Inside the Castle Walls

"Inside the Castle Walls" is a recurring musical theme composed by Koji Kondo, first used as the background music for Peach's Castle in Super Mario 64. It is usually associated with the castle and Princess Peach herself.

Original appearance
The original version of the theme heard in Super Mario 64 is played by a string ensemble. In the A section, all of the parts harmonize the melody's rhythm, aside from runs, contrasting the melody with brief silences. This leads into a contrapuntal B section.

Reuses

 * Super Mario 64 DS: Has the same role as the original game.
 * Minecraft: Appears as one of the music tracks in the Super Mario Mash-up.
 * Super Mario 3D All-Stars: Has the same role as in the original Super Mario 64.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Wrinkly Kong can be seen playing Super Mario 64, as a rearrangement of "Inside the Castle Walls" is heard when entering her save cave. The arrangement is titled "Wrinkly 64" in the official soundtrack and was arranged by David Wise.

Mario Golf series
All arrangements in the Mario Golf series were arranged by Motoi Sakuraba.

Mario Golf (Game Boy Color)
In Mario Golf for the Game Boy Color, an 8-bit arrangement plays in the Peach's Castle sub-area.

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
In Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, an arrangement plays in the second half of the Peach's Castle Grounds theme.

Mario Golf: Advance Tour
The Mushroom Course from Mario Golf: Advance Tour uses a rendition of the Peach's Castle Grounds theme as its background music, so it incorporates "Inside the Castle Walls" by extension.

Mario Tennis series
Like the Mario Golf series, all arrangements in the Mario Tennis series were arranged by Motoi Sakuraba.

Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64)
In Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64, an arrangement plays on the Peach Court.

Mario Tennis (Game Boy Color)
In Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color, an arrangement plays on the Castle Court in Exhibition mode, as well as when inside of Peach's Castle during the Mario Tour mode.

Mario Power Tennis
In Mario Power Tennis, the court introduction theme for Peach Dome, as well as the trophy award theme for Peach, is an arrangement of the A section of "Inside the Castle Walls", arranged by Motoi Sakuraba. The theme is also arranged in full for the Artist On the Court minigame.

Mario Tennis Open
In Mario Tennis Open, the court introduction theme for Peach's Palace is an arrangement of the A section of "Inside the Castle Walls", arranged by Motoi Sakuraba. The court's background music is a brass rock arrangement. A minor key arrangement is used as the tiebreaker theme for this court.

Mario Party 3
In Mario Party 3, two arrangements of the B section play in Peach's Castle: one in the main hall and the Data Room, and the other in the Sound Room. They were arranged by Ichiro Shimakura.

Mario Party 10
In amiibo Party mode of Mario Party 10, an arrangement titled "Peach's Theme" plays when Peach's amiibo is being controlled.

Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
In Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, an arrangement of the second portion of "Inside the Castle Walls" plays on the status screen.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, an arrangement of "Inside the Castle Walls" returns as the background music for Peach's Castle, with added marimba in the A section. A short variation of the theme plays at the start of the introduction.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
A calm A♭ major rendition of the first portion of "Inside the Castle Walls" is played on a piano when Peach is rescued at the end of Super Mario Galaxy 2. The song is titled "Precious One" in the official soundtrack and was arranged by Ryo Nagamatsu.

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
In New Super Mario Bros. U, New Super Luigi U, and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, Bowser has remade the castle grounds into a lava world by the time the heroes arrive. To reflect this, the music for the Peach's Castle world map uses an arrangement of the "Inside the Castle Walls" motif alternating between the keys of F minor, G♭ minor, and G minor. The theme is orchestrated on bowed strings with sitar ornaments and a synth rhythm section.

The theme for the first part of The Final Battle (and its identically-named counterpart) uses sections of the same bowed string arrangement with pipe organ accompaniment.

Super Mario Odyssey
In Super Mario Odyssey, a faithful arrangement plays inside Peach's Castle in the Mushroom Kingdom. It was arranged by Shiho Fujii.

Super Mario Maker 2
In the Story Mode of Super Mario Maker 2, "Inside the Castle Walls" is incorporated into six background music tracks that build in excitement as progress on rebuilding Peach's Castle grows. Each theme introduces variations on the motif that, in sequence, approach the original "Inside the Castle Walls" melody.

The first theme is a downtempo piece that plays the motif on acoustic guitar, with shaker and wood block in the background, and leads into chords based on the B section of "Inside the Castle Walls". The second theme increases the tempo and plays the motif on pizzicato strings, while also adding flute to the first theme's orchestration. The third theme uses synthesized instruments, playing the motif on synth strings and multiple synthesizers. The fourth theme adds orchestral instruments, playing a variation of the A section on lead synthesizer, and the B section on strings. The fifth theme is a traditional arrangement of "Inside the Castle Walls", but with shaker and wood block remaining in the background. In the emergency theme, the motif is played on a sine synthesizer. Finally, the motif is used in the jingle that plays when Peach's Castle is 100% rebuilt.

Mario & Luigi series
All arrangements in the Mario & Luigi series were arranged by Yoko Shimomura.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga / Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and its remake, an arrangement is used in Peach's Castle Square at the beginning of the game, as well as when the Toad Express lands at Beanbean Airport.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time uses a swing arrangement of "Inside the Castle Walls", featuring mallet percussion and a drumset alongside the traditional strings.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story / Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and its remake use a much slower arrangement of "Inside the Castle Walls" titled "A Bit of Peace and Quiet". It is heard while inside Peach's Castle at the beginning of the game, and during the ending cutscene.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Another arrangement is used in Peach's Castle in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
An arrangement plays in the same location in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, though this version most closely resembles the arrangement heard in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Princess Peach can hum the first seven notes of the A section when she takes a shower on the X-Naut Fortress.

Paper Mario: The Origami King
In Paper Mario: The Origami King, an arrangement plays when Mario and Luigi arrive in front of Peach's Castle in the opening.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
In Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, an arrangement plays in the levels of Toadstool Castle. A slightly different variation plays in Special Kit 2 custom levels in the Construction Zone. While the Mini Marios or Mini Peaches are inactive, only the backing instruments play; after they begin to move, the music plays in full.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! arranges "Inside the Castle Walls" as the background themes for Teatime Twirl, the first attraction in which Mini Princess appears. They are paired with original preparation, course clear, and life lost themes, all based on the original piece.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars
In Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars, "Inside the Castle Walls" is arranged in the Swirling Courtyard theme.

Mario Super Sluggers
In Mario Super Sluggers, an orchestral arrangement plays in Peach Ice Garden. The transition to the melody's second half after the melody repeats is dragged out, though otherwise the song is faithful to the original.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
In Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, an arrangement of Peach's Castle's music from New Super Mario Bros. U plays in the World 8 map.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
In Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, the music that plays in the hub world incorporates arrangements of "Inside the Castle Walls", arranged by Grant Kirkhope.

Luigi's Mansion 3
In Luigi's Mansion 3, a vibraphone arrangement of Inside the Castle Walls alternating between C♯ major and E major plays in the Grand Lobby of The Last Resort at the very beginning of the game when Luigi is next to Peach.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020  features a new arrangement that plays during the Dream Karate event.

Super Nintendo World
An orchestral arrangement of "Inside the Castle Walls" plays in the foyer of Peach's Castle in the entrance to Super Nintendo World.

Mario Strikers: Battle League
In Mario Strikers: Battle League, when playing both halves of the Royal Castle stage, a rock arrangement of Inside the Castle Walls is one of tracks that can play in the background, arranged by Chad York and Darren Radtke.