Dry Dry Ruins (theme)
- Not to be confused with Dry Dry Desert (theme).
| "Dry Dry Ruins" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| "Dry Dry Ruins" in Mario Kart Wii | |||
| Composed by: Unknown (either Asuka Hayazaki or Ryo Nagamatsu) | |||
| Genre | Indo jazz | ||
| Key | F major | ||
| First appearance | Mario Kart Wii (2008) | ||
| Latest appearance | Mario Kart World (2025) | ||
| |||
"Dry Dry Ruins"[1] is a musical theme in Mario Kart Wii, where it plays in the race course of the same name. The ruins melody is in C major, and that songs time signature begins with alternating between bars of 6/4 to 10/4 with 8/4 in between them as the song goes on. Ending before the loop is a bar of 4/4 with whole notes.
Composition[edit]
"Dry Dry Ruins" is a fast-paced composition that prominently features a sitar alongside synthesized instrumentation. Its melody is based on the first four beats of "Desert Hills" from Mario Kart DS.
History[edit]
Mario Kart Wii[edit]
Mario Kart Wii marks the first appearance of "Dry Dry Ruins". A pastiche of the theme that replaces most of the instrumentation with a unique synthesized melody plays during the ruins section. In the official Mario Kart Wii Platinum Soundtrack album, both the original version and the ruins pastiche are played in sequence on the same track.
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Mario Kart Tour[edit]
In Mario Kart Tour, both the original version of "Dry Dry Ruins" and the ruins pastiche from Mario Kart Wii return for the same purposes in Wii Dry Dry Ruins, which was first added in the 2023 Ninja Tour.
Mario Kart World[edit]
In Mario Kart World, a slower-paced, funk rock arrangement of "Dry Dry Ruins" in the key of E major can play in Free Roam during the day. A section of the arrangement incorporates the ruins pastiche of the melody. It is fully titled "Dry Dry Ruins (Mario Kart Wii)" in the Nintendo Music app.
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Gallery[edit]
- Image for "Dry Dry Ruins (Mario Kart Wii)" from Mario Kart World on Nintendo Music
List of Super Mario appearances[edit]
Games[edit]
| Work | System | Year | Type | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kart Wii | Wii | 2008 | Original | 「カラカラいせき」 (Kara Kara Iseki)[2] | |
| Pastiche | |||||
| Mario Kart Tour | iOS, Android | 2023[a] | Original | ||
| Past pastiche (Mario Kart Wii) | |||||
| Mario Kart World | Nintendo Switch 2 | 2025 | Arrangement | "Dry Dry Ruins (Mario Kart Wii)"[1] |
- ^ Added in the 2023 Ninja Tour on March 21, 2023
Albums[edit]
| Work | Year | Type | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kart Wii Platinum Soundtrack | 2011 | Original | 「カラカラいせき」 (Kara Kara Iseki) | |
| Past pastiche (Mario Kart Wii) | ||||
| Mario Kart World (Nintendo Music) | 2026[a] | Past arrangement (Mario Kart World) | "Dry Dry Ruins (Mario Kart Wii)" |
- ^ Added to the album on June 29, 2026
Naming[edit]
Internal names[edit]
| Game | File | Name | Meaning
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kart Wii | sound/strm/STRM_N_DESERT_N.brstm | N Desert | New Desert |
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | カラカラいせき Kara Kara Iseki | Dry Dry Ruins | [2] |
Notes[edit]
- A synthesized melody that can be heard in "Dry Dry Ruins" is used as the basis for "Swordplay: Vs. Screen" in Wii Sports Resort. The game was composed by Ryo Nagamatsu, who also worked as a composer on Mario Kart Wii.