#Magolor's Triumphant Return

[magister-magolor]

Started writing some Kirby fanfiction! Focused on Magolor, of course.

I've had the idea for this for a while, but I decided to finally get to work today!

Oh! And of course my visual novel, Magolor's Triumphant Return, is still slowly being worked on. Expect an update on THAT real soon!

[magolors-triumphant-return]

I'm sorry for the lack of updates recently! I'm a very busy guy, and I've got a lot of things to work on.

I promise I think about this all the time and have lots in mind, though! Some recent work of mine for this was improving on Magolor's art that'll be in the game. I DO work on it when I can.

[magolors-triumphant-return]

Vengeful Hunter Rogue Doomer

Yo Kirby OC Gang, what would your OCs' splash screen titles be?

[fruitsofhell]

Yall, its time to ramble about visual/environmental storytelling cause this is silly article is driving me insane.

I won't argue for if the game should have had more constant and involved cutscenes like Robobot or Star Allies, but what I will say is that this game is VERY rich in story through the world design. The Forgotten Land as opposed to say the Land of the Sky in TD or the entire galaxy of Star Allies is like, DROWNING in writing and narrative. It builds so much mystery and intrigue through the theming of every world and even individual levels, with exploring both how the people of the land originally lived and how it's being reclaimed by nature and the animals.

I think the closest things maybe is Robobot and Halcandra in RTDL, the former having great little designs that key you into WHAT Haltmann is doing and what makes it so toxic. Halcandra though is the ultimate grand-daddy, the contrast between it and the Lor, and Egg Engines and Dangerous Dinner is full of theming and clues about the nature and history of the planet. AND THAT IS STORY, THAT IS WRITING! Especially when compared to say Star Allies, where most of the levels of the levels are just ye average Kirby themed fluff with little to say about the Jamba or the state they've left the galaxy in. But when you play through the casino levels of Robobot, as well as delightful theming and level design, you see that Haltmann is erecting literally the most predatory entertainment centers imaginable. When you step off the sleek futuristic Lor into the scrapyards and wastes of Halcandra, you get fun intimidating final worlds, and a good grasp on *why* the people who made the Lor aren't around anymore, and may even start questioning why Magolor made such a great fuss of dragging you to this horrible place. Music is also deeply important to this storytelling. Each of the factories/towers erected in ever world of Robobot's theme is a remix usually of themes related to older mechanical levels, subtly clueing you into where Haltmann go their technology from. Outside the Lor rather than the comfortable motif of Green Greens is this almost comically suspicious and disoriented theme once you're stuck on Halcandra and returning to Magolor with more doubts about his words. The final level inside of the volcano house a theme that is teasing the twist to come, and the theme for fighting Landia before the big reveal is less triumphant, and more majestic and pensive. Possibly trying to evoke more hesitance than confidence, even if most people wouldn't catch on to that on a first run.

But the cooler thing, is that while Robobot has this cool theming at key levels, and RtDL does at the end, this type of shit is pervasive ALL throughout Forgotten Land. Every world and nearly every level is a unique, well thought-out set piece! You get to see abandoned towns, cities, malls, stores, factories, resorts, and an amusement park, each which serves as more than just a fun location, but a clear picture of the world and the state its in. This intent is made clearer through the music and tone that goes out of its way to not highlight the destruction of these areas but their beauty, wonder, and mystery through the eyes of an clueless animals and our favorite pink alien. The abandoned Alivel Malls theme is a track as upbeat and peppy as what must've played over it's speakers in it's hayday, because the hustle and bustle breathed back into it by the animals and Kirby just exploring this mysterious complex is just as lively. The theme of the Everbay Coast is peaceful and sunny despite the Holine ruins because it's as part of the scenery to the animals and Kirby as the picturesque palms and sands. And Wondaria!!!!!!!!! OMG WONDARIA WHERE TO EVEN BEGIN WITH EVERY FUCKING LEVEL AND THEME IN WONDARIA!!! THIS IS WHY I CAN'T TAKE THAT CLAIM SERIOUSLY - y'know when I cried at Forgotten Land? In world 3. Not because of a cutscene or a line of dialogue, but just from the sheer emotion the setting evoked in me. The sweet, laid-back, starry-eyed wonder that it expressed from Kirby mixed with my own sense of nostalgia being aware of what that place was, and how beautiful it was to see it rediscovered and adored by Kirby and the animals of the Forgotten Land. It evokes such a strong feeling of bittersweetness, of existential dread comforted by the knowledge that the simple joys and memories we create places like amusement parks to share will continue on as long as there is life in the world. And unlike some of my musings about past games, this was explicitly intentional. What truly brought the tears to my eyes was remembering an interview where the devs were explaining how they were trying to keep the tone light and Kumazaki said specifically they wanted to evoke peace and beauty rather than loss.

