Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit

Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit Phase 1: Phase 2: 30-second clip of "Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit". Details Debut appearance Kirby and the Forgotten Land (2022) Composer(s) Hirokazu Ando

"Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit" is the final boss battle theme of Kirby and the Forgotten Land, used for the battles against Fecto Elfilis and Chaos Elfilis. It was composed by Hirokazu Ando, and can be found as track 71 at the Waddle Live! Corner Stage.

Composition

The Ultimate Life-Form themselves.

"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 improvisational 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's unknown if it was intentional.

Once Fecto Elfilis has 40% health left, they will switch to the second phase as the music smoothly transitions to the second part of the song, syncing up with their "Space Debris" attack. 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, with the version heard at the Waddle Live! Corner Stage using the 14th transition. During the battle with Chaos Elfilis, the transitional interlude kicks in once the time comes for Kirby to use Dome Mouth at the end of the first phase. The second phase of that particular fight starts with "Eternal Echo of the Thrilling Tour-our-our", but the second phase of "Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit" kicks in when 70% of their health or lower is left and they attack with "Deadly Sun Grazer".

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 Fecto Elfilis's attempt at making Popstar and the new world crash into each other upon being defeated. The Roche limit is the smallest distance between two objects at which one object's gravitational binding force at least matches the tidal force exerted by another object (i.e., the differential in gravitational force exerted by the latter along the length of the former); by crossing the Roche limit, the former object would disintegrate. By implying that the two planets are approaching a mutual Roche limit, the title suggests that Popstar and the new world would tear each other apart. The same terminology is also used for the French, Dutch, Italian, German and Spanish titles.

In Japanese, the theme is called いつしか双星そうせいはロッシュ限界げんかいへ (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, either by coincidence or due to forming an actual binary system. A notable example of a double star is Antares, the namesake of Fecto Elfilis's spear. 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 terminology used for the Japanese title also applies to both the Chinese and Korean titles.

Trivia

• Between the hallway where Fecto Forgo chases the heroes, and the arena where the Fecto Elfilis fight takes place, ambient wind sounds can be heard blowing to the melody 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.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	いつしか双星そうせいはロッシュ限界げんかいへ 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	The Day When Two Stars Will Inevitably Approach 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 Eoneudeot Ssangseong-eun Rosyu Hangyero	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