Toad Town

Toad Town is the capital town of the Mushroom Kingdom. Located at the doorstep of Princess Peach's Castle, the town first appeared in Paper Mario. Since then, Toad Town became a recurrent location in the Super Mario series. However, much like Princess Peach's Castle the appearance, design, and layout of the town have varied greatly each time it has reappeared.

History

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Toad Town first appeared in the Super Mario series as a developed and flourishing society. As of yet, the story of its creation and development remains unexplored. Chronologically, the first appearance of the town occurred in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, just prior to the Shroob attack on the Mushroom Kingdom. The city was a bright, cheery town, much like its modern-day counterpart.

The Shroob Invasion

This all changed on the day the Shroobs came to Mushroom World in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. As the capital of the kingdom, Toad Town and Princess Peach's Castle were the first targets. The aliens attacked with Shroob UFOs, neutralizing the area with their offensive weaponry. Ruthlessly, they attacked both buildings, such as Princess Peach's Castle, and people, such as the Toads walking outside in the streets.

The Shroob rulers, Princess Shroob and the Elder Princess Shroob, lead the invasion of the castle utilizing the basic Shroob foot soldiers. Once there, they were unable to capture the princess, Baby Peach, as she had fled with Baby Bowser, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, and her caretaker, Toadsworth the Younger in the Koopa Cruiser. However, from the future, the adult Princess Peach along with her aids Toadiko and Toadbert, arrived in E. Gadd's time machine. The Shroobs began to attack them, but Princess Peach took the machine's power source, the Cobalt Star, and used it to counter the Shroobs. As a result, the Elder Princess Shroob was sealed within the star, and the princess shattered it. Enraged, Princess Shroob and her troops apprehended the princess. Their next action was to transform the castle into Shroob Castle.

The destruction of Toad Town was total: not a single building was left unharmed, although many remained their structural integrity. All of the residents fled to the surrounding area with the exception of Gramma Red and Gramma Green, the saleswomen of Gramma's Place.

Exact details on the evacuation and its aftermath are slim. The wreckage of coaches in Toadwood Forest serves as evidence that many residents fled there through that form of travel. However, the Shroobs were ready for those who hid in the forest. They altered the trees to grab hold of the Toads and pull them in closely. Then, the trees sucked the vim out and used their roots to transfer it to the Vim Factory, where it was turned into fuel. Victims of this process were left attached to the trees, unable to move and in some severe cases unable to speak as well. Whether this process killed the Toads is debatable: neither a positive nor a negative outcome is known.

However, through a series of events, the adult Mario and Luigi had teamed up with Baby Mario and Baby Luigi to save Princess Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom. Through the powers of the Elder Princess Shroob within the Cobalt Star, Time Holes were opening up in the future Princess Peach's Castle, and the Mario Bros. were using them to further their efforts by traveling to the present from the future. One such Time Hole lead to the present Toad Town.

Entering it with the intent of getting close to Shroob Castle, the brothers found that Toad Town was now crawling both with enemies related and unrelated to the Shroobs. Gramma Red and Green gave them details as to what had passed and then tried to sell their wares. However, the Mario Bros. found the evacuated houses to be full