Space Athletic
| "Space Athletic" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| "Space Athletic" in Super Mario Galaxy | |||
 Image from Nintendo Music | |||
| Composed by: Mahito Yokota[1] | |||
| Key | C Dorian | ||
| BPM | 150 | ||
| Time signature | Common time | ||
| First appearance | Super Mario Galaxy (2007) | ||
| Latest appearance | Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo Switch) (2025) | ||
| |||
"Space Athletic"[2] is a musical theme composed by Mahito Yokota for Super Mario Galaxy, where it plays on several galaxies and planets, including the Flipswitch Galaxy, the Hurry Scurry Galaxy, the Sand Spiral Galaxy, and the interiors of the Battlerock Galaxy, the Dusty Dune Galaxy's pyramid, the Gusty Garden Galaxy mission Gusty Garden's Gravity Scramble, the Dreadnought Galaxy. It is a slower-paced and techno arrangement of "Underground BGM" from Super Mario Bros. played by a synth bass.
History[edit]
Super Mario series[edit]
Super Mario Galaxy[edit]
Super Mario Galaxy marks the first appearance of "Space Athletic", and it returns in its Nintendo Switch ports, Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Super Mario Galaxy, for the same purpose. It is also included on the Super Mario Galaxy Original Soundtrack.
Super Mario 3D Land[edit]
In Super Mario 3D Land, an arrangement of "Space Athletic" plays in underground levels, adding ascending notes at the start of the theme and extra percussion, as well as the theme being synthesized.
 Underground Theme - The arrangement heard in Super Mario 3D Land | File info 0:30 |
Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury[edit]
- “The music for the underground courses in Super Mario games may sound like it always has the same arrangement, but it actually differs subtly each time. Perhaps next time we'll shake things up with a major reworking... Or perhaps not!”
- —Liner notes in the Super Mario 3D World Original Soundtrack
In Super Mario 3D World and the Nintendo Switch port, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, an arrangement of "Space Athletic" plays in underground levels. It is directly based on Super Mario 3D Land's arrangement, except with descending notes at the start instead of ascending, and additional drums. It was arranged by Mahito Yokota,[3] and is titled "Underground Theme" in the Nintendo Music app and the game's official soundtrack.
| Underground Theme - The arrangement heard in Super Mario 3D World | File info 0:30 |
Super Mario Odyssey[edit]
In Super Mario Odyssey, another arrangement of "Space Athletic", titled "Underground Power Plant" in the Nintendo Music app and "Subterranean 1" in the Music List, plays in several secret areas as well as in the Underground Power Plant in the Metro Kingdom. This version uses a different introduction and backing instrumentation.
An NES chiptune-style arrangement of "Underground Power Plant", formatted as "Underground Power Plant - 8-Bit" in the Nintendo Music app and "Subterranean 1 (8-Bit)" in the Music List, plays when Mario is in a 2D section of an area that uses the theme.
Super Mario Maker 2[edit]
In Super Mario Maker 2, for underground-themed courses in the Super Mario 3D World game style, "Underground Theme" from Super Mario 3D World plays. An arrangement using eight tracks that fade in and out randomly to create a dynamic mix plays while editing these courses in the Course Maker.
| Underground Theme (Course Maker) - Super Mario 3D World | File info 0:30 |
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker[edit]
Exclusively in the Wii U version of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, "Underground Theme" from Super Mario 3D World plays in Shadow-Play Alley.
Exclusively in the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS ports, "Underground Power Plant" from Super Mario Odyssey plays in the Underground Power Plant section of the course Uptown, Downtown.
Gallery[edit]
Image for "Underground Power Plant" from Super Mario Odyssey on Nintendo Music
Image for "Underground Power Plant - 8-Bit" from Super Mario Odyssey on Nintendo Music
Image for "Underground Theme" from Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury on Nintendo Music
List of Super Mario appearances[edit]
Games[edit]
| Work | System | Year | Type | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Galaxy | Wii | 2007 | Original | "Space Athletic"[2] | Mahito Yokota |
| Super Mario 3D Land | Nintendo 3DS | 2011 | Arrangement | ||
| Super Mario 3D World | Wii U | 2013 | Arrangement | "Underground Theme"[2] | Mahito Yokota |
| Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker | Wii U | 2014 | Past arrangement (Super Mario 3D World) | Mahito Yokota | |
| Super Mario Odyssey | Nintendo Switch | 2017 | Arrangement | "Underground Power Plant"[2] | Naoto Kubo |
| "Underground Power Plant - 8-Bit"[2] | |||||
| Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker | Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch | 2018 | Past arrangement (Super Mario Odyssey) | Naoto Kubo | |
| Super Mario Maker 2 | Nintendo Switch | 2019 | Arrangement | Mahito Yokota | |
| Past arrangement (Super Mario 3D World) | |||||
| Super Mario 3D All-Stars | Nintendo Switch | 2020 | Original | "Space Athletic"[2] | Mahito Yokota |
| Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury | Nintendo Switch | 2021 | Past arrangement (Super Mario 3D World) | "Underground Theme"[2] | |
| Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo Switch) | Nintendo Switch | 2025 | Original | "Space Athletic"[2] | Mahito Yokota |
Naming[edit]
Internal names[edit]
"Underground Theme"[edit]
| Game | File | Name | Meaning
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker | SoundData/stream/Kp_bgm_RcChika.my.32.dspadpcm.bfstm | Kinopio BGM Red carpet[4] Chika Mahito Yokota | - |
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 宇宙アスレチック Uchū Asurechikku | Space Athletic | [2] |
References[edit]
- ^ Super Mario Galaxy Original Soundtrack
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Nintendo Music
- ^ See § Internal names
- ^ The Cutting Room Floor:Project Names/Nintendo. The Cutting Room Floor.