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City Trial: City

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Namely: The intro of "Forest/Nature Area" from Smash
City Trial: City
Various arrangements of "City Trial: City".
Details
Debut appearance Kirby Air Ride (2003)
Last appearance Kirby's Dream Buffet (2022)
Other appearance(s) Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Composer(s) Hirokazu Ando[1]
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"City Trial: City" (also referred to as simply "City" or "City Trial") is a song from Kirby Air Ride. It is the main theme of the City Trial mode, and was composed by Hirokazu Ando.[1]

Composition

The fast-paced tune reflects the fast-paced city.

"City Trial: City" is in standard time, set in the key of A minor at 165 BPM, and is described in Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe as having a "hectic, urban feel to it". The melody is mostly defined by a central motif of four rising notes: in their first appearance, these notes are A-B-C-D, but they appear in different arrangements as the song progresses. The instrumentation uses orchestral and acoustic instruments, such as violins, acoustic guitars, horns, woodwinds, an organ, and a mandolin.

Notably, the song does not repeat any of its sections before it loops, instead progressing from one section to the next in an improvisational manner. The fast-paced and frequently-changing melody can be said to reflect the city itself, a location that is also fast-paced and frequently changing. The song lasts about two minutes before looping.

Appearances

Kirby Air Ride

"City Trial: City" first appears in Kirby Air Ride as the main theme of the City Trial mode. It sometimes is replaced with its counterpart, "City Trial: City (Backside)", also composed by Hirokazu Ando. It can be unlocked as track 41 in the Sound Test by clearing the following Checklist objective: Free Run: Drive for a total of 30 minutes or more!

When 30 seconds are left on the clock in any City Trial game, the song changes to "City Trial: Not Much Time Left". This is an abridged arrangement of "City Trial: City" in a higher key and with a faster tempo, as well as having "lighter" instruments, notably in the drums. Ironically, the song actually lasts longer than 30 seconds, looping at around 52 seconds. It is unlocked in the Sound Test as track 42 at the same time as "City Trial: City".

Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe

After 11 years of absence, "City Trial: City" (here simply called "City") returns as the theme of the stage of the same name in Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe. Here, its tempo has been slowed down to 120 BPM, and the arrangement has been changed to feature primarily violin and piano. The song itself has also been abridged somewhat, now looping after a minute and 20 seconds. This arrangement was done by the original composer, Hirokazu Ando, as with all of the music in Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe.

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse

"City Trial: City" is one of the songs featured in the "Top Ride Medley" in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, despite not being from Top Ride. It has a comparable pace and arrangement to the original, with a bandoneon taking the lead as the main instrument. This arrangement was done by either Shogo Sakai or Megumi Ohara, and is unlocked as track 8 in the Sound Room by finding it as a Treasure in Dig and Dash.

Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

The arrangement of "Forest/Nature Area" in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U includes a short rearrangement of "City Trial: City" in its intro, which appears as one of the default tracks of the The Great Cave Offensive stage.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

A faithful rearrangement of the theme, simply called "City Trial", is a starter track for all Kirby stages in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Its tempo was slowed down somewhat so that it loops at two minutes and 30 seconds, but the drums have been rearranged to double time to compensate, and the original mandolin solo was replaced with an electric guitar. This arrangement was done by Noriyuki Iwadare. The arrangement of "Forest/Nature Area" from the previous game also reappears in this title.

Kirby's Dream Buffet

The original version of the song from Kirby Air Ride, simply called "Kirby Air Ride: Memorial Song 3", is unlocked at Gourmet Rank 126 in Kirby's Dream Buffet. Once unlocked, it can play in Races and Free Rolling. This game notably confirmed that Hirokazu Ando was the original composer of the theme.

Other appearances

The original version of the track is featured as track 45 on Kirby & The Amazing Mirror Sound Plus and track 20 on the Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition Compilation Soundtrack; the latter calls it "City" in English.

A jazzy arrangement of the theme was performed live at the Kirby 30th Anniversary Music Festival, as the final part of the track "Go Go! Kirby Race Medley" (alongside "Gourmet Race", "Outlaw Driver", "Circuit Speedway", and "Top Ride: Grass"). Notably, this version is performed in 6/8 rather than its standard 4/4.

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning
Japanese シティトライアル:まち
Shiti Toraiaru: Machi
シティトライアル[2]
Shiti Toraiaru
City Trial: City
City Trial
French City Trial: Ville City Trial: City
German CITY TRIAL: Die City CITY TRIAL: The City
Italian City Trial: città City Trial: City
Korean 시티 트라이얼[3]
Siti Teulaieol
City Trial
Spanish CITY TRIAL: La ciudad CITY TRIAL: The city


References