Why Does King Dedede Have Such an Awesome Theme Song?
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on June 12, 2021, 9:59 a.m. by DemonDragonJ
King Dedede is one of the most frequently recurring antagonists in the Kirby series, to the point that it would actually be easier to list the Kirby games in which he does not appear than the Kirby games in which he does appear. However, unlike fellow Nintendo villains Bowser and Ganon, he is rarely portrayed as a serious threat to the heroes of his games, instead being shown as a lazy and incompetent buffoon (although that could be simply because the Kirby games are among the most lighthearted and least serious of Nintendo’s various franchises).
However, despite that, he has an amazing theme song that sounds dark and epic, far more appropriate for a mighty warrior than an overweight blue penguin, so I find myself wondering how someone such as him came to have such an epic theme song.
What does everyone else say about this? Does it not seem weird that a silly character such as King Dedede has such an amazing theme song?
archamandite says... #3
OverweightPenguin I was not expecting to find this in the forums, but I am so thrilled that I did. I guess contextually it makes sense because the Kirby universe has such a lighthearted feel to it, that even a ridiculous villain like Dedede might seem menacing by comparison. Compare that to other game settings that you mentioned like Mario and Legend of Zelda, which although they're also animated games, seem to have a lot more potential for those menacing environs that beckon badass bosses like Bowser and Ganondorf. And I guess it all kind of comes down to the fact that silly as he is, Dedede is still a boss of sorts. So you've gotta have that epic score for the final showdown!
Metroid_Hybrid says... #2
I couldn't agree more with the general sentiment of the title..
I think it simply comes down to the fact that King Dedede was the Final Boss of the original game (Kirby's Dreamland), and it is not wise to change an established theme like that..
[Sips Boomer juice]..
Furthermore, Kirby was originally made back in an Era where catchy soundtracks were far more the rule than the exception (unlike today). Which was the case for the original 8/16-bit Kirby soundtrack(s), most of which were catchy as hell, albeit hyper bubbly & upbeat, but fit the general art style & pacing of the gameplay perfectly. So taking all of that into account, the sharp contrast in theme was probably intentional, as it would only add to the intensity of the experience that is the Final Boss of an action game..
June 12, 2021 2:43 p.m.