Toad is a character who is Princess Peach's attendant and a long time protector of the Mushroom Kingdom. He is actually a singular character among an entire species of look-alikes (much like Yoshi is to the Yoshi species), leading to confusion over some of his appearances. He usually has the role of a supporting character who tries to help Mario and Luigi on their adventures, although he occasionally has been as a main protagonist, such as in Super Mario Bros. 2 and his starring role in Wario's Woods. He also appears regularly as a playable character in the Mario spin-offs. His role as Peach's steward has sometimes instead been given to Toadsworth.
Physical appearance[]
His mushroom is a part of his head
Toad basically has the look of the rest of his species. He normally wears a blue vest, large brown shoes and a large diaper-like piece of clothing for pants. His appearance often depicts him to looking like a small human child with his miniature size and recognizable human like features. In the games starting from Mario Party 4, Toad's vest is given an added gold lining. He has a red-spotted mushroom cap, indicating slight cowardice and heavy obedience. A small controversy arose with Super Mario Bros. 2, because Toad is given a blue mushroom cap instead of a red one. However, Toad's blue mushroom cap is actually due to the graphical incapability of the NES rather than a continuity thread. In remakes of Super Mario Bros. 2, such as Super Mario All-Stars, Toad is given a red mushroom cap. While the question as to whether or not Toad's mushroom cap is in fact a hat or not has yet to be answered in the games, the cartoon series The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 has Toad removing his cap on occasion.
Like most of the characters in the series, Toad has changed very little appearance wise throughout the years since his debut in Super Mario Bros.. The only recognizable differences in his current look consists of his physical appearance which included some defining factors in the recent years (such as redesigned eyes and a gold outline that was recently added to his traditional vest), and the corrected number of spots on his mushroom cap (the number of spots on his cap was inconsistent in the older Mario games). The addition of the red polka dot on the top of his head is first seen in the game Luigi's Mansion where even Luigi acknowledges the top spot and called it lovely if he is to take a picture of Toad with the Game Boy Horror.
In other aspects, Toad is very small in size (a trait shared within his species). In relation to his body size, he also has small, thin arms and no legs (with just his feet). He also has a large head that is mostly dominated by the red spotted mushroom cap on his head. Overall, Toad's head appears to have a strong resemblance to various mushrooms (most notably the Super Mushroom). While having the look of a child in his current appearance (as like most of the members of his species do), it can be arguable that his earlier appearances (especially in his game appearances during the Nintendo 64 era) portray him as looking much more childish in design with his very large head and miniature body (more so than his current appearance). Surprisingly, a piece of artwork of Toad for the game Mario Party has Toad's legs showing. Toads have never been portrayed with their legs showing in game artwork before or after Mario Party. In the graphics for Super Mario Bros 3 and Excite Bike Mario, Toad appears to have short legs unlike his other appearances.
Toad's arguably most drastically changed appearance can be seen in Super Mario 3D World in which he appears with a blue spotted mushroom cap instead of his red one; ultimately, giving him an appearance of a blue toad. However, it should be noted that Toad's appearance in Super Mario Bros. 2 for the NES also featured him with a blue cap instead of a red one (as a result of hardware limitations for the character sprites); thus, making his blue cap in the former game a potential reference to Super Mario Bros. 2.
Personality[]
Toad is often foreseen as a happy character (happy almost to the point of childishness). His official artwork often shows him with a wide, happy smile on his face. Within the games, Toad is often depicted in a child-like manner by often performing actions that resemble those of a child (such as jumping enthusiastically and cheering on in a joyful way). However, he is also sometimes seen as somewhat of a coward. He is presumably one of the most humble characters in the Mario series, as he seems to be actually aware of his own cowardice. Despite this, Toad is kind and often helps Mario on his multiple adventures. In a variety of games, he has been referenced multiple times to being a very kind and polite Toad who generally roots for the well being for just about anyone who he calls his friend. In some Mario Kart images and various Mario media (such as the comic series), Toad has been shown to be accident-prone or simply unlucky. In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Toad shows something of a sarcastic streak.
Toad is almost never seen to get angry. Where most characters would get angry, Toad merely gets upset, and indeed has been described as an impatient character.[5] He is shown to be an excitable little guy, and is often shown running around frantically. Despite all this, he still manages to be brave when the need truly calls for it.
In some Mario media, Toad's personality is slightly altered. Many of these show or comic books created another character to take care of Princess Peach (such as Wooster in the Nintendo Comic System), allowing Toad to have a more active role in the story. In these forms of media, Toad is sometimes depicted to being rather naïve and a bit on the selfish side while performing his child-like mannerisms. However, his own rashness often leads him into trouble which causes him to forcefully change his attitude for the better in order to fix the problems he unintentionally started.
In the Valiant Comics series, it gives a brief insight as to Toad's private residence. This reveals Toad lives in a small house which is furnished in a similar way to many houses in the "real world", with modern appliances including a coffee maker. Toad's lifestyle is also similar to many American working men, where he is dedicated to his work as a Mushroom Retainer. He also drinks coffee from a cup that reads "World's Greatest Mushroom Retainer," which is likely an intentionally comedic reference to the self-important statements on coffee cups that many working men own.
