Fortress - Super Mario World Remastered

This is probably the best castle theme Mario ever had. The use of dynamics, pitch bending, and stereo panning is awesome, and the whole song just has this awesomely sinister feel. Re-using the central melody in many contexts was a great idea from Mr. Kondo, and I feel like this is the ultimate payoff. Just terrific. As for the second-best castle theme, I'd say it's the one from New Super Mario Bros DS. Original composer Koji Kondo. This version by me. Special thanks to the VGM Resources community for instrument research, and Sam the Salmon for helping with the picture.