Toad

Toad as seen in New Super Mario Bros.
Toad
Species	Toad
Affiliation	Mushroom Kingdom
Voiced by	Isaac Marshall (1996) Jen Taylor (1999-2005) Kelsey Hutchinson (2005) Samantha Kelly (2007-Present)
Debut	Super Mario Bros. 2

Toad is a mushroom retainer who serves Princess Peach in the Portal: Mario'' series. He is a member of the species of peaceful mushroom people who go by the name of Toads. Though he has played the heroic role a few times, he usually plays a support role in helping Mario, Luigi, and the Princess in the games. Although he has had an increasingly minor role due to factors discussed below, he has remained active in the sports and other spin-off games.

History

Initially within the Mario games, the race of mushroom-capped people were simply referred to as mushroom people or mushroom retrainers. Toad was the first of them to receive a name. He made his first appearance as a character in Super Mario Bros. 2, although he is commonly believed to have been one of the seven unnamed mushroom retainers from the original Super Mario Bros.. Toad did resemble the generic image of a mushroom person, but his individual name and status as a character made him relatively easy to distinguish for years. This changed in Paper Mario, which changed the English name of the Mushroom people to Toads. The Japanese version has made this harder to distinguish, as the race and character were all known by the name of "Kinopio" from the beginning.

Since then, it has been increasingly hard to distinguish Toad the character from the generic Toads, and he was largely replaced by Toadsworth from Super Mario Sunshine onwards. Notably, a new pair of Toads (one yellow and the other blue) were used as playable characters in New Super Mario Bros. Wii instead of Toad. He is, however, most likely the Toad featured in the various Sports games and spin-off games; being referred to as Toad and such.

Background

Artwork of Toad from Super Mario Bros. 2.

Toad's initial role was a playable character in Super Mario Bros. 2, where his jumping was not quite as good as Mario's, but he had the highest strength of the four characters and was also the fastest. The story had Toad stumbling into the mythical land of Subcon through a mysterious cave while on a picnic with Mario, Luigi and Peach. There they faced and defeated the evil King Wart and his army to save the land of Subcon and its people. The ending shows it was a dream had by Mario, which means that the Toad in this game might have just been a projection of Mario's dream, unless all four characters were exploring Subcon at the same time through their dreams. In his next appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3, Toad was not a playable character, but he ran the special area called Toad's House which allowed him to give the Mario bros. special items and extra lives via small mini-games when one of the brothers entered into one of Toad's houses.

His appearances became infrequent. He received a starring role in Wario's Woods, where he saved the Dark Woods from Wario. His own adventures were then limited to kart races and tennis matches. He did, however, prove his worth in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars by providing Mario with invaluable advice. He even traversed through Smithy's Factory to provide Mario and his friends with a variety of items. In Super Mario 64 (and it's remake), he and the other toads provide Mario (and his friends) with even more advice and help while they were all trapped in the walls of the castle by Bowser. Toad himself is believed to be the first Toad found in the castle (as mentioned in the instruction manual for Super Mario 64 DS). This was Toad's last appearance as a character in a main game before the renaming of the mushroom series.

He made his debut on the Nintendo Gamecube in Luigi's Mansion. In this game, he is first seen crying in the first floor of the mansion and does not stop until Luigi arrives to comfort him. Toad later states that Princess Peach had sent him to the castle to check on Mario who did not return back to the castle after leaving to see Luigi's new mansion. As an attempt to assist Luigi in finding Mario, he helps Luigi by giving him advice and saving the game. Toad sometimes finds items that can help Luigi through his adventure (such as keys) as well. The instruction manual of Super Mario Sunshine describes the red-capped toad as being Toad (despite his vest being red instead of blue). He is described simply as 'Peach's Attendant' in this game and no more. Nonetheless, Toad plays a small role in this game by simply worrying about for the Princess Peach after she is kidnapped. It was around this time that Toadette was introduced as his 'partner' character throughout the spin-off titles.

Toad plays a brief role in the beginning of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga where he is temporarily playable as he tracks down Mario in his house. In Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, Toad discovered that someone has broken into Truffle Towers and stolen the Music Keys, and he recruited Mario to help get them back. Despite the danger, Toad faithfully stayed by Mario's side and ferried him around the kingdom in the SS Brass. In Mario Pinball Land, Toad ran the shop 'Toad's Tent', where he could buy items when rolling int it. In Super Paper Mario, a Toad who seems to be Toad appears in the intro where he tells the Mario Bros. of the latest attack on the Mushroom Kingdom. While he did not appear outside of the scene, he did have a Catch Card.

