Super Bell Subway (theme)
| "Super Bell Subway" | |
|---|---|
| "Super Bell Subway" in Mario Kart 8 | |
Image from Nintendo Music | |
| Composed by: Atsuko Asahi[1] | |
| First appearance | Mario Kart 8 (DLC Pack 2) (2015) |
| Latest appearance | Mario Kart World (2025) |
- “The name of this course ('Ring-a-Ling Metro' in Japanese) gave me a really strong image, and I worked to create a song that you could imagine singing that title to. We wanted it to have a European metro feel, and so used vintage-sounding tones.”
- —Liner notes in the Mario Kart 8 Original Soundtrack
"Super Bell Subway"[2][1] is a musical theme composed by Atsuko Asahi for Mario Kart 8, where it plays in the race course of the same name. Much like with "Dolphin Shoals", an extended section that doubles the length of the theme plays when viewing Highlight Reels of races taking place on the course.
History[edit]
Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
- “When you actually go underground, the music suddenly shifts to a much more frantic pace, and Teppei Kawasaki really lets his slap bass run wild. It's also the first game that has featured that famous Mario underground motif recorded using live instrumentation.”
- —Liner notes for "Super Bell Subway (Underground)" in the Mario Kart 8 Original Soundtrack
Mario Kart 8 marks the first appearance of "Super Bell Subway".
An arrangement of "Super Bell Subway", titled "Super Bell Subway (Underground)" in the Nintendo Music app and on the Mario Kart 8 Original Soundtrack album, plays whenever the player is driving in the subway section. In this arrangement, a bass guitar plays a repeating quote of the first six notes of "Underground BGM" from Super Mario Bros. The lead melody is unmodified, but much of the other instrumentation from the original version of the theme is removed.
The liner notes for "Super Bell Subway (Underground)" denote that it is the first instance of the "Underground BGM" motif being recorded live specifically for a video game. However, Pushmo World, which featured the theme performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, was released a year prior to Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8.
For both themes, a looping drum set beat is added to the instrumentation whenever the player is driving at top speed while in first place.
All four versions return for the same purposes in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
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Mario Kart World[edit]
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In Mario Kart World, a jazz-funk arrangement of "Super Bell Subway" can play in Free Roam during the day. This arrangement incorporates some of the instrumentation from "Super Bell Subway (Underground)", including the use of its "Underground BGM" bassline. As with other arrangements of themes from Mario Kart 8, the source game listed in the pause menu is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Gallery[edit]
Image for "Super Bell Subway (Underground)" from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Nintendo Music
List of Super Mario appearances[edit]
Games[edit]
| Work | System | Year | Type | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kart 8 | Wii U | 2015[a] | Original | "Super Bell Subway"[2] | Atsuko Asahi[1] |
| Arrangement | "Super Bell Subway (Underground)"[2] | Atsuko Asahi[1] | |||
| Remixes | |||||
| Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | Nintendo Switch | 2017 | Original | "Super Bell Subway"[2] | Atsuko Asahi[1] |
| Past arrangement (Mario Kart 8) | "Super Bell Subway (Underground)"[2] | Atsuko Asahi[1] | |||
| Past remixes (Mario Kart 8) | |||||
| Mario Kart World | Nintendo Switch 2 | 2025 | Arrangement | "Super Bell Subway"[3] |
- ^ Added in DLC Pack 2 on April 23, 2015
Albums[edit]
| Work | Year | Type | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kart 8 Original Soundtrack | 2015 | Original | "Super Bell Subway" | Atsuko Asahi |
| Past arrangement (Mario Kart 8) | "Super Bell Subway (Underground)" |
Other media[edit]
| Work | Year | Type | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nintendo Music | 2024 | Past arrangement (Mario Kart 8) | "Super Bell Subway" | Atsuko Asahi[1] |
| "Super Bell Subway (Underground)" |
Names in other languages[edit]
"Super Bell Subway"[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | リンリンメトロ[2] Rinrin Metoro |
Ring-a-Ling Metro | |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 铃铃地铁[2] Línglíng Dìtiě (Mandarin) Lìhnglíng Deihtit (Cantonese) |
Bell Bell Metro | |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 鈴鈴地鐵[2] Línglíng Dìtiě (Mandarin) Lìhnglíng Deihtit (Cantonese) |
Bell Bell Metro | |
| Dutch | Mario's Metro[2] | Mario's Metro | |
| French | Métro Turbo[2] | Turbo Metro | |
| German | Marios Metro<[2] | Mario's Metro | |
| Italian | Mariopolitana[2] | "Mariosubway" (Portmanteau of "Mario" and "metropolitana" ("subway")) | |
| Korean | 슈퍼 벨 메트로[2] Syupeo Bel Meteuro |
Super Bell Metro | |
| Polish | Dzwoneczkowe Metro[3] | Bell Metro | |
| Portuguese | Metro Mario[2] | Mario Metro | |
| Russian | Метро Марио[2] Metro Mario |
Mario Metro | |
| Spanish (Latin American) | Metro Campana[2] | Bell Metro | |
| Spanish (European) | Estación Tilín-Tolón[2] | Ding-Dong Station |
"Super Bell Subway (Underground)"[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | リンリンメトロ(地下)[2] Rinrin Metoro (Chika) |
Ring-a-Ling Metro (Underground) | |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 铃铃地铁(地下)[2] Línglíng Dìtiě (dìxià) (Mandarin) Lìhnglíng Deihtit (dìxià) (Cantonese) |
Bell Bell Metro (underground) | |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 鈴鈴地鐵(地下)[2] Línglíng Dìtiě (dìxià) (Mandarin) Lìhnglíng Deihtit (dìxià) (Cantonese) |
Bell Bell Metro (underground) | |
| Dutch | Mario's Metro (ondergronds)[2] | Mario's Metro (underground) | |
| French | Métro Turbo (sous terre)[2] | Turbo Metro (underground) | |
| German | Marios Metro (unterirdisch)<[2] | Mario's Metro (underground) | |
| Italian | Mariopolitana (sottoterra)[2] | "Mariosubway" (underground) | |
| Korean | 슈퍼 벨 메트로(지하)[2] Syupeo Bel Meteuro (jiha) |
Super Bell Metro (underground) | |
| Portuguese | Metro Mario (túnel)[2] | Mario Metro (tunnel) | |
| Russian | Метро Марио (под землей)[2] Metro Mario (pod zemley) |
Mario Metro (underground) | |
| Spanish (Latin American) | Metro Campana (bajo tierra)[2] | Bell Metro (underground) | |
| Spanish (European) | Estación Tilín-Tolón (bajo tierra)[2] | Ding-Dong Station (underground) |
References[edit]
External links[edit]
- April 15, 2015. The Music of Mario Kart 8 - Super Bell Subway (Wii U). YouTube. Retrieved July 27, 2025.