Overview

Do you find enjoyment in a Japanese woman singing Kirby's Adventure songs? Do you enjoy having 80s techno and rock songs on your Kirby albums? Kirby of the Stars ~Story of the Fountain of Dreams~ is the "official" soundtrack to the Nintendo Entertainment System game Kirby's Adventure. Basically it consists of eight original vocal recordings of Kirby themes made specifically for the album and an exact original sound version of the 8-bit Kirby's Adventure. Some of the greatest Kirby hits originated in Kirby's Adventure, but it also features many more lackluster and repetitive tracks plus a couple of Kirby's Dreamland reprises. It may not be the best Kirby album to date, but it's significant to say the least. We'll start with the original recordings.

Body

The eight beginning tracks are all vocal covers of the later themes on the album. They really made me realize that Kirby music wasn't meant to be sung. It's not that the vocalist Mako Miyata is a horrible singer or anything, of course. However, the lyrics seem a bit forced on some of the songs, which were obviously not composed for a singer in the first place. Some people still may enjoy these songs anyway for the novelty of it all, but I wouldn't consider them to be quality pieces.

The first two tracks aren't horrible, but they still apply fully to what I mentioned above. The "Kirby Medley" is obviously a medley of different Kirby theme; the problem is that it's a medley of most of the lesser themes on the album and I really don't think that’s how medleys should work. None of the genres chosen make any sense whatsoever. We have songs like "Kirby Medley" with kind of an 80s feel to it and "Let's Make a Cocktail!" in some kind of demented smooth jazz mix. It pushed these tracks even more into the novelty-only field. If that's what you like, then great.

Let's now focus on the bulk of the album. They truly were some great tracks that originated in Kirby's Adventure. The vocal arrangement "Let's Make a Cocktail!", actually a remix of the famous "Butter Building", is called "Castle Level" in the original version. It was one of the first Kirby themes to include the staple ultra-fast pan flute (or at least as best as can be synthesized on the NES). It's a fun and fast paced kind of Kirby theme with a flowing melody. It's an extremely short piece though, but that's acceptable for the times I suppose.

"Plains Level" is also a classic that has been reused in a couple Kirby games. Of course the famous "Green Greens" melody is also in this game, and although it was in Kirby's Dreamland, it kind of got another jumpstart in this game. In fact, this whole game was kind of a jumpstart to the Kirby series and I almost want to consider the whole album on original work, but the facts are that there are a few Kirby Dream Land tunes in this album.

A lot of this album has great starts to what become amazing remixes later on. After being blinded by the many remixes of some of the themes on the album, it just makes them feel a bit bland. The Super Mario Bros. theme in the original form never gets old, but these songs differ. I think that these types of themes are just not as native on the NES than they are on more recent systems. Kirby songs need those bells and flutes and multiple fast lines flowing over each other. This album definitely is a start and has created many great melodies, but some still feel a bit empty.

Summary

I recommend this to any Kirby memorabilia collector just for the "novelty" songs alone. Even if they aren't perfect tracks, it doesn't mean they aren't fun. I'd also recommend this album for anyone that wants to know where most Kirby music really started from. Yes, it has its share of situational and repetitive map themes, and even the occasional main track dud, but it has enough content to keep it going. It'll be worth having for the fans at least.