Toad (Mario) - Appearances

Appearances

Toad and his race of mushroom people made their debut appearance in Super Mario Bros. where they play a minimal role in the game. They appear at the end of every stage as the Mushroom Retainers (who serve the princess) once Mario or Luigi defeats Bowser, rewarding the heroes with the famous message: "Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!", and in the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 they maintain this role. In the American Super Mario Bros. 2, Toad got his first individual appearance and was given a bigger role as one of the four playable characters. In Super Mario Bros. 3, Toad appears in the Toad houses where he provides items and extra lives for Mario to take on his journey. Toad, however, is the main protagonist of Wario's Woods, where he is trying to prevent Wario from taking over the woods. Eventually with the help of Birdo and a fairy named Wanda, Toad fights Wario and in the end saves the woods from the clutches of the evil antagonist, restoring peace to the area.

The 3D Mario games introduced Toad's role as a helper who would provide assistance to Mario if he needed it, thus making him one of Mario's major allies. In Super Mario 64, Toad explains the backstory to Mario, as well as telling him what he has to do to proceed in the game. In the game's remake Super Mario 64 DS, Toad appears with the same role; however, he is given character-specific remarks (such as mistaking Luigi for Mario in green clothes or thinking that Wario would betray the rest of the group). In Luigi's Mansion, Toad appears in various parts of the mansion as a save point. Different colored Toads appear in Super Mario Sunshine as Peach's attendants. In Super Mario Galaxy, Toads appear at the beginning of the game as some of the citizens of Toad Town. Later on, a group of Toads appear as the Toad Brigade (with Toad himself being the captain of the brigade), who attempt to help Mario or Luigi retrieve the Power Stars. Toad himself also appears in the intro of the game, where he is holding hands with Toadette as the two look at the night sky. Toad makes a reappearance in the sequel, Super Mario Galaxy 2, once again the trying but cowardly captain of the Toad Brigade. Like in the first game, he and his brigade would attempt to help Mario retrieve the Power Stars in order to save Princess Peach.

In New Super Mario Bros. Wii and New Super Mario Bros. U, there are two playable generic toads (multi-player only), one blue and one yellow recolor. The Blue Toad has a similar appearance similar with the original Toad and even shares the same voices as Toad in New Super Mario Bros. Wii (the yellow Toad has a higher pitched voice). The original Toad himself isn't playable, he plays as an extra role including the host of Toad houses, and being strewn throughout different levels that Mario must bring to the finish to save.

In 2011, Toad plays a role in the 3DS title Super Mario 3D Land in which he, upon his rescue at the end of World One, assists Mario throughout the rest of the adventure through the availability of Toad Houses, where he provides items and uncovering secrets for Mario in the various levels. Toad also appears as a prominent character in New Super Mario Bros. 2 where he runs the Toad Houses once again to assist both Mario and Luigi throughout the game.

Throughout the Mario RPG series, Toad is featured as more of a minor character due to the large amounts of generic toads which appear in the games who seem to replace his role as a helper. Regardless, in the times he does appear, Toad is once again a minor character who just gives a backstory to Mario and the others. In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Toad appears as a major NPC character who teaches Mario about the different skills to use in battles in the beginning as the duo heads to the Mushroom Kingdom (though Toad had to be saved by Mario along the way as he is kidnapped frequently by enemies). Toad appears more throughout the game, for example as part of Mario's nightmare. Toad appears as a playable character in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for a short time when the player is exploring around Mario and Luigi's house. In Super Princess Peach, Toad is kidnapped earlier in the game along with Mario and Luigi by the Hammer Bros.. However, Toad appears as a playable character in two of the minigames in the game. Toad appears in Super Paper Mario in three aspects of the game. He appears in the intro, telling Mario and Luigi that Princess Peach has been kidnapped, and later appears in the Arcade mini-game Mansion Patrol. Additionally, Toad is one of the 256 Catch Cards in the game. In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, a mysterious infection called "The Blorbs" causes the Toads to inflate to many times their normal size and roll around uncontrollably.