The Orchestral Vision Behind Kirby Air Riders' Music

The music development for the game Kirby Air Riders involved a collaborative effort between director Masahiro Sakurai and composers Noriyuki Iwadare and Shogo Sakai. The project emphasized an orchestral score with memorable, singable melodies and included extensive live recording sessions and a comprehensive review process to ensure audio consistency across various playback environments.

Key Personnel and Background

Masahiro Sakurai, the game's director, worked with Shogo Sakai at HAL Laboratory on titles such as Super Smash Bros. Melee and the original Kirby Air Ride. Sakai had previously invited Sakurai to a Game Music Concert in 1995, an event that significantly influenced Sakurai's interest in orchestral game music. Noriyuki Iwadare collaborated with Sakurai on Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Kid Icarus: Uprising. Iwadare first met Sakurai during the development of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and later met Sakai in 2008.

"Sakai had previously invited Sakurai to a Game Music Concert in 1995, an event that influenced Sakurai's interest in orchestral game music."

Sakurai selected Iwadare and Sakai based on their proficiency in orchestral music, their ability to compose and conduct, and their skill in creating orchestrations described as uplifting.

Musical Concept and Confidentiality

Sakurai's vision for Kirby Air Riders departed from typical racing game music genres like Eurobeat or fusion, instead opting for a grand orchestral score. The main musical concept required melodies to be singable by children and memorable, even after a single listen, prioritizing standout music over ambient background tunes.

The game's title, Kirby Air Riders, was initially kept confidential from both composers. Sakai deduced the title based on an email contact method, while Iwadare learned it later. Sakurai maintained security around project details, including blurring the title during meetings.

Commissioning and Directing Style

For Air Ride mode courses, Sakurai provided composers with course outlines, concept videos, and sample songs for each track. Composers were instructed to identify commonalities in these samples to create pieces with a similar feel, without directly imitating the samples.

"Sakurai's rationale for using samples was to establish clear direction while avoiding direct copying."

Composers generally referred to tempo, atmosphere, and instrumentation from the samples, often listening only once. Sakurai's directing style was characterized as concise, fast, decisive, and flexible, with quick feedback provided. A direct mailing list involving both composers and Sakurai facilitated transparent communication, allowing composers to observe feedback on each other's work. Iwadare noted that he intentionally avoided listening to Sakai's tracks until the final recording to prevent influence.

Track-Specific Development Highlights

• Waveflow Waters: Sakai composed a Latin-sounding track, diverging from Sakurai's request for a hard rock tempo, for which a sample had been provided. Sakai later stated he had not listened to the samples for this particular track.

• Cavernous Corners: Sakurai requested tribal music featuring primitive drum loops. Sakai produced a more refined track. For the second half of the track, an improvised flute recording was utilized, with Sakurai selecting a less polished take to convey a spontaneous and less modern feel, consistent with the course's indigenous-inspired characters.

• Airtopia Ruins: Iwadare submitted three candidate tracks. Sakurai selected the one that depicted a fallen kingdom with a Middle Ages orchestral style, choosing it over lighter options that did not align with the course's narrative.

• Cyberion Highway: Initially a techno style, Sakurai requested the addition of a singable, signature melody. Iwadare proposed lyrics such as "Air Rider! Air Rider!", but Sakurai decided against specific English vocals to maintain the integrity of the Kirby game world and prevent vocals from potentially overwhelming other in-game sounds.

• Galactic Nova: Sakai's composition for this track underwent eleven revisions, partly due to its length and dual-part structure. It also included arrangements of "VS. Marx" from Kirby Super Star, with Sakurai emphasizing the importance of meeting player expectations for existing themes.

• Floria Fields: This track, composed by Sakai, was the first song completed for the game.

Live Recording and Audio Review

The music production involved live recording sessions conducted in February and May, utilizing a full ensemble including strings, wind instruments, guitar, piano, drums, and bass. Each song required approximately one week to record. The project featured over fifty songs, with contributions also made by Bandai Namco Studios.

To ensure audio consistency, the same musicians, recording studio, and audio engineers were used across all sessions. Masahiro Sakurai personally reviewed the final audio by evaluating the sound across various playback environments, from high-performance studio speakers to consumer-grade devices like inexpensive speakers, regular headphones, and built-in TV speakers.

"Sakurai noted the importance of objective sound evaluation due to potential aural fatigue during prolonged production."

He recounted an instance during the Kirby Air Riders announcement footage where he identified an issue with distinct guitar and orchestral layers and requested improved blending. Sound director Sakai confirmed this, stating he used a cassette player to objectively verify the problem. The aim of this approach was to cover as many playback scenarios as possible, acknowledging that a singular "correct" audio output does not exist.

Sakurai also emphasized the significance of memorability in game elements, extending to music themes and character names.