Review Summary: I wish I heard this live.
Being one of the earliest orchestras in Japan (founded in 1911), the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra is known for their excellence in performing and creating a lively musical atmosphere. This orchestra has performed over a plethora of well-known symphonies from the likes of Ludwig van Beethoven and various of other live concerts. With that in mind, however, the idea of this orchestra doing something video game related isn't too farfetched as they have done works for the likes of Sega in Sonic Unleashed and for Square Enix. In celebration of Kirby's 25th anniversary, a live concert was performed by this orchestra, and there's quite a lot to take in here.
While keeping the original game's soundtrack in mind, rendering the already composed soundtracks into a fully orchestrated piece would be the biggest task at hand, and they manage to both compose and perform it well. What you'll hear here is not only a near-perfect representation of the classics but with masterful additions to said classics on top of that. Instrumentations here such as the winds and strings are utilized well as they increase the atmosphere and paint a vivid picture for the listener to experience. Even if you're unfamiliar with the franchise, the compositions are certainly as powerful as they sound with "Kirby's 25th Anniversary: Grand Opening" regal traits introducing the listener to the adventure that they will about to embark on. Throughout this live performance, various soundtracks are mixed into a cohesive medley with the instrumentations precisely emulating the music of the franchise. Not only that, the orchestral compositions put their own spin on things with a more anthemic approach on medleys like "King Dedede & Meta Knight" and "Kirby Air Ride", resulting in a much more energetic and lively experience. The percussions and horns in "Kirby Super Star" medley can also be attributed to the anthemic traits portrayed earlier as well while also sounding quite foreboding. This particular medley seems to stand out for having a strong mixture of both a majestic and uneasy feeling sound to it.
To retread the atmospheric topic, the "Kirby Ball" medley seems to be the best example of it. The instrumental composition here seems to emulate a triumphant vibe while also keeping the original intent of the soundtrack in mind as well. The bells also increase the atmosphere as well with the medley ending in a sonically beautiful finish. It kind of paints a picture of someone (or thing) marching through various landscapes as this composition plays. Nearing the last handful of compositions, things start to sound a little more alarming. While still implementing the majestic sound like earlier, the "Kirby: Planet Robobot" medley uses the horns and strings as the forefront instruments to signify this sort of foreboding nature. This can also be applicable to the medley that follows, "Kirby's Return to Dream Land" as well as it caps off the medleys with a triumphant finish. To tie the bow on the entire performance, "Milky Way Wishes: Staff Credits" implements all of the traits within their previous compositions turned into a very intense and fitting finale.
A nitpick I find odd would be the occasional slight audio peaks (like in Kirby's Return to Deam Land), but for the most part, it's not too noticeable. Regardless, immediately upon hearing these live performances, you will recognize what these soundtracks are representing and piece together each bit of the medley from beginning to end. As these compositions are (mostly) ordered chronologically by each games release, it's basically reliving old memories of this franchise in the form of music and then some. I'm sure it would've been an absolutely magical experience to both see and hear this live. Even if you aren't well versed with the franchise, the live performances will definitely set you out on a musical adventure, and I heavily recommend listening to this if you're a fan of the franchise for a very memorable experience.
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Standout Tracks: King Dedede & Meta Knight, Kirby Super Star, & Kirby's Return to Dream Land medleys