LIKE THIS IS WRITING! This is storytelling, this is intention. It's just subtle, but not at all unimportant, and it ties into the more overarching plot. It raises the question constantly of where the people went that is answered by Forgo, and expresses the dichotomy between the simple innocence of the animals compared to the ambitions of the people who abandoned them and that is now possessing their leader. It creates stakes for Elfilis and Forgo's intentions to destroy everything so beautiful and pure about the current world, but as it absolves the current world of guilt, it puts into perspective JUST HOW LONG Forgo must have been locked away that things changed so much. And as softly as the exploits of the original people are portrayed by the game, knowing their treatment of Eliflis and Forgo as a thing of entertainment and tool for innovation is sickening placed in contrast with it. Like back to Wondaria, the way it shows how much space travel must have pervaded the imagination and escapism of the people either before or after Forgo's arrival is insanely smart. And it gives me chills in the best way seeing Kirby run around images of cartoon aliens from a civilization who would never meet him. Of Kirby, Elfilin, and Bandana sticking their head into a cardboard cutout of an astronaut meeting an alien, with the text "wish you were here" above in a script they don't even understand. A SCRIPT THE WRITERS MADE FOR THIS GAME SO THAT THEY COULD ADD MESSAGES LIKE THAT INTO THE WORLD FOR KEEN PLAYERS TO NOTICE AND MAKE CONNECTIONS. Like it's insane. The dedication the Hal Labs has to stuff like this is maddening! It's so sweet and heartfelt and crafty, I'm so pissed off how little respect it gets because people don't understand visual storytelling!!!!! Saying Forgotten Land is light on story is preposterous, it might just be one of the most finely crafted stories the series has had to date, and is just a really solid piece of science fantasy writing in general honestly. It is packed with environmental storytelling that drives me Up The Fucking Wall, Man.

[munchboxart]

I wanna talk about Kirby Leitmotifs because I'm deranged

Caution that I am writing about this throughout the day so it might be a messy essay of sorts

Specifically the "Kirby's Triumphant Return" leitmotif that they love using. Now full disclosure, I am not a music expert, I don't know terms and stuff so this is coming from a person who just loves Kirby music.

NOW

"Kirby's Triumphant Return" is a common leitmotif that has pretty much popped up in most Kirby games post Super Star Ultra I think? But what I want to talk about is the songs that have it show up in the final bosses songs.

I believe they started using it as a leitmotif with Magolor's theme, in RTDL. The only other bosses that (I think) have used it as a leitmotif is Star Dream (Robobot) and Void (Star Allies). The only other bosses that missed using it (post RTDL) is Yin Yarn, Sectonia, Dark Crafter and Fecto Switch game.

I initially thought that every game post Wii games would've used it as a leitmotif in the final boss theme. No reason at all, I thought it was a cute tie in for a hopeful future where Kirby wins or whatever. But that's not the case surprisingly.

I think typing this out now makes more sense than when I initially thought about it in my head. Magolor, Star Dream, and Void have connections to the "Ancients" in some way. The Lor Starcutter is a vessel created by the ancients, Star Dream having/being recreated from parts of Galactic Nova(? I don't remember if this is canon but it should be), and Void being sealed during the ancient times(? I also don't know if this is true but Hyness's bio on the wiki mentions his "dark god being sealed in ancient times" and I don't have anything else to tie him with my theory).

