“C-R-O-W-N-E-D” - Musical Analysis 2

Videogames were a big part of my childhood, especially playing them with my older brother. Our favorite game was Nintendo’s “Kirby’s Return to Dreamland,” a cute, stylized 2-D platformer released in 2011. It was part of a larger franchise with many other games, but this was the only one we owned, so we played it all the time. You can imagine we eventually got to the final boss and beat the game. And while I never noticed as a kid, the background music, titled “C-R-O-W-N-E-D,” is very intricate and sets the perfect tone for a grand finale.

This piece, along with the whole soundtrack for the game, was composed by Hirokazu Ando and Jun Ishikawa. They’ve worked together to compose for several other games in the Kirby franchise. Ishikawa has said that he writes music with the intention to “entertain players,” keeping it isolated within the game and not with the intention of “performing live” (Wikipedia). We will get into all of the entertaining details in a moment, but first, what are some key traits in a boss battle track? One is speed, which “mirrors how your pulse might quicken at the sight of a video game boss,” or vice versa–the music might give you some adrenaline (Chillelli). “C-R-O-W-N-E-D” clocks in at about 145 BPM, which is fairly quick.

Form

“C-R-O-W-N-E-D” follows an ABAB format, with a little embellishment. Because it was designed to be played in the background of a boss fight, it needs to be able to repeat as many times as possible to fill the time that the player is in the area. So, at the end, there are a few extra measures that smooth out the end of the last phrase and bring it back to the beginning of the piece. There is also a short intro that never repeats–it only serves to ease the listener into the music, or the player into the fight.

After the core ideas of the A section and B section, rather than jumping straight back into A as the format suggests, there are some new rhythms to go through before the return. So, why have I not specified three different sections, ABCABC? Because these “C” sections are not really the same. Their melodies are related, but they’re two distinct melodies, unlike sections A and B which are nearly identical when repeated. Even considering this, for the sake of simplicity, I refer to them later on as the first C section and second C section.

Timbre, Range, Pitch

It’s interesting to notice the instruments used for “C-R-O-W-N-E-D” and how the focus changes throughout it. It begins with the strings playing the main line, with the brass and woodwinds playing behind them. Then, the woodwinds take over the main line, and finally, the brass. But, even when one has the melody, the others are almost fighting to gain the attention. This sort of “conversation” mirrors the attacks that the player and boss may take against each other. During the second time that the A and B sections are played, the instruments trade off the main line in a different order, which keeps the piece fresh and dynamic, even when repeating the same melodies.

“C-R-O-W-N-E-D” also has a wide range, not only because it has high and low instruments, but also how far the melodies travel up and down. Within a phrase, leaps from high to low notes, or vice versa, are less common. Instead, the composers took full advantage of steps, going from one note to the next closest, and skips, taking two steps. It makes it that much more impactful when a leap is utilized, like when preparing to enter the next section.

Another noticeable choice is when the instruments play notes that aren't in the key of the piece, which happens around 1:01 in the video. A key tells the player that of every possible note, these are the specific ones to play. Then, the composer can make the choice to have them play notes outside of the key signature. I feel like the short phrase at 1:01 is almost comical, how the notes seem to be just off. It takes away a bit of the edge and reminds us that this is still a lighthearted game, even during the final fight.

Rhythm

To kick off the A section, the percussion is syncopated, meaning it doesn’t play on the main beats. “C-R-O-W-N-E-D” is in 4/4, so non-syncopated rhythms would play on 1 (&) 2 (&) 3 (&) 4 (&), where the “in-between” beats that aren’t played are in parentheses. However, the percussion doesn’t just stick to the solid, main beats, which works very well to build tension and a sense of unease. Then, when the high strings come in with their quick, successive notes, they don’t start exactly on beat one. Rather, it’s just slightly delayed, and this syncopation adds to the sense of urgency to push forward.

The B section starts out with a simpler rhythm for the main line that just plays directly on the beats. It’s a break from the syncopation, but not for long. Once the main phrase ends, the accompaniment comes back in with a sextuplet–which means they are fitting six notes into the duration that it should take to play only four.

Syncopation is another key element of a boss battle track, as noted by audio engineer Matthew Chilelli. He shares a fascinating interpretation about the strong and weak beats. The fact that during syncopation, the usually strong beats aren’t even sounding “hint[s] that ‘the strong’ might become weak (the hero we’re controlling in the game might not be victorious)” (Chilelli).

So, It’s almost jarring to enter into the first iteration of the C section, because it quickly turns around into a marching feel. The melody plays one note per beat, which grounds the listener back into the 4/4 meter, or thematically that the hero regains footing. But just as quickly as we found the beat, the syncopation returns in the accompaniment. The way it keeps switching, different lines giving us different rhythms, works well to reflect the push and pull between the hero and villain in a final boss fight.

The second time the C section is played, there’s hardly any syncopation at all. But instead of feeling like a march, one note per beat, there are longer notes that span several beats. It’s only at the very end that another sextuplet leads us back to the syncopation and right into the “transition” section. The long, overarching notes continue, and the percussion becomes more prominent again. It’s unexpected because this whole time we’ve been hearing quick notes jam-packed into interesting rhythms, and suddenly it’s stripped away. It’s a lull in the music, where it almost relaxes, but the percussion and accompaniment drives it forward and returns us to the A section.

Extra!

There’s another fun part about “C-R-O-W-N-E-D” that people familiar with the Kirby franchise may have noticed during the second C section. The melody is actually taken from another piece in the franchise, titled “Green Greens.” It’s one of the character Kirby’s main themes, so players find it recognizable because it shows up so often, even across games. This familiar tune serves to ground the player in the known even in unfamiliar territory.

The composition of “C-R-O-W-N-E-D” sets the scene for the player’s efforts in the final battle and their triumphant victory. Even though it’s for a kid’s game, there is a lot of thought put into each detail that subconsciously motivates the player. It’s been great to dive into such an important piece in this game that I never gave a second thought to as a kid.

Sources

Ando, Hirokazu and Jun Ishikawa. “C-R-O-W-N-E-D - Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Soundtrack.” Youtube, uploaded by Eternal, 16 Aug. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0BC050QG-Y. Accessed 13 Oct. 2023.

Chilelli, Matthew. “Writing a Boss Battle Track.” Matthew Chilelli, 15 July 2020, https://www.matthewchilelli.com/blog-2/2020/7/14/writing-a-boss-battle-track. Accessed 13 Oct. 2023.

“Jun Ishikawa (composer).” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 22 Sep. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jun_Ishikawa_(composer). Accessed 13 Oct. 2023.