Mario Kart World’s soundtrack is fantastic – here are the best songs

The music soundtrack for Mario Kart World is a masterpiece but these are the very best music tracks to keep an ear out for.

The most welcome surprise to come out of Mario Kart World has not been its open world or bizarre new roster of playable racers, but its phenomenal soundtrack.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was no slouch in that department either, but according to Nintendo itself, Mario Kart World boasts more the 200 different pieces of music.

This includes not just wholly original songs made for Mario Kart World, but a mountain of remixes of tracks from older Mario Kart games, as well as the entire Super Mario franchise in general.

Ranking all of them, like we did with the tracks, is too much of an undertaking, especially since there’s no in-game jukebox or list confirming exactly which songs are included, but we can certainly tell you what our favourites are…

Title Theme

It was a wise decision to open Mario Kart World with one of its best songs. The moment you boot up the game, you are met with this incredible fusion of guitars and harmonica that gets the blood pumping for your upcoming races, but also captures the exciting vibes of a long road trip with friends, which perfectly suits the new Knockout Tours.

Athletic Theme (Super Mario Bros. 3)

Madness does Mario is the best way we can describe this surprising ska rendition of the Athletic Theme from Super Mario Bros. 3. This song’s been a common nostalgic throwback for years and this lively rendition shows why it keeps being brought back.

Dire Dire Docks (Super Mario 64)

Despite being a fan favourite song, the theme for Dire Dire Docks has rarely, if ever received new arrangements from Nintendo. Possibly because it took nearly 30 years to make this version so perfect. It’s so atmospheric that it has us yearning for an official big band cover of the entire Super Mario 64 entire soundtrack.

DK Spaceport

There is a concerning lack of Donkey Kong related content in Mario Kart World, that’ll hopefully be rectified with post-launch updates, but he at least gets his own track and not only is it very unique, being a space station rather than a typical jungle, but it’s got one of the best tunes in the game.

Since the track itself is based on the original Donkey Kong arcade game, it’s only fitting it be inspired by its music. But what was a very repetitive chip tune has been transformed into a big band medley that uses different instruments for each section of the race.

DK Island Swing (Donkey Kong Country)

As far as we can tell, this is the only other Donkey Kong related piece of music on Mario Kart World’s soundtrack. Fortunately, it’s a new rendition of arguably the most iconic song in DK’s long history.

Sometimes known as Jungle Hijinx, this song has been synonymous with Nintendo’s great ape since its debut in Donkey Kong Country and this rendition is undoubtedly its jazziest yet. We can only hope more DK music is added in the future.

Boo Cinema

Boo Cinema is one of our favourite new tracks in Mario Kart World, so how appropriate that it has one of the best songs too. Previous melodies for ghost themed Mario Kart tracks tended to prioritise being spooky, but this one manages to achieve that while also being energetic enough that you can bop your head to it.

Gusty Garden Galaxy (Super Mario Galaxy)

Super Mario Galaxy’s full orchestral score remains one of the best video game soundtracks ever and while the original Gusty Garden Galaxy suited the grandeur of a space odyssey, this remix makes perfect use of electric guitars and horn instruments to match the chaotic excitement of Mario Kart.

Moo Moo Meadows (Mario Kart Wii)

Moo Moo Meadows is already perfect as is, but we’re still surprised to hear its fantastic music get even better in Mario Kart World. While it’s not so drastically different to be unrecognisable, the enhanced violins breathe new life into the song so it keeps pace with the rest of the soundtrack.

Jump Up, Super Star! (Super Mario Odyssey)

Super Mario Odyssey’s main theme song was already a banger and, even without the lyrics, this revised version perfectly fits racing down city roads to the finish line or just casually roaming the open world. We’ve heard this song during the Mushroom Cup’s Crown City course in Grand Prix and those introductory notes always leave us grinning.

The Mario Drawing Song (Flipnote Studio)

We’re including this one almost entirely for how much of a deep cut it is. Flipnote Studio was a free app for the Nintendo DSi that’s long since been defunct and let you draw digital flipbook-style animations, with this song made to promote a competition for the Super Mario Bros. franchise’s 25th anniversary.

The original’s a quaint little ditty with big preschool show energy that only lasts about 30 seconds, but Mario Kart World turns it into a much catchier jazz number that more than justifies its extended length.

Totaka’s Song

We’re cheating with this once since it’s technically not part of the soundtrack, but we’d be remiss not to acknowledge one of Nintendo’s longest running Easter eggs that’s since been discovered by fans.

For those who don’t know, Totaka’s Song is a short melody by veteran Nintendo composer Kazumi Totaka. This little ditty is typically hidden in games he’s worked on, and fans have now found it in Mario Kart World.

It can be hard to make out, but if you hang over Yoshi on the character select screen, the dinosaur will start humming the tune. Appropriate considering Totaka has been the voice of Yoshi since the 90s.

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