Another thing that also ties them together is that all of the games these characters come from, also have Galacta Knight appear as a boss in their games (in their side modes). I am counting Morpho Knight as another character because he is a mix with another character and also because Fecto Foresight doesn't have the leitmotif (at least I think, I'm not listening to it again its 6-9 minutes long dude). Also I don't know if he doesn't appear as a side boss in Rainbow Curse since I never got the game and never looked at it so I could be wrong.

I always thought it was weird that GK appeared in RTDL because he has no business being there but this deranged line of thinking could actually tie it in.

Anyways I thought that it was just a cool thing. I really like recognizing this specific leitmotif in the Kirby songs, especially for the bosses, I always thought it was neat.

[desultory-novice]

First off, Anon, thank you! Second, I loved your ideas (which is why I'm going to paste them at the end of this ask) but I also ended up spinning this off in a completey different direction! ^^

I started with summarizing Marx and the Haltmanns because I had the strongest concept for them. Buckle in folks, this is LONG...!!

It's time for a Villain Swap!! (With pictures!)

-

Kirby Super Star: "Glittering Galaxy Gambit"

["Milky Way Wishes" ; Marx the Cosmic Jester > Max Haltmann]

Antagonist: "Max the Magician"

-A traveling stage magician who showed up in Popstar a few months back and has become a popular figure thanks to his friendly, jovial dad-figure vibes and dazzling magic tricks that defy reality! (At least, "reality" as the backwards Dream Landers know it! - In actuality, everything is done with holograms and advanced technology. Max doesn't have a drop of magic in him. Plenty of dad vibes though.)

-One day, Max's biggest, most highly anticipated magic show is interrupted: the sun and the moon have started a fight and can't decide whether it's night or day!! The Dream Landers beg him to fix this and he attempts but even HIS "great magic" can't do anything.

-He's knocked back by the attempt. When Kirby runs to check on him, he tells Kirby the legend of Star Dream, a wish granting comet that was long ago broken into pieces. If one can collect the pieces and put it back together again, it will grant a wish. Surely THAT will be powerful enough to restore Dream Land and Popstar to normal!

-When Kirby succeeds in assembling Star Dream, Max, who had been following him, shoves Kirby out of the way! Oh, how he's been waiting for this moment! Having given up a successful business and disguised himself as a traveling entertainer, going from planet to planet, putting on shows for "backwater bumpkins" looking for someone he could use to help him get what he needs!

-Even "the sun and the moon" was a highly advanced hologram to usher Kirby toward his quest. And now that that's done, Max can make his wish: for Star Dream to bring his daughter back to life...!

[Basically Max + Beta Magolor]

-But...Star Dream starts to malfunction immediately Max's wish! A logic error has caused a fatal exception and the wish cannot be executed!! Instead, Star Dream begins opening a planet-sized rift in an attempt to rip several different dimensions through each other!

-"...What have I done? Why did I try to activate such a horrible machine..." Max mourns his mistake, but it's too late. After all, he's just a tech startup CEO masquerading as a showman. He has no REAL power, magic or otherwise to stop this... but Kirby does. Max summons his behind-the-scenes "stage assistant," the Robobot, and instructs it to help Kirby shut down this berserk machine!

-After Star Dream explodes, Max apologies to Kirby for fooling him and everyone... He's a fraud AND a failure. And always was...

-Kirby lets him know that he's not THAT much of a fraud. Everyone on Popstar enjoyed his shows after all, even if they were never real magic. And...if his wish to bring his daughter Susanna back to life didn't work, maybe that means... she isn't truly dead...? Perhaps she's still out there somewhere in this vast galaxy, looking for him too...?

-Max wipes his tears and resolves to follow Kirby's advice and keep looking for her. To continue on as "Max the Magician" putting on his tech-infused magic shows across the galaxy in hopes that someday, he will find Susanna - or vice versa! He also vows to come to Kirbys' aid at any time in thanks for stopping him before it was too late.

