I feel a bit like I am gesturing at a board with red string all over it, but after obsessively listening to the Air Riders soundtrack for the last few weeks, I've first off noticed how insanely good the sound design is, not just for the music but in general. I am obsessed with how much is conveyed. The things I can infer by music ALONE....
Anyways though that's not why I'm here. I'm here because I've realized something cool
The melody from Journey's End (Starlit Journey Variant) is Zorah's theme.
Zorah is a character who never actually... Gets theme music, officially, in the game. There is one short song that plays when it is repaired in the end, but seeing as Kirby never really gets to meet Zorah as its original self, and only sees it post-repair briefly, it's understandable! It doesn't exactly have a boss battle or anything, and so thus it doesn't need a motif to play when it shows up!
So Zorah ends up split in two: Gigantes, and its free fragment, Noir. They both have boss battles, and thus, get boss themes, but they're both still Zorah as well.
Noir has two versions of its boss theme: VS Noir Dedede, and VS Noir Dedede (Final). The guitar riffs are so undeniably SICK. The two versions are very similar. The latter is longer, though, and has more instrumentals that make it sound desperate in a way that the non final version absolutely does not.
Makes sense, because that is the version that plays when Noir is racing you to Gigantes to try and reclaim its soul, it would seem. It IS desperate!
But it takes part of the melody of the Journey's End version of Starlit Journey and uses it as a motif for Noir.
Gigantes does the SAME thing, also having 2 versions of its theme: VS Final Boss (Gigantes)/Farthest Reach Theme and VS Hyper Gigantes Boss Battle.
The first has a totally DIFFERENT PART (for the most part) of Journey's End as a motif, with terrifying frantic background music befitting the terrifying dreadnought that it is! It's awesome and REALLY does strike fear into you.
VS Hyper Gigantes Boss Battle is actually quite a different vibe, much more hopeful. Still HELLA dramatic, but.... This time you have help. Noir is fighting on your side. This version ALSO has more electronic elements, perhaps also a nod to both how Gigantes is more powered up and that Noir, a mechnical being, is your ally? It also has wordless vocals at some parts! Both versions do use the same melodic pieces of Journey's End despite feeling SO different.
So... BOTH parts of Zorah that exist in the game have sections of Journey's End as their motif. But that's actually not all!
Journey's End, with lyrics, is the end credits song to Road Trip. There are two versions for the two endings: the Normal/Neutral Ending, and the True Ending. (We are ignoring the "Bad Ending" where Gigantes explodes when you lose the race.)
The Normal/Neutral ending version is sadder, slower, and more electronic, with the singer using a voice changer or filter. In this ending, Zorah dies. It's destroyed when Gigantes is.
The True Ending version is triumphant and clear, a real 'you did it!' song that's a celebration of you completing the story. In this ending, Zorah makes it and is restored to more or less how it was originally.
Interesting to note that that's one of the most major differences between endings; in both, the planet is saved, and Nova either leaves or is destroyed. It's not like it remains around to cause more trouble in the Normal/Neutral Ending! The most major story difference is whether Zorah lives or dies, and that changes the mood of the song!
And, finally, you need to fully beat the story mode to unlock the Journey's End (Skyah Alt) version that will play during City Trial. It's basically the triumphant credits version but fully instrumental. So you DO need to save Zorah to actually get that version of the song.
So all this is to say, it REALLY makes sense for Journey's End to be Zorah's theme. It's so baked into both its two selves AND its fate that it's hard for me to think of it in any other way.
Furthermore, it's pretty interesting that, once you know the lyric version, you can pinpoint what lyrical sections were used for Noir's and Gigantes' themes.
The lyrics that correspond to Noir's motif are "soaring high, like shooting stars in the sky," "racing on, faster than all our fears, we'll break through," "now fly, like shooting stars in the sky, higher than anyone who came before" and "don’t look back, 'cuz nothing can hold you down, you are horizon-bound" for the main ones, and "feel the engine roar" and "propelling us on" as shorter segments.
Feels fitting for Noir, who literally had to run away from itself being torn to pieces and fight everyone in secret. It couldn't look back, and it had to be faster than its fears.
At about a third of the way through the song and again at about two thirds through, it also plays the melody of the start of the song/verse of Journey's end, "horizon, vast, unending, swirling clouds above, long and winding roads call out, beckoning you on," and "see glittering oceans, flora lush and green, creating a work of art, as you hit full speed."
And if that's not Zorah, trapped in place, longing to move and see the world move around it, I don't know what is! The lyrics are even weirdly specific to Noir itself, as stated above.
Now, for Gigantes' parts it's a little less one to one, mainly because, like. The song is not exactly dark lyric-wise. But it's still really, really cool!
We get the verses more strongly here, "horizon, vast, unending, swirling clouds above, long and winding roads call out, beckoning you on," and "see glittering oceans, flora lush and green, creating a work of art, as you hit full speed." Very 'Zorah is trapped' and that's more true than ever here.
Then we get to "now with everything you need, it’s time to depart, fire up your machine and feel the engine roar" and "in the glow of evening light, our song hums along, a tailwind at our back, propelling us on." Now this fascinated me, because it took a pretty innocuous line (the former of the two) and gave it ENTIRELY new meaning.
Gigantes got the will it needed to move. It fired up, and it SCREAMED. And now you need to fight it. And, not to be too literal, but you DO fight it in the 'evening light.' The fun part is, the first time this specific chunk of melody is played, it's menacing, matching up with the first set of lyrics presented, and in the second all the dramatic instrumental drop away to leave a single mournful piano, almost like it is referring to the rider who is fighting it.
VS Hyper Gigantes Boss Battle ACTUALLY adds more in! We get the full melody! And it's why the lyricless vocals are singing! "soaring high, like shooting stars in the sky, whistling by, in a symphony of speed; racing on, faster than all our fears, we’ll break through, knowing we’ll finally reach–" and "now fly, like shooting stars in the sky, higher than anyone who came before; don’t look back, 'cuz nothing can hold you down, you are horizon-bound, born to be weightless and free–". It cuts off because the beats aren't exactly the same the whole way through, it it does not complete the end of the chorus, just leaves off on a note.
This makes sense because it's the HOPE added back into this song, of the rider and of the player. It's CRAZY how they were able to convey that just by putting more main melody back into it, corresponding to encouraging lyrics. I totally recommend listening to both Gigantes songs with the lyrics in front of you so you can experience how the different instrument/vocal sounds work for the different lyrics. It's so so so cool.
THAT'S ALL. Maybe I am FULLY CRAZY or maybe this is Obvious to everyone else and I've got nothing. But holy shit I feel I am chewing on the drywall of my house thinking these music thoughts. This game is musically INCREDIBLE (as well as incredible in other respects of course).
But yeah. Journey's End (Starlit Journey Variant) is Zorah's theme, and no one can convince me otherwise at this point.