It is also believed that the captain of the Toad Brigade in Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel Super Mario Galaxy 2 is Toad, as he wears the same red vest as the Toad from Super Mario Sunshine. After being rescued by Mario (in both games), this Toad leads the Toad Brigade in a special spacecraft across the galaxy to help him find Power Stars. Toad did appear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but only to see off Mario (as well as possibly Luigi and the other two Toads) as they set off to rescue the princess. Toad remained at the castle and offered helpful videos in exchange for Star Coins. Toad also had a widespread appearance throughout Super Mario 3D Land, where he has part of the trio of Toads appearing throughout the game. Toad ran Toad Houses as in Super Mario Bros. 3 (although the blue Toad also had his own) and appeared in several levels where he would throw Star Coins or a power-up if Mario or Luigi spotted him with binoculars. He was also held captive in the first castle until Bowser's decoy was defeated. Toad also operated the cannon which fired Mario to Bowser's airships. With the other Toads, he also cheered Mario on before the big fight against Bowser, and in the ending they all donned Tanooki Suits to help Mario escort the princess home.

Abilities

In Super Mario Bros. 2 (his first playable appearance), Toad has the ability to pick up opponents and large items over his head and carry them with ease. He could also throw these opponents at any time (even in midair). Statistically, Toad is the strongest of the four characters as well as the fastest. This made him a valuable character in the desert levels as he was able to dig through the sand dunes very easily and quickly. However, Toad has the worst jumps out of the playable characters which could cause him some difficulty. He still had asuper jump move which enabled to him to surpass his low jumps as he would be able to jump higher when the move ws activated by crouching down.

In Wario's Woods, Toad's superhuman strength returns as he is able to carry large stacks of Wario's minions and bombs over his head with ease. He also has the unique ability to run up walls in this game. In the Wii game Mario Sports Mix, Toad's nimbleness returns as he is classified as a speed type character. His special ability in this game involves him emitting spores unto the stage, causing large mushrooms to sprout from the ground of the stage. Upon jumping into midair, Toad would stay aloft in the air as he uses mental powers to make the gargantuan mushrooms move around the stage. If these mushrooms came in contact with Toad's opponents, they would become stunned and be unable move. Toad would then finish the other players by throwing a ball of fungi material at his knocked out foes.

Sports

Toad as seen in Mario Kart DS.

Toad is playable in a variety of sports games, even if his appearances as a character in the other Mario games are diminishing. There are still some uncertain cases in these games, such as in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers, where generic Toads are playable as sidekick characters.

• Kart Racing: Toad is playable in all games. He appears in Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (where he was partnered with Toadette), Mario Kart Arcade GP, Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, and Mario Kart Wii. He has been announced as being playable in Mario Kart 7.
• Tennis: Toad is playable in Mario's Tennis and Mario Tennis 64. He makes a few cameos in Mario Power Tennis, but is not playable.
• Soccer: Toad is a playable sidekick in Super Mario Strikers and Mario Strikers Charged.
• Other Sports: Toad is playable in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and Mario Sports Mix.

In the Mario Party games, Toad initially appeared as the host in Mario Party, Mario Party 2 and Mario Party 4. He (or another toad) also ran shops in various games such as in Mario Party 3. Starting in Mario Party 5, Toad was incorporated as a playable character. Toad was later playable in Mario Party 6, Mario Party 7, Mario Party 8, Mario Party 9, Super Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party, Super Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party 2, and Mario Party DS. He also reprised his role as host in Mario Party Advance, and he has appeared as a playable character in the similarly-themed Itadaki Street DS and Fortune Street.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Toad is featured as one of the moves performed by Peach in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. When she pulls him out, he will reflect attacks back and protect Peach from danger. Another Toad appears in the background of the first Adventure stage in Melee at the end of the level. Toad also has an obtainable trophy in his likeness in both Melee and Brawl, although these trophies cover. Brawl also has three stickers of Toad using art from Mario Party 6 and 7, which are primarily usable by other Mario characters.

Other Media

• Toad appeared as a main character in the animated shows The Super Mario Bros. Super Show and The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, where he was the streetwise attendant of Princess Peach. He was removed when the show became Super Mario World to make room for Yoshi.
• In the movie Super Mario Bros., Toad was a disgruntled singer who made songs about Koopa's oppression. For this, he was de-evolved into a goomba. He was played by Mojo Nixon.

Trivia

• The name Toad is a play on "toadstool", a word used for mushrooms. This also matched Peach's original localized name, Princess Toadstool.
• His japanese name is 'Kinopio' (a play on "kinoko", the Japanese word for "mushroom"), which is the same for other Toads. However in some fan circles, it has become common to refer to him as Kinopio T. (a naming convention from the Paper Mario games).
• In Super Mario Bros. 2, he was said to have recurring dreams about cobrats.