:Cue Kirby's Triumphant Return:

--

"Kirby and the Cosmic Circus"

["Kirby: Planet Robobot" ; Max Haltmann > Marx the Cosmic Jester]

Antagonist: "The Ringmaster"

-One lazy day, a giant circus situated atop what will eventually be revealed to be a golden watch appears in the skies above Popstar and now everyone is acting really, REALLY weird?!

-That's because this is no ordinary space-fairing circus, it's the dreaded "Cosmic Circus" and it's run by a mysterious figure known only as The Ringmaster, supposedly a once upon a time clown who's said to have been traveling the stars for countless years.

-Any place his circus visits is soon after forcefully turned into an extension of The Ringmaster's show by powerful Ancient magic. The people are forced to dance and sing and smile and serve popcorn and juggle and tumble and clown around and otherwise perform nonstop in demeaning shows to an audience of their fellow clowns.

-"Patty" a pink-haired songstress in a ridiculous looking clown nose and tutu, who confirms she is just one of The Ringmaster's many victims across the galaxy, caught and forced to perform in his show many years ago, appears before Kirby to tell him the origins of the Cosmic Circus and The Ringmaster piece by piece through song as Kirby gets closer and closer to The Ringmaster's main tent... 

-It all started with a spell gone bad... The former clown attempted, on his own, to open a Dimensional Rift to locate/rescue his missing friend and co-conspirator, who'd disappeared in the Mirror Dimension. It was foolish to attempt so without an Ancient Artifact, and when the spell backfired, the clown found himself sent several centuries and several dimensions away. Having lost all hope of seeing his fellow magic-user again, all he wanted now was just to go back home, to where life was simple and fun. A very small wish...

-As luck would have it, the clown DID run across an Ancient Artifact, a wish-granting Clockwork Star! But this star was old and weary looking, and the clown had grown paranoid after his previous failure. He refused to make his single wish for fear it would go wrong and he would be left with nothing again. He poured his soul into magic to form a link between himself and the Star, giving up an eye in the process. The clown had succeeded in BECOMING the star, giving him access to as many wishes as he could possibly need!

-But his fears were right all along. The dusty old Nova was not so good at interpreting the clown's wishes to return to his home dimension, and it's said his many, many attempts to get it right was what originally lead to the creation of the cursed Cosmic Circus: every planet his circus passes by now "becomes" what the Nova believes the clown's former home to be. Or perhaps, it was having so much power and using so many wishes that twisted the clown into becoming The Ringmaster of his own volition? "Who can say...?"

-Kirby reaches the center tent in order to put a stop to The Ringmaster and free the people of Popstar from the Nova's curse.

[Su... "Patty" inherited all of Marx's missing cuteness]

-After an initial Wizard of Oz-esque fight with a giant, threatening Ringmaster that is no more than an illusion, Marx the Clown is revealed to be a surprisingly tiny figure. But boy is he ANGRY! He hooks himself up to Galactic Nova's wiring which acts like set of mechanical arms to try and kill you. How dare you stop his show?! How does someone like you have so much power?!

-But Kirby succeeds in besting Marx again and this time... something familiar sparks in Marx's mind. He... he knows someone strong and pink like you... He knows this place... Is he...? Did he... make it home to Popstar? After centuries, his wish was finally granted...

-He turns to Galactic Nova and tells the machine the show is over. He can rest. They can all rest. The show is done and he "...doesn't need .your broken wishes anymore. Put a stop to it a-..."

-">BUT...THE SHOW MUST GO ON" Galactic Nova sends a powerful shock to Marx through the wiring, knocking him unconscious and absorbs Marx into the machine before Kirby's surprised eyes. The Ringmaster can't be allowed to leave or the circus really will be over.

-Galactic Nova, now that it has fused with Marx and "taken control" refuses to release the performers and threatens to expand the circus's reach to the entire galaxy! Looks like it's time for a fight!!

-But the berserk artifact is too big to take on, being nearly Popstar-sized itself!! From within the machine, a barely conscious Marx weakly informs Kirby the best and most efficient way to stop the star: destroy its wish-granting nucleus, that being Marx himself. 

