PipeProject:Music/Drafts/Mario Kart World soundtrack
- (Based on this proposal draft by EvieMaybe (talk).)
Mario Kart World's soundtrack was composed by Atsuko Asahi, Maasa Miyoshi, Takuhiro Honda and Yutaro Takakuwa.
Things to mention:
- Any music-related credits
- The soundtrack uses a lot of heavy jazz fusion and big band elements, following in the direction Mario Kart 8 went in with its music, but is also a lot more varied in general style. This is most apparent in the route and Free Roam arrangements.
- Members of Dezolve and T-Square also contributed to the soundtrack.
- Anything relevant in the Ask the Developer interviews.
- The ♭7̂ - 1̂- ♭7̂ - 1̂ motif from "Title Theme", the "Super Mario Kart Title Screen" motif, and the 2̂-1̂-5̂-5̂ motif from "Staff Credits" from Mario Kart 64. Also the harmonica.
List of tracks[edit]
Main music[edit]
Things to mention:
- Intros, codas, and how they transition to and from the main tracks in each mode.
- Things that have changed from past Mario Kart entries (See Mario Kart World § Music_2).
"Title Theme"[edit]
| "Title Theme" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| Genre | Blues | ||
| Key | F-sharp blues | ||
| Time signatures | 4 4, 12 8 | ||
| |||
"Title Theme",[1] also known as "Main Theme",[2] is a blues-style composition with a call and response structure and a prominent ♭7̂ - 1̂- ♭7̂ - 1̂ motif, the latter of which is used as a recurring motif throughout the game. The main melody alternates between being played on strings, an electric guitar, harmonica, and combinations thereof. This theme also briefly arranges "Mario Kart 64 Title Screen" in its bridge section, based off of the arrangement in "Mario Kart 7 Title Screen", followed by "Super Mario Kart Title Screen". The track is cut short and transitions into a coda if the player enters Free Roam while the track plays. Similarly to "Mario Kart 8 Title Screen", the theme's intro is replaced by a brief drum break when returning to the title screen from the trophy screen.
An extended, looping version of this theme was heard in the Mario Kart World: Invitational 2025 live stream. It is titled "Title Theme (Loop)" in the Nintendo Music app.
A simple, harmonica arrangement of "Title Theme" is played upon starting the game for the first time. In the Nintendo Music app, it is then following by a version of "Title Theme" featuring a brief harmonica solo in the last section and the outro, which was used in the game's first trailer. The entire track is titled "Title Theme (Extended)".
"Mario Bros. Circuit (Intro)"[edit]
| "Mario Bros. Circuit (Intro)" | |
|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |
| Composed by: Unknown | |
| BPM | 154 |
| Time signature | 4 4 |
"Mario Bros. Circuit (Intro)",[1] also known as simply "Mario Bros. Circuit",[2] plays when approaching the course from a route before reaching its finish line. It is a simple, transitional pastiche of "Mario Bros. Circuit", and features brief harmonica and piano licks.
"Mario Bros. Circuit"[edit]
| "Mario Bros. Circuit" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Outro 4 | |||
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| Genre | Boogie rock | ||
| Key | C Mixolydian | ||
| BPM | 154 | ||
| Time signature | 4 4 | ||
| |||
"Mario Bros. Circuit"[1][2] plays in its eponymous course during races and Highlight Reels. This theme prominently features an electric guitar and harmonica for the main melody, and strings for the harmony. It also incorporates quotes of "Title Theme"'s ♭7̂ - 1̂- ♭7̂ - 1̂ motif in its chorus section, but adapted to fit the chord progression. This theme features four possible codas in Knockout Tour.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | マリオブラザーズサーキット Mario Burazāzu Sākitto |
Mario Bros. Circuit | [2] | |
| Spanish | Circuito Mario Bros. | Mario Bros. Circuit | [2] |
"Crown City (Intro)"[edit]
| "Crown City (Intro)" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| Genre | Jazz fusion | ||
| Key | E flat major | ||
| BPM | 128 | ||
| Time signature | 4 4 swing | ||
| |||
"Crown City (Intro)",[1] also known as simply "Crown City",[2] plays when approaching the course from a route before reaching its finish line. It is a simple, transitional pastiche of "Crown City", and features a repeated brass section melody followed by an improvised talk box melody.
"Crown City"[edit]
| "Crown City" | |
|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |
| Composed by: Unknown | |
| Genre | Jazz fusion |
| Key | E flat major |
| BPM | 128 |
| Time signature | 4 4 swing |
"Crown City"[1][2] plays in its eponymous course during races and Highlight Reels. This theme's melody prominently features a talk box, with call and response and brass sections. It also features saxophones and an electric piano. This theme features one possible coda in Knockout Tour.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish | Ciudad Corona | Crown City | [2] |
"Whistlestop Summit (Intro)"[edit]
| "Whistlestop Summit (Intro)" | |
|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |
| Composed by: Unknown | |
| BPM | 140 |
"Whistlestop Summit (Intro)",[1] also known as simply "Whistlestop Summit",[2] plays when approaching the course from a route before reaching its finish line. It is a simple, transitional pastiche of "Whistlestop Summit", and features a banjo and fiddle melody with backing accordion chords.
"Whistlestop Summit"[edit]
| "Whistlestop Summit" | |
|---|---|
| Outro 2 | |
 Image from Nintendo Music | |
| Composed by: Unknown | |
| Genre | Country |
| Key | D mixolydian, E flat mixolydian |
| BPM | 140 |
| Time signature | 2 4 |
"Whistlestop Summit"[1][2] plays in its eponymous course during races and Highlight Reels. This theme prominently features a whistle, which plays at the intro accompanied by a fiddle, in the A section alongside an accordion, in the B section accompaning vocals and in call and response with a fiddle melody, and in the C section, which is a repeat of the intro melody but transposed one semitone higher. It also features acoustic guitars and a banjo.
This theme features two possible codas in Knockout Tour, one in D mixolydian, which plays on the first half of the theme, and one in E flat mixolydian, which plays on the second half.
"Rainbow Road (Finale)"[edit]
| "Rainbow Road" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| |||
| |||
"Spectating"[edit]
| "Spectating" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| Time signature | 4 4 | ||
| |||
"Course Select"[edit]
| "Course Select" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| Time signature | 2 2 (with swung eighths) | ||
| |||
"Opening (Mushroom Cup)"[edit]
| "Opening (Mushroom Cup)" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Musicp | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| |||
| |||
"Opening (Flower Cup)"[edit]
| "Opening (Flower Cup)" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| |||
"Opening (Star Cup)"[edit]
| "Opening (Star Cup)" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| |||
"Opening (Shell Cup)"[edit]
| "Opening (Shell Cup)" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| "Opening (Shell Cup)" in "Mario Kart World" | |||
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| |||
"Opening (Banana Cup)"[edit]
| "Opening (Banana Cup)" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| |||
"Opening (Leaf Cup)"[edit]
| "Opening (Leaf Cup)" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| |||
"Opening (Lightning Cup)"[edit]
| "Opening (Lightning Cup)" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| |||
"Opening (Special Cup)"[edit]
| "Opening (Special Cup)" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| |||
"Opening (Knockout Tour)"[edit]
| "Opening (Knockout Tour)" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| |||
Results Screen D[edit]
| "Results Screen D" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| |||
Harmonica
"Choco Island (Mission)"[edit]
- Main section: Super Mario Kart soundtrack § "Choco Island"
| "Choco Island (Mission)" | |
|---|---|
 Image from Nintendo Music | |
| Composed by: Soyo Oka |
"Choco Island (Mission)",[1] also known as simply "Choco Island",[2] plays during Choco Island 1's and Choco Island 2's tribute missions. It is a direct reuse of "Choco Island" from Super Mario Kart.
Arrangements[edit]
Things to mention:
- General overview of the arrangements, definitely should go more in-depth than in Mario Kart World § Music.
- Total of 227 arrangements.
- How Grand Prix, VS Race, and Free Roam handle how they play their arrangements.
- "The Lick".
- Some arrangements share licks between each other.
- A lot of older or otherwise simple themes have been reimagined, reharmonized and/or expanded on.
- Some arrangements are based on previous ones, such as "Underground BGM (Jazz Fusion Ver.)" and "Title Theme (Big Band Ver.)".
- Maybe also common types of themes that were not arranged; unfortunately, I don't think this kind of thing deserves an entire section.
"Ground BGM (Latin Ver.)"[edit]
| "Ground BGM (Latin Ver.)" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| Genre | Calypso | ||
| Key | C major | ||
| BPM | Sample Text | ||
| Time signature | Sample Text | ||
| |||
Arrangement of "Ground BGM" from Super Mario Bros. Can play in Free Roam during the day. Features calypso instrumentation.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish | Ground BGM (versión latina) | Ground BGM (Latin version) | [2] |
"Ground BGM (Acoustic Ver.)"[edit]
| "Ground BGM (Acoustic Ver.)" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrangement | |||
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| Genre | Samba | ||
| Key | C major | ||
| BPM | Sample Text | ||
| Time signature | Sample Text | ||
| |||
Arrangement of "Ground BGM" from Super Mario Bros. Can play in Free Roam during nighttime. Features samba instrumentation.
"Athletic BGM" (Super Mario Bros. 3)[edit]
| "Athletic BGM" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| Genre | Two-tone | ||
| Key | Sample Text | ||
| BPM | Sample Text | ||
| Time signature | Sample Text | ||
| |||
"Athletic BGM"[2] is a two-tone arrangement of the theme of the same name from Super Mario Bros. 3. It can play during the route from Mario Bros. Circuit to Crown City in Grand Prix, any VS Race route, and in Free Roam during the day. This arrangement is transposed to a lower key than the original, and also incorporates several arrangements of "Course Clear" from the same game.
"Fortress Boss BGM"[edit]
| "Fortress Boss BGM" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Composed by: Unknown | |||
| Genre | Progressive metal | ||
| Key | E minor | ||
| BPM | Sample Text | ||
| Time signature | Sample Text | ||
| |||
"Fortress Boss BGM"[2] is a progressive metal arrangement of "Fortress Boss" from Super Mario Bros. 3. It can play during VS Race routes coming from Airship Fortress, Wario Shipyard, Dry Bones Burnout and Bowser's Castle during any time of the day or any other track during nighttime.
List of arrangement orders in Free Roam?[edit]
| Track | Plays after | Plays before |
|---|
