Castle BGM (Super Mario World)

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"Castle BGM"
"Castle BGM" in Super Mario World
The image for "Castle BGM" from Super Mario World on Nintendo Music.
Image from Nintendo Music
Composed by:
Koji Kondo
Key F Dorian (first half); C minor (repeating bars)
BPM 104
Time signature(s) 4
4
First appearance Super Mario World (1990)
Latest appearance Mario Kart World (2025)

"Castle BGM"[1] is a musical theme composed by Koji Kondo for the castle levels in Super Mario World. It is a slower-paced, more foreboding arrangement of "Ground BGM" from the same game.

Composition[edit]

"Castle BGM" is a slow arrangement of "Ground BGM" that flattens most instances of the mediant and leading tone to put the melody in the Dorian mode. The theme is transposed to C minor for the repeating bars.

Reuses[edit]

The following list does not include ports or remakes of Super Mario World.

Game Description
Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS / Super Mario Maker 2 "Castle BGM" plays during castle-themed levels in the Super Mario World style.
WarioWare: Get It Together! "Castle BGM" plays in level 3 of the Super Mario World boss microgame.

Arrangements[edit]

Super Mario series[edit]

Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2[edit]

An arrangement of "Castle BGM" can be heard in Game Boy Advance remake of Super Mario World, Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2. This version is much more compressed than the original version and uses different, lower-quality synthetic instruments.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]

Main article: Castle Theme (New Super Mario Bros. Wii)

"Castle BGM"'s Dorian motif is quoted in New Super Mario Bros. Wii's "Castle Theme".

Icon of an audio speaker. Castle Theme - The arrangement heard in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. (The motif can be heard at ~26 seconds.)
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Super Mario Maker[edit]

Super Mario Maker introduces Super Mario World style Airship levels, which were not present in the original game, along with a new theme for these levels. Like many other themes in Super Mario World, this arrangement integrates a variation of the main motif of this game's "Ground Theme", this time in a minor scale like "Castle BGM". This arrangement is played on brass and string instruments.

When editing a Super Mario World-style Castle course in the Course Maker, a more ambient, orchestra/synthesizer-mixed arrangement of "Castle BGM" plays, using seven tracks that fade in and out randomly to create a dynamic mix. In addition, the "editing" variant of the "Castle Theme" from New Super Mario Bros. Wii in the New Super Mario Bros. U style feature the "Castle BGM" motif as a countermelody played on synthesized piano, in the part where the motif was originally.

"Castle BGM" also receives new bongo percussion in the Super Mario World style when Mario rides a Yoshi, as this was impossible in castle level in the original game.

All of these new arrangements return in their original capacities in Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS and Super Mario Maker 2.

Icon of an audio speaker. Castle Theme (Editing) - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Maker
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Icon of an audio speaker. Airship Theme - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Maker
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Icon of an audio speaker. Airship Theme (Editing) - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Maker
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Icon of an audio speaker. Castle Theme (Editing) (New Super Mario Bros. U style) - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Maker
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Help:Media fileHaving trouble playing?

Super Mario Maker 2[edit]

In Super Mario Maker 2, a music box arrangement of "Castle BGM" from Super Mario World and "Castle Theme" from New Super Mario Bros. Wii play during the nighttime version of castle-themed levels in the Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U style, respectively.

Like in Super Mario Maker, these tracks are paired with bongo percussion when Mario is riding a Yoshi.

Super Mario World television series[edit]

An arrangement of the second half of "Castle BGM" can be heard throughout various episodes in the Super Mario World animated series, generally in scenes relating to the Koopalings. It appears to be composed using only the original game's right speaker, evident by the fact that the arrangement's intro lacks a few notes from the original theme's intro.

Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World[edit]

An arrangement of "Castle BGM" is one of the themes that can play while playing the pinball arcade game Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World.

Mario Discovery Series[edit]

Mario is Missing![edit]

The PC, SNES, and NES versions of Mario is Missing! all feature arrangements of "Castle BGM". The MS-DOS and SNES versions each feature two arrangements that play in Bowser's Castle, and an additional arrangement that plays during boss battles. The NES version only has one arrangement of "Castle BGM" which plays in Bowser's Castle. The MS-DOS and SNES arrangements are quite similar to each other, while the NES arrangement is noticeably different, using an 8-bit soundfont rather than a 16-bit one.

Icon of an audio speaker. Bowser's Castle 1 - The arrangement heard in the SNES version of Mario is Missing!
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Icon of an audio speaker. Bowser's Castle 2 - The arrangement heard in the SNES version of Mario is Missing!
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Icon of an audio speaker. Catch the Koopa Kids! - The arrangement heard in the SNES version of Mario is Missing!
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Icon of an audio speaker. Bowser's Castle - The arrangement heard in the NES version of Mario is Missing!
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Help:Media fileHaving trouble playing?

Mario's Time Machine[edit]

The SNES version of Mario's Time Machine features two arrangements of "Castle BGM". The first arrangement plays on the game's title screen and is a mashup arrangement of "Castle BGM" and the theme heard in Vanilla Dome in Super Mario World. The second arrangement plays in Bowser's Castle.

The PC version of Mario's Time Machine features an arrangement of "Castle BGM" as one of two songs that can play in Bowser's Museum, the other being an arrangement of the Ghost House theme, "Obake Yashiki BGM". An additional arrangement of "Castle BGM" can be heard at the end of the opening cutscene in the PC version.

Icon of an audio speaker. Title - The arrangement heard in the SNES version of Mario's Time Machine
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Icon of an audio speaker. Bowser's Castle 1 - The arrangement heard in the SNES version of Mario's Time Machine
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Icon of an audio speaker. Opening 5 - The arrangement heard in the PC version of Mario's Time Machine
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Icon of an audio speaker. Bowser's Museum 1 - The arrangement heard in the PC version of Mario's Time Machine
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Help:Media fileHaving trouble playing?

Paper Mario series[edit]

Paper Mario[edit]

In Paper Mario, the Dorian motif of "Castle BGM" is quoted on sine synthesizer in the theme heard in Toad Town Tunnels, which is included in the track "Toad Town Variations" in the game's official soundtrack.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[edit]

The music for the Palace of Shadow briefly samples the Castle theme while also incorporating "Underground BGM" from Super Mario Bros.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, an arrangement of "Castle BGM" is featured at the beginning and end of the medley "Castle / Boss Fortress (Super Mario World / SMB 3)", with "Fortress Boss" played in the middle. It was arranged by Yusuke Takahama. The song can be played on the Luigi's Mansion stage, as well as when encountering False Peach and/or Zelda in the Subspace Emissary. It was originally able to be played on the Delfino Plaza stage,[2] but it cannot in the final game.

The arrangement returns in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, where it can be played on Luigi's Mansion stage as well as the Super Mario Maker stage, and in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where it can be on any Super Smash Bros.-series and Super Mario-series stage.

Icon of an audio speaker. Castle / Boss Fortress (Super Mario World / SMB 3) - The arrangement heard in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
File info
Help:Media fileHaving trouble playing?

The Super Mario Bros. Movie[edit]

In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a brief arrangement of the beginning of "Castle BGM" is featured in the song "World 1-1", and a full arrangement is featured in the credits song "Level Complete".

Mario Kart World[edit]

In Mario Kart World, an arrangement of the "Castle BGM" can play during routes in VS Race.

Other arrangements[edit]

Super Mario World[edit]

The official soundtrack for Super Mario World includes an arrangement of "Castle BGM" in the medley "Mario! Stay Alert!", composed by Soichi Noriki and performed by the Mario World Band, along with the underground and Ghost House themes.

Nintendo Live 2023[edit]

Nintendo Live 2023 in Seattle, Washington, USA featured a live performance by the Super Mario Super Big Band of themes from various Super Mario games, including an arrangement of the "Castle BGM" portion of "Level Complete" from The Super Mario Bros. Movie.[3]

List of Super Mario appearances[edit]

Games[edit]

Work System Year Type Title Credits
Super Mario World Super Nintendo Entertainment System 1991 Original "Castle BGM"[1] Koji Kondo
Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World Pinball 1992 Arrangement
Mario is Missing! MS-DOS 1992 Arrangement Rob Wallace
Mario is Missing! Super Nintendo Entertainment System 1993 Arrangement
Mario is Missing! Nintendo Entertainment System 1993 Arrangement
Mario's Time Machine MS-DOS 1993 Arrangement Rob Wallace
Mario's Time Machine Super Nintendo Entertainment System 1993 Arrangement Mark Knight
Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World Super Nintendo Entertainment System 1994 Original "Castle BGM"[1] Koji Kondo
Paper Mario Nintendo 64 2000 Arrangement "Toad Town Variations"[4] Yuka Tsujiyoko
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 Game Boy Advance 2001 Arrangement
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Wii 2008 Arrangement "Castle / Boss Fortress (Super Mario World / SMB 3)" Yusuke Takahama
New Super Mario Bros. Wii Wii 2009 Arrangement "Castle Theme"[5] Shiho Fujii[6]
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Wii U 2014 Past arrangement (Super Smash Bros. Brawl) "Castle / Boss Fortress (Super Mario World / SMB 3)" Yusuke Takahama
Super Mario Maker Wii U 2015 Original Koji Kondo
Arrangement
Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS Nintendo 3DS 2016 Original Koji Kondo
Past arrangement (Super Mario Maker)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Nintendo Switch 2018 Past arrangement (Super Smash Bros. Brawl) "Castle / Boss Fortress (Super Mario World / SMB 3)" Yusuke Takahama
Super Mario Maker 2 Nintendo Switch 2019 Original Koji Kondo
Arrangement
Past arrangement (Super Mario Maker)
WarioWare: Get It Together! Nintendo Switch 2021 Original Koji Kondo
Mario Kart World Nintendo Switch 2 2025 Arrangement

Film and television[edit]

Work Year Type Title Credits
Super Mario World 1991 Arrangement Michael Tavera
The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2023 Arrangement "World 1-1" Brian Tyler
"Level Complete"

Albums[edit]

Work Year Type Title Credits
Super Mario World 1991 Original 「砦BGM」 (Toride BGM) Koji Kondo
Arrangement "Mario! Stay Alert!" Soichi Noriki
Nintendo Super Famicom Game Music 1992 Original 「お城BGM」 (O-Jō BGM) Koji Kondo
Paper Mario Game Music Soundtrack CD 2001 Arrangement "Toad Town Variations" Yuka Tsujiyoko
Happy! Mario 20th - Super Mario Sound Collection 2005 Original 「お城BGM」 (O-Jō BGM) Koji Kondo
The 30th Anniversary Super Mario Bros. Music 2015 Original 「お城BGM」 (O-Jō BGM) Koji Kondo
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 2023 Arrangement "World 1-1" Brian Tyler
"Level Complete"

Live performances[edit]

Event Year Location Type Title Credits
Nintendo Live 2023 2023 Seattle Convention Center, Seattle, Washington, USA Arrangement Super Mario Super Big Band

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese お城BGM[1]
Oshiro BGM
Castle BGM

References[edit]