Invincibility BGM
| "Invincibility BGM" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| "Invincibility BGM" in Super Mario Bros. | |||
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Koji Kondo | |||
| Genre | Disco | ||
| Key | C major | ||
| BPM | 150 | ||
| Time signature | 4 4 | ||
| First appearance | Super Mario Bros. (1985) | ||
| Latest appearance | Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park (2026) | ||
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"Invincibility BGM",[1] also known as "Super Star",[1] "Starman",[2] "Invincible Theme",[3] or "Invincible Background Music",[4] is a recurring musical theme usually played when a character is invincible. As such, it is tightly associated with the eponymous Super Star power-up. Composed by Koji Kondo for Super Mario Bros., it has since been arranged in numerous games. It is styled in disco.
Composition[edit]
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In Super Mario Bros., the theme plays while Mario or Luigi is under the effects of the Starman (or in a Coin Heaven in the original version). As Super Mario Bros. is for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Family Computer, the theme is orchestrated as chiptune. Like in "Ground BGM" from this game, the noise channel plays a swing rhythm, in contrast to later arrangements that would use straight eighths.
The theme follows a cyclical chord progression between the D minor seventh chord and C major seventh chord. The main melody uses the seventh and root of these chords, whereas the bassline uses the root and fifth.
History[edit]
This section needs Super Mario franchise improvement. Specifically:
- Info on Mario Roulette
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Super Mario series[edit]
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Super Mario Bros.[edit]
Super Mario Bros. marks the first appearance of "Invincibility BGM". It is also included in the Super Mario World album.
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels[edit]
In Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, the original version of "Invincibility BGM" plays for the same purposes as the original game.
Super Mario Bros. Special[edit]
Super Mario Bros. Special uses a mostly faithful version of the "Invincibility BGM"; notably, the bassline descends to the fifth of the chord instead of ascending, and includes the major third. In addition, the Sharp X1 version is slightly faster.
Super Mario Bros. 2[edit]
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Super Mario Bros. 2 uses an arrangement with PCM percussion samples, which, unlike the original theme, is not swung, and replicates bongos or a conga. This arrangement also returns in version 3.0.0 of Super Mario Maker 2, playing when a player grabs a Super Star in their SMB2 form, which is exclusive to the Super Mario Bros. style. Like all other level themes, its tempo now increases when the time limit reaches 100 seconds.
 Invincibility BGM - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Bros. 2 | File info 0:13 |
Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]
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The arrangement in Super Mario Bros. 3 uses both the noise and PCM channels to represent a hi-hat and either a wood block or conga, respectively. It is reused in Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, and Super Mario Maker 2 in the Super Mario Bros. 3 game style.
| Invincibility BGM - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Bros. 3 | File info 0:30 |
Super Mario World[edit]
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Super Mario World plays the theme on a brass synthesizer and fretless bass. Due to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System's increased number of audio channels, the melody is now voiced in block chords. This arrangement is reused in Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, and Super Mario Maker 2 in the Super Mario World game style.
The theme is also the basis for the theme that plays on the map screen of Star World. It features a variation on the melody played over the same chord progression. It is titled "Star World (Map Screen)" in the Nintendo Music app.
| Invincibility BGM - The arrangement heard in Super Mario World | File info 0:16 |
| Star World (Map Screen) - The arrangement heard in Super Mario World | File info 0:10 |
Super Mario All-Stars[edit]
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In Super Mario All-Stars, a single arrangement is used across all remakes. The percussion is comprised of bongos and clapping sounds.
| Starman - The arrangement heard in Super Mario All-Stars | File info 0:12 |
Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS[edit]
In Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS, a breakbeat hardcore arrangement of "Invincibility BGM" plays when the player is in the Metal Mario form. It is titled "Metal Mario" in the Nintendo Music app and "Metallic Mario" in the game's official soundtrack. This arrangement repurposes the bassline into an orchestra hit countermelody.
| Metal Mario - The arrangement heard in Super Mario 64 | File info 0:30 |
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe[edit]
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In Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, the theme bears much similarity to its original version. However, a new arrangement is used in the credits screen, introducing an original melody and chord progression that the original theme is reharmonized to fit.
| Invincibility BGM - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe | File info 0:30 |
| Ending - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe | File info 0:30 |
Super Mario Advance[edit]
In Super Mario Advance, the theme strongly resembles the version heard in Super Mario All-Stars. This arrangement plays in a slightly high pitch, aside from the percussion.
There is also an additional version of the theme that plays in the Mario Bros. multiplayer battle mode and features the same drums as the theme from the original Super Mario Bros. 2.
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2[edit]
Compared to the version heard in the original Super Mario World, Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2's arrangement is played on a higher octave.
| Starman - The arrangement heard in Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 | File info 0:30 |
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]
Like Super Mario Advance's arrangement, the arrangement heard in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 resembles that of Super Mario All-Stars, except played on a higher octave.
| Star - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Advance: Super Mario Bros. 3 | File info 0:11 |
Super Mario Galaxy[edit]
In Super Mario Galaxy and its Nintendo Switch port, Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Super Mario Galaxy, an arrangement of "Invincibility BGM" plays when in the Fire Mario form, titled "Fire Mario" in the official Super Mario Galaxy Original Soundtrack album and the Nintendo Music app. This arrangement also quotes "Overture" from the same game at the beginning.
| Fire Mario - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Galaxy | File info 0:29 |
New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]
New Super Mario Bros. Wii introduces an arrangement by Shiho Fujii[3] that includes descending F major seventh and E minor seventh arpeggios.
| Super Star - The arrangement heard in New Super Mario Bros. Wii | File info 0:21 |
Super Mario 3D Land[edit]
Super Mario 3D Land's arrangement is played on synthesizers with strings audible in the background and speeds up when the invincibility is about to wear off. In a demo build of the game showcased during E3 2011, the melody more resembled the Super Mario Galaxy version, had a different echo effect, squelchy percussion was used in the introduction, and the speed-up occurred later.[5][6]
| Super Star - The arrangement heard in Super Mario 3D Land | File info 0:09 |
| Super Star (Demo) - The E3 2011 demo version of the theme. | File info 0:30 |
Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury[edit]
Super Mario 3D World and its Nintendo Switch port, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, use an arrangement closely based on Super Mario 3D Land's version, titled "Super Star Sharing" in the game's offical soundtrack and Nintendo Music app. This arrangement returns in Super Mario Maker 2 for levels in the Super Mario 3D World style.
| Super Star Sharing - The arrangement heard in Super Mario 3D World | File info 0:28 |
Super Mario Maker series[edit]
In Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, and Super Mario Maker 2, the original version of "Invincibility BGM" plays when the player collects a Super Star in the Super Mario Bros. style.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder / Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park[edit]
Two arrangements appear in Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park when a character is invincible:
A Latin-style arrangement (with the percussion consisting of djembe and shakers), titled "Super Star" in the Nintendo Music app, plays when the player collects a Super Star in a level
A digital, synthesized arrangement (in the same pitch as the Mario Kart DS arrangement) plays during the Wonder Effect in Scram, Skedaddlers! and The Sugarstar Trial: Across the Night Sky, titled "Shooty-Star Wonder" in the Nintendo Music app.
| Super Star - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Bros. Wonder | File info 0:22 |
| Shooty-Star Wonder - The arrangement heard in Super Mario Bros. Wonder | File info 0:31 |
Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen![edit]
This section needs film improvement. Specifically:
- Discuss where it plays in the film
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Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen! features an arrangement titled「夢・夢・夢・・・」(roughly "Dream, Dream, Dream..." in English) in the film's official soundtrack. It is mostly played using synth percussion instruments.
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show![edit]
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In The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, often when Mario turns into Super Mario by grabbing a Fire Flower or a Starman, an arrangement is played with an added beat and unique countermelody, and is often accompanied by an upbeat arrangement of "Underground BGM". This arrangement is also used in King Koopa's Kool Kartoons, often when King Koopa introduces the next show.[7]
Dr. Mario[edit]
In Dr. Mario for the Game Boy, the first three bars of the theme play when the player achieves a clear combo of four, which is then followed by the "Player Down" jingle from Super Mario Bros.
| DM GB 4x Chain | File info 0:08 |
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]
In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, when Mario or Luigi uses a Starman, a slight arrangement is played that is closely based on that of Super Mario Bros. 3.
| Invincibility BGM - The arrangement heard in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 | File info 0:16 |