pamphlet
- ↑ Super Smash Bros. series
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