Your last race
A toast for all the memories. For the winners and the losers. A toast for the friends with whom we played with at the couch in the living room or the bedroom or college dorm rooms; a toast for childhood memories and the voice of Charles Martinet that is no longer around. A toast for the fact that Mario Kart is still around with us delivering new memories. Because with this track we are racing down Memory Road at the moment, the last track in the Bittersweet Cup.
Composer Kenta Nagata, in his debut at Nintendo, knows that the drill in the 90s is to make Nintendo game endings uniquely bittersweet and nostalgic as opposed to just cool medleys taken from the soundtrack. Still, for a Mario Kart game he did not need to go so hard but he did. With this feeling like the statement of a sportsman who just conquered the ultimate goal in life as opposed to just a goofy and zany kart racer. It is as if the game itself is saying goodbye to us and thanking you for being part of its world for a little while.
It seems that the composer was going for the same vibe as other 80s epic sport dramas like Chariots of Fire and its iconic theme written by Vangelis:
Although nothing quite like it on the soundtrack, the closest match is the famous track for Rainbow Road in both instrumentation, rhythm and harmony devices. Mixing 80s rock ballad instrumentation and harmony with magical stardust covering it on top alongside celestial choirs.
Musical Analysis
The rock epicness comes from the horse race rhythm that ends up being used for any kind of race, just like in Rainbow Road, plus using the same Mixolydian profile of the rainbow in E. The special chord of this profile being the bVII which is used a lot in rock music; it sounds slightly more edgier than the cute Ionian/Major profile, apt for sport people. We also have two pedal melodies played by the piano and the chimes while the underlying chord changes; the bass and guitar also stay put at the E note coloring the harmony with extensions. With Rainbow Road going right to the I to bVII movement, this one takes a little more time with the common popular music progression:
E – B – D – A
All major chords. This is the part that fills you with the sense of accomplishment and pride.
The next part is what is supposed to make you cry, filled with the overwhelming emotion of triumphing against all odds and the fact that the game has been finished. Naturally, the chords here tend to be minor:
G#m7 – Amaj7 – A/B – C#m – B
But don’t worry, Mario and his friends will be always there providing fun for all demographics and, most importantly, treasured memories. As something like Mario Kart is one of the last universal cultural bastions in the very fragmented entertainment landscape of today where each person seems to have their own ecosystem. Not so for Mario Kart, where every entry is an event that pretty much nobody dislikes and anyone can play.
As the name of the cue suggest, it is all about the sense of victory.
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