Toad (Mario) - Characteristics

Characteristics

Toad bears a similar appearance to the rest of his species with his large mushroom hat and clothes. He is very small in size, and has no legs visible, with just his shoes showing. Unlike other Toads, he features five red polka dots on his mushroom head and wears a blue vest; however, his coloration will change if he gets a fire flower, as his cap's colors will be reversed while his clothes turn red. A yellow outline was added to his vest in the recent Mario games, starting with Super Mario Sunshine. Sometimes, Toad appears with a red vest, though he is most often seen with his blue vest.

In the Mario cartoons, Toad has on occasion removed his mushroom cap, revealing three strands of hair; however, the games have never confirmed or refuted this. Toad appears as a mix between a mushroom and a rather small human. However, Toad can grow to about a normal human's height if he consumes a Super Mushroom, as seen in Super Mario Bros. 2 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

At most times, Toad is portrayed as a rather cowardly character, but the fact that he actually knows about his cowardice makes him one of the more innocent and humbler characters in the series. Despite his fears, Toad is usually one of the few people that tries his best to support Mario when he is on his adventures, from providing items to actually adventuring alongside with the hero on his quest. Despite the fact that Toad is usually seen as a cheerful character, he can get extremely distressed when a major event occurs, such as the kidnapping of the Princess. He has been mentioned to being a hard working Toad with a strong loyalty to his Princess and friends.