-"...I got my wish. I made it home, even if it was too late to matter... It's time to make yours. You don't want this for Popstar, right...? Neither do I. This planet is MINE. I won't let this machine ruin it!"

-With Marx's death, the broken Galactic Nova powers down for good and the string of broken wishes they left begin the process of fading away into a distant and mostly awkward memory. Popstar and its residents are returned to normal as the Cosmic Circus's performers are released from their roles at last from all across the galaxy.

-While there is no saving Marx, whose life was forfeit when he first linked his soul to that of the broken star so many years ago, now that the circus has closed down, "Patty the Songstress", aka, Susanna Patrya Haltmann is free at last to reunite with her father, Max the Magician! But...why does she still have a clown nose...??

...And what of that wizard friend of Marx's who wandered into the Mirror Dimension? Will Kirby and friends be in time to save him...?

Given this is the permadeath swap... things aren't looking good for Mags...

-

[Anon's Full Ask - I loved these concepts too btw!]

[paintpanic]

Some Kirby-themed Animal Crossing town tunes for you all.

^ “New World” from Kirby and the Forgotten Land ^

^ “Kirby’s Triumphant Return” from Kirby Super Star ^

^ “Magolor, the Wayfarer” from Kirby’s Return to Dream Land ^

^ “Mt. Dedede” from Kirby’s Dream Land ^

^ “My Friend and the Setting Sun” from Kirby Super Star ^

^ “Green Greens” from Kirby’s Dream Land ^

[magolors-triumphant-return]

Hello, Magolor fans!

This blog will be used for announcing and showcasing things for my upcoming Kirby fangame, "Magolor's Triumphant Return"!

The game will show Magolor's currently off-screen Return to Dream Land (wink) after the events of Super Kirby Clash!

It will be a visual novel with a cast of characters based on existing Kirby enemies. Please keep an eye on this account if that sounds interesting to you!

Here's a look at the plan for Magolor's design in the game! It is intended to be an "in-between" of his normal design and his Shopkeeper design. (Apologies for the low resolution!)

(The outlines are subject to maybe being removed, but I haven't decided yet.)

[magolors-triumphant-return]

Hi, everyone! Time for an important poll!

Which look do you prefer for the characters in the game? Please reblog (preferably with relevant tags) so I can get a wider range of opinions!

OPTION 1: OUTLINES

OPTION 2: NO OUTLINES

Note: If I get under 35 total votes I will ignore the results for now and do this at a later date.

EDIT: Whoops! Accidentally left an outline on the outliness one. I have now corrected this.

[magolors-triumphant-return]

ANNOUNCEMENT

Here comes the big announcement I've been teasing for... months!

In Magolor's Triumphant Return, Magolor will need to travel through various Parallel Dimensions, each with their own sets of the Kirby cast! I'm ready to announce that one of these parallels will be based on the Kirby's Dreamy Gear line of merchandise and, more importantly, the novel adaptation of it!

Note: While this portrait of Dreamy Gear Kirby is complete enough for me to feel ready to share it and make this announcement, it is not finished and still needs more work. Thank you!

[magolors-triumphant-return]

Happy 1st Anniversary to Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe!

Without it, this fangame would NOT be in the works at all!

[magolors-triumphant-return]

Magolor's Triumphant Return GameJolt page!

Magolor's Triumphant Return now has a GameJolt page! Updates may be posted here, and it's where the final game (and demos!) will be released!

[magolors-triumphant-return]

Development has begun!

[magolors-triumphant-return]

I know the Magolor design I put together for this doesn't really make much sense to exist, given that he's gone back to his normal outfit by the time he's left the Clash Dimension, but I want him to have a unique costume for this so I made an exception

[magolors-triumphant-return]

Magolor's Triumphant Return

All 3 announced characters so far, all in one image! Potential piece of Key Art for the game that will be updated if I improve the art for the characters further, or when I announce more prominent characters that could fit in.

For now, it will be the header image for this blog.