Toad

"Thank you, Mario! But our princess is in another castle!"

- Toad, Super Mario Bros.

Toad is a recurring character in the Mario franchise. They are a human-like species that wear a mushroom on their heads. Toad is both a name of a specific character and the name of a species. Their name probably came from the word "toadstool", which is another word for mushroom.

History of Toad and the Toads
Toads first appeared in the video game Super Mario Bros.. They are referred to in this game as simply the Mushroom Retainers. Here Mario, in his constant search for Princess Peach of The Mushroom Kingdom, defeats a Bowser look-alike and happens upon this friendly shroom. The Mushroom Retainer then uttered the now famous words, "Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!" Mario took this in stride and went to the next castle only to find another toad which says exactly the same thing! This happened five more times throughout the game (and became somewhat of a joke in the later games as well as popular culture in general). In summation the Toads got captured. A Lot.

Toad reappeared in Super Mario Bros. 2. This is the game that established the character of Toad. This Toad, however, was different from his hapless counterparts. This Toad wasn't about to spend the game locked up in one of seven generic castles. No sir, this Toad would even be a playable character. Here Toad was one of four playable characters (the others being Princess Peach, Mario, and Luigi). Toad coundn't jump very high but he made up for it by being able to uproot weeds and dig through sand remarkably fast (a necessary skill in this game, I assure you). In Super Mario Bros. 3 Toads served the seven kings who had been turned into animals by Bowser. Mario, always busy saving everyone, stopped in on some of the toads living in the seven kingdoms. The toads allowed Mario to stay and play some games. If Mario won he would receive lives or various power-ups.

The toads in Super Mario 64 were also quite helpful. These little guys were found scattered around Peach's Castle. When Mario talked to them they would provide tips and hints. They would also sometimes give Mario a star to add to his collection.

In Mario Kart: Double Dash!! female toads, long overlooked in the Mario series, gained some representation in the form of Toadette (like smurfette of the toad's world). Before Toadette came into the picture it had been debated whether or not the toads that had been seen previously were male, or even had a gender at all. The arrival of Toadette however seems to be proof that the other toads indeed are dudes.

In other media
Toad starred alongside Mario and his friends in the Saturday morning cartoon show, "Super Mario Bros. Super Show."

Starring Roles

 * Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo Entertainment System) - 1985
 * Super Mario Bros. 2 (Nintendo Entertainment System) - 1988
 * Super Mario Bros. 3 (Nintendo Entertainment System) - 1990
 * Super Mario Kart (Super Nintendo) - 1992
 * Super Mario All-Stars (Super Nintendo) - 1993
 * Wario's Woods (Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo) - 1994
 * Super Mario All-Stars (Super Nintendo) - 1994
 * Mario's Tennis (Virtual Boy) - 1995
 * Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64) - 1997
 * Mario's Tennis (Virtual Boy) - 1997
 * Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64) - 2000
 * Paper Mario (Nintendo 64) - 2001
 * Mario Kart Super Circuit (Game Boy Advance) - 2001
 * Super Mario Sunshine (Nintendo GameCube) - 2002
 * Mario Party 5 (Nintendo GameCube) - 2003
 * Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga (Game Boy Advance) - 2003
 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (Nintendo GameCube) - 2003
 * Super Mario Strikers (Nintendo GameCube) - 2005
 * Mario Kart DS (Nintendo DS) - 2005
 * Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 2008
 * Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 2007
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) - 2009

Other appearances

 * Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super Nintendo) - 1996
 * Kirby Super Star (Super Nintendo) - 1996
 * Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64) - 1996
 * Mario Party (Nintendo 64) - 1999
 * Mario Golf (Nintendo 64) - 1999
 * Mario Party 2 (Nintendo 64) - 2000
 * Luigi's Mansion (Nintendo GameCube) - 2001
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee (Nintendo GameCube) - 2001
 * Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (Nintendo GameCube) - 2003
 * Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Game Boy Advance) - 2003
 * Mario Power Tennis (Nintendo GameCube) - 2004
 * Mario Pinball Land (Game Boy Advance) - 2004
 * Super Mario 64 DS (Nintendo DS) - 2004