Super Mario Kart
Soyo Oka
" In evaluating the original score of Super Mario Kart, it is well worth playing the game, adding to the overall joy of kart racing through distinctive music for each character and set of tracks of the same universe "Written by Joep de Bruijn - Review of the download only release
Super Mario Kart (Sūpā Mario Kāto) is a 1992 video game developed by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo. It was an influential kart racing game; the first of the Mario Kart series has a lot of its own merits, and as the series continued, some of the best of its basics were abandoned. The SNES game limits the amount of chance through foul play by the CPUs, but most importantly, there is a healthy balance between taking a turn just slightly sharper and actually being a competent driver in relation to unforeseen but fun factors that come into play, whereas later on chaos would mostly dominate.
Soyo Oka composed the original score for the game. She had previously worked on various titles for Nintendo, including memorable music for Pilotwings (SNES) and some titles of the Japanese NES (Famicom), then continued her work as a freelance composer for games, while giving lectures about music. However, the credits in the game are confusing, using the common term sound composer, which in Japanese games mostly meant this person handled both the sound effects and music. Composer Kōji Kondō - spiritual father of the Mario music - would do both for games such as Super Mario World. However, Super Mario Kart displays a shared credit for both Soyo Oka and Tarō Bando, while in reality Bando was solely responsible for the sound effects, while at the time reliable sources were scarce. On a side note, while usually being a sound designer, Bando composed fitting music for the N64 game F-Zero X, and remained active on all Mario Kart games as a sound designer.
Nintendo continuously references and reevaluates things from the past. In Super Mario Kart, a few pieces of music come from earlier Mario games scored by Koji Kondo: the music in the Ghost Valley tracks derives from the ghost house music in Super Mario World, the Bowser Castle track and Bowser's own driver theme reuse the music heard in the final battle with Bowser from Super Mario World, and lastly, the invincibility theme recurs. A variety of racetracks of the first game were given a modern treatment in the sequels, which all failed to present them in a uniquely new way, discarding elements and mostly feeling like futile and unmemorable modern customisations. The quotes, renditions and adaptations of these tracks were musically aligned with what each of the then-current composers aimed to achieve for each respective game. There are references and remodulations in completely different games, yet the only treatment actually worth mentioning is the Mount Must Dash level in Super Mario Bros 3D World. It is a platformer game that takes a racetrack and the original music from Super Mario Kart, transforming it into a hybrid of platforming and racing, using Oka' original music.
Years after its initial release, a prototype of the video game was leaked, revealing numerous of changes to its music. It dates to several months prior to the released version of August 1992 and shows insights into the development process. Some of it is little noteworthy; music from specific tracks being hauled over to completely different tracks, most likely as they had not been composed, or had not been included yet. Yet, the more interesting changes are numerous shifting accents compared to their final compositions, placing more emphasis on an instrument, replacing an instrument, and altering the pace and pitch. In some, like the Yoshi theme, the lack of the referee whistle, also used in the ranking music, makes this theme less distinctive, but the melody is still the same. Most of the changes are not entirely different, but they do provide an insight into how a small change can result in a different nuance.
There are four radical departures from the final score. First, the title screen music became an upbeat, rhythmic, and memorable tune, whereas the prototype uses a completely different melody: softer, slower and fluffier, completely unsuited for the heart of the game. Secondly, as each character has its own musical theme, Donkey Kong Jr. uses an all-new melody, sounding very different from the finalised theme. It also lends the distinctive percussion as heard in both Bowser's character and track composition, by which it departs from the musical concept of the overall game. Third, there is a new theme for the Vanilla Lake track, which was replaced by a more distinctive theme. Finally, there is music reflecting disappointment when you are outranked (fifth place or lower), using a sample of the Entrance of the Gladiators march composed by Julius Fučík, and music reflecting joy if you end up in first or in second to fifth place. However, the music from the beta version of a positive rank uses a cue, signalling nothing other than disappointment.
In evaluating the original score of Super Mario Kart, it is well worth playing the game, adding to the overall joy of kart racing through distinctive music for each character and set of tracks of the same universe. Nevertheless, there are bits and pieces hauled over to different places making it less coherent and distinctive. It is something to take note of, but not important in the overall result. I must disregard the actual sound quality, which was one of the challenges that all composers faced in composing and compressing the music for the lower-bit game systems.
While my critical acclaim for the music is solely based on the game experience, any attempt to listen to it fully as a separate listening is exausting. There are numerous (un)official releases, digitally, on CD and vinyl, ranging from game rips, rearrangements and orchestral tributes, while there are endless online reworkings. The Nintendo Music library of the Switch 1 released the full score digitally in 2025.
Tracklist
Super Mario Kart Title Screen
Selection Screens
Starting Grid
Mario Circuit
Mario Circuit (Final Lap)
Donut Plains
Donut Plains (Final Lap)
Ghost Valley
Ghost Valley (Final Lap)
Bowser Castle
Bowser Castle (Final Lap)
Choco Island
Choco Island (Final Lap)
Koopa Beach
Koopa Beach (Final Lap)
Vanilla Lake
Vanilla Lake (Final Lap)
Rainbow Road
Rainbow Road (Final Lap)
Battle Mode
Super Star
Final Lap!
Finish! (1st – 4th Place)
Finish! (5th – 8th Place)
Finish! (Time Trials)
Game Over
Race Results (Mario)
Race Results (Luigi)
Race Results (Princess)
Race Results (Yoshi)
Race Results (Bowser)
Race Results (Donkey Kong Jr.)
Race Results (Koopa Troopa)
Race Results (Toad)
Awards Ceremony (1st – 3rd Place)
Awards Ceremony (4th – 8th Place)
Staff Credits
Total duration: 33 minutes
(03-08-2025)
Soyo Oka composed the original score for the game. She had previously worked on various titles for Nintendo, including memorable music for Pilotwings (SNES) and some titles of the Japanese NES (Famicom), then continued her work as a freelance composer for games, while giving lectures about music. However, the credits in the game are confusing, using the common term sound composer, which in Japanese games mostly meant this person handled both the sound effects and music. Composer Kōji Kondō - spiritual father of the Mario music - would do both for games such as Super Mario World. However, Super Mario Kart displays a shared credit for both Soyo Oka and Tarō Bando, while in reality Bando was solely responsible for the sound effects, while at the time reliable sources were scarce. On a side note, while usually being a sound designer, Bando composed fitting music for the N64 game F-Zero X, and remained active on all Mario Kart games as a sound designer.
Nintendo continuously references and reevaluates things from the past. In Super Mario Kart, a few pieces of music come from earlier Mario games scored by Koji Kondo: the music in the Ghost Valley tracks derives from the ghost house music in Super Mario World, the Bowser Castle track and Bowser's own driver theme reuse the music heard in the final battle with Bowser from Super Mario World, and lastly, the invincibility theme recurs. A variety of racetracks of the first game were given a modern treatment in the sequels, which all failed to present them in a uniquely new way, discarding elements and mostly feeling like futile and unmemorable modern customisations. The quotes, renditions and adaptations of these tracks were musically aligned with what each of the then-current composers aimed to achieve for each respective game. There are references and remodulations in completely different games, yet the only treatment actually worth mentioning is the Mount Must Dash level in Super Mario Bros 3D World. It is a platformer game that takes a racetrack and the original music from Super Mario Kart, transforming it into a hybrid of platforming and racing, using Oka' original music.
Years after its initial release, a prototype of the video game was leaked, revealing numerous of changes to its music. It dates to several months prior to the released version of August 1992 and shows insights into the development process. Some of it is little noteworthy; music from specific tracks being hauled over to completely different tracks, most likely as they had not been composed, or had not been included yet. Yet, the more interesting changes are numerous shifting accents compared to their final compositions, placing more emphasis on an instrument, replacing an instrument, and altering the pace and pitch. In some, like the Yoshi theme, the lack of the referee whistle, also used in the ranking music, makes this theme less distinctive, but the melody is still the same. Most of the changes are not entirely different, but they do provide an insight into how a small change can result in a different nuance.
There are four radical departures from the final score. First, the title screen music became an upbeat, rhythmic, and memorable tune, whereas the prototype uses a completely different melody: softer, slower and fluffier, completely unsuited for the heart of the game. Secondly, as each character has its own musical theme, Donkey Kong Jr. uses an all-new melody, sounding very different from the finalised theme. It also lends the distinctive percussion as heard in both Bowser's character and track composition, by which it departs from the musical concept of the overall game. Third, there is a new theme for the Vanilla Lake track, which was replaced by a more distinctive theme. Finally, there is music reflecting disappointment when you are outranked (fifth place or lower), using a sample of the Entrance of the Gladiators march composed by Julius Fučík, and music reflecting joy if you end up in first or in second to fifth place. However, the music from the beta version of a positive rank uses a cue, signalling nothing other than disappointment.
In evaluating the original score of Super Mario Kart, it is well worth playing the game, adding to the overall joy of kart racing through distinctive music for each character and set of tracks of the same universe. Nevertheless, there are bits and pieces hauled over to different places making it less coherent and distinctive. It is something to take note of, but not important in the overall result. I must disregard the actual sound quality, which was one of the challenges that all composers faced in composing and compressing the music for the lower-bit game systems.
While my critical acclaim for the music is solely based on the game experience, any attempt to listen to it fully as a separate listening is exausting. There are numerous (un)official releases, digitally, on CD and vinyl, ranging from game rips, rearrangements and orchestral tributes, while there are endless online reworkings. The Nintendo Music library of the Switch 1 released the full score digitally in 2025.
Tracklist
Super Mario Kart Title Screen
Selection Screens
Starting Grid
Mario Circuit
Mario Circuit (Final Lap)
Donut Plains
Donut Plains (Final Lap)
Ghost Valley
Ghost Valley (Final Lap)
Bowser Castle
Bowser Castle (Final Lap)
Choco Island
Choco Island (Final Lap)
Koopa Beach
Koopa Beach (Final Lap)
Vanilla Lake
Vanilla Lake (Final Lap)
Rainbow Road
Rainbow Road (Final Lap)
Battle Mode
Super Star
Final Lap!
Finish! (1st – 4th Place)
Finish! (5th – 8th Place)
Finish! (Time Trials)
Game Over
Race Results (Mario)
Race Results (Luigi)
Race Results (Princess)
Race Results (Yoshi)
Race Results (Bowser)
Race Results (Donkey Kong Jr.)
Race Results (Koopa Troopa)
Race Results (Toad)
Awards Ceremony (1st – 3rd Place)
Awards Ceremony (4th – 8th Place)
Staff Credits
Total duration: 33 minutes
(03-08-2025)