Super Mario Galaxy (Original Soundrack)

The Super Mario Galaxy Original Soundtrack is the video game soundtrack for Super Mario Galaxy. It was released in Japan and Europe on January 31, 2008, and in the United States on October 31, 2011, exclusively to Club Nintendo members.^[1] There is a one-disc edition and a two-disc Platinum Version. The American version is called the Super Mario Galaxy Official Soundtrack, and it was released only in the regular edition. The regular edition has 28 music tracks, while the Platinum Version has all 81 music tracks from the game. 77 of the music tracks are composed by Mahito Yokota, and four by Koji Kondo. The Mario Galaxy Orchestra provided the soundtrack's orchestral performances.

The Platinum Version of the soundtrack is featured in Super Mario 3D All-Stars alongside the Super Mario Sunshine Original Soundtrack and Super Mario 64 Original Soundtrack. It was released digitally onto Nintendo Music on October 30, 2024^[2], with additional tracks being added in September 2025^[3].

During development, Mahito Yokota, who was in charge of the musical direction, originally wanted Super Mario Galaxy to have a Latin American style of music, and even had composed 28 tracks in that style.^[4] Latin American percussion instruments had already been featured in previous Super Mario installments, such as steelpans, bongo drums, and congas.^[5] For Super Mario Galaxy's theme, Yokota used Latin American instruments and a synthesiser to replicate the sounds featured in old science fiction films. The composition was approved by Yoshiaki Koizumi, the game's director and designer, but when Yokota presented it to the game's sound supervisor, Koji Kondo,^[6] he stated that it was "no good".^[5] When asked why his music was rejected, Kondo responded: "if somewhere in your mind you have an image that Mario is cute, please get rid of it". Incensed by the rejection, Yokota almost resigned from his job, but Kondo implied that Mario's character was "cool" and instructed him to try again.^[5]

According to Yokota, he was under the impression that Mario was suited for children, causing him to create "cute" music that would appeal to the targeted audience.^[5] The game's director, Yoshiaki Koizumi, after Yokota's music was rejected, later complimented him telling him "It wasn't so bad".^[5] Three months later, Yokota presented three different styles of music to Miyamoto: one piece had an orchestral sound, the other had pop music, and the last featured a mix of both orchestral and pop music.^[7] Miyamoto chose the orchestral piece, as it sounded the most "space-like". Yokota stated that Miyamoto chose the piece without knowing that Kondo actually wrote it.^[8][7] In a retrospective interview, Satoru Iwata said that Miyamoto chose the music that sounded "space-like" because he was looking for a sound that would express the game, in contrast to the tropical sounds of Super Mario Bros. Yokota revealed that he initially struggled to create music that sounded like a Super Mario game, but as time progressed he declared that the songs he made for the game had "become natural".^[7]

To create a sense of variety with the soundtrack, Yokota and Kondo wrote pieces individually; Kondo composed five pieces for the game whereas Yokota composed the rest. Kondo composed the pieces that Yokota specifically requested, as he thought that the game's soundtrack would "end up all sounding the same" if it were composed by one person.^[7] The game originally heavily utilised the Wii Remote speaker for "all sorts of sound [effects]", but Masafumi Kawamura, the game's sound director, decided they were redundant when played in tandem with those from the television. Kawamura decided to restrict Wii Remote sound effects to those triggered by Mario's actions, such as hitting an enemy, feeling that it better immersed the player.^[9]

Yokota initially had concerns whether or not orchestral music would fit in with the rhythm of a Mario game, but thought that such music would make the scale of the game "seem more epic". Kondo, on the other hand, believed if orchestral music were used the player would be "obligated to play the game in time to the music".^[4] To synchronise the soundtrack to gameplay, Kawamura utilised similar techniques he used to synchronise sound effects in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat – in which the game synchronises MIDI data with streaming data, resulting in sound effects playing at the same time as background music. To make synchronisation possible, the audio team requested the orchestra to perform at different tempos set with a metronome.^[4]

The game's soundtrack features 28 orchestral songs performed by a 50-person symphony orchestra.^[6][10] A departure from the tropical, calypso-inspired sequenced music of Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy is a symphonic soundtrack whose orchestral arrangements incorporate a 50-piece ensemble, synthesized textures, and interactive tempo fluctuations, abandoning the strictly MIDI-based instrumentation that had defined the series' 3D predecessors.^[4] The compositions are characterized by sweeping string sections, heroic brass fanfares, and waltz-time rhythms, constituting a consistent "space opera" palette that stays faithful to the franchise's upbeat roots while introducing a grander, more cinematic scale.^[7] Several critics noted that the soundtrack also incorporates elements of big band, distinct synthesizer pop, and ambient music. In this regard, Koji Kondo, the series' sound supervisor, described the musical direction not as "cute," but as "cool," a distinction that led lead composer Mahito Yokota to discard his initial Latin-percussion drafts in favor of a majestic, orchestral approach.^[5]

In addition to the primary orchestral palette, many tracks incorporate stylings that evoke retro or contemporary genres such as march, waltz, and electronic ambience. "Good Egg Galaxy" incorporates elements of sci-fi synthesis and military march in its buzzing, synthesized bassline and driving percussion.^[9] The atmospheric, reverberating chimes of "Space Junk Galaxy" resemble soundscapes used in ambient and minimalist music to convey the loneliness of the void. The strings, tympani, and woodwinds of "Gusty Garden Galaxy", "Battlerock Galaxy", and "Buoy Base Galaxy" evoke late-Romantic symphonies, with the former track further evoking high-adventure film scores with its soaring violin melody, syncopated brass accompaniment, and rapid chord progressions. Elements of intimate chamber music are demonstrated on "Luma", a delicate, slow-paced variation on the main theme absent of the bombastic percussion of the main courses; and "Family", a piano-driven waltz composed of sparse harmonies and gentle woodwind accents.

The score uses Golden Ratios as part of its composition.^[11] The composer Mahito Yokota stated that the use of a live orchestra was intended to expand the game's emotional range beyond simple cheerfulness to include grandeur and sadness.^[4]

The official soundtrack was released on 24 January 2008. It was initially an exclusive to Club Nintendo subscribers in Japan,^[12] although the soundtrack became available to European Club Nintendo members in November 2008.^[13] The soundtrack was released in two versions: the Original Soundtrack, which only contains 28 tracks from the game, and the Platinum Edition, which contains another 53 tracks on a second disc for a total of 81 tracks.^[13] In North America, the Original Soundtrack was included in a black Wii Family Edition console bundle alongside New Super Mario Bros. Wii in 2011.^[14]

Themes from the soundtrack will be incorporated into The Super Mario Galaxy Movie soundtrack composed by Brian Tyler.^[15]