Airship Fortress (theme)
| "Airship Fortress" | |
|---|---|
| "Airship Fortress" in Mario Kart DS | |
| |
| Composed by: Shinobu Nagata | |
| Time signature | Common time |
| First appearance | Mario Kart DS (2005) |
| Latest appearance | Mario Kart World (2025) |
"Airship Fortress"[1] is a musical theme composed by Shinobu Nagata for Mario Kart DS, where it plays in the race course of the same name. It features lead choir and harmonica instrumentation accompanied by drums, bass, and trumpets. The theme also utilizes call-and-response between the choir and an electric piano.
History[edit]
Mario Kart DS[edit]
Mario Kart DS marks the first appearance of "Airship Fortress".
Mario Kart 7[edit]
In Mario Kart 7, an arrangement of "Airship Fortress" plays in DS Airship Fortress. It is likewise titled "DS Airship Fortress" in the Nintendo Music app. This arrangement uses higher quality samples, but it is otherwise near identical to the original. A looping drum set beat is added to the instrumentation whenever the player is driving at top speed while in first place.
 DS Airship Fortress - The arrangement heard in Mario Kart 7 | File info 0:30 |
| DS Airship Fortress (Frontrunning) - The remix heard in Mario Kart 7 | File info 0:30 |
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
In Mario Kart Tour, the Mario Kart 7 version of "Airship Fortress" plays in DS Airship Fortress, which was first added in the Pirate Tour.
Mario Kart World[edit]
|
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In Mario Kart World, an arrangement of "Airship Fortress" plays when racing in the course of the same name. The choir has been entirely replaced with the harmonica, and the call-and-response with the electric piano has been removed.
When approaching Airship Fortress from a route or during a rally before reaching the course's finish line, a simple prelude arrangement of "Airship Fortress" plays. An additional arrangement of the prelude theme without the lead instruments plays when starting the race in the Cloud Rally. In Knockout Tour, approaching the next course causes the theme to transition into a coda. This is one of four course themes to use four codas, the other three being "Mario Bros. Circuit", "Peach Stadium" and "Boo Cinema".
A brief arrangement of "Airship Fortress" is incorporated in the theme that plays during the intro cutscene for the Flower Cup.
| Airship Fortress - The prelude arrangement for routes and rallies heard in Mario Kart World | File info 0:30 |
| Airship Fortress - The prelude arrangement for the Cloud Rally heard in Mario Kart World | File info 0:30 |
| Airship Fortress - The race course arrangement heard in Mario Kart World | File info 0:30 |
| Airship Fortress - The last coda of "Airship Fortress" | File info 0:06 |
Gallery[edit]
Image for "DS Airship Fortress" from Mario Kart 7 on Nintendo Music
List of Super Mario appearances[edit]
Games[edit]
| Work | System | Year | Type | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kart DS | Nintendo DS | 2005 | Original | Shinobu Nagata | |
| Mario Kart 7 | Nintendo 3DS | 2011 | Arrangement | "DS Airship Fortress"[2] | |
| Remix | |||||
| Mario Kart Tour | iOS, Android | 2020[a] | Past arrangement (Mario Kart 7) | ||
| Mario Kart World | Nintendo Switch 2 | 2025 | Arrangement | "Airship Fortress"[1] | |
- ^ Added in the Pirate Tour on August 11, 2020
Other media[edit]
| Work | Year | Type | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nintendo Music | 2025[a] | Past arrangement (Mario Kart 7) | "DS Airship Fortress" |
- ^ Added on April 30, 2025
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | キラーシップ Kirā Shippu |
Bullet Bill Ship | [1] |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Mario Kart World pause menu
- ^ Nintendo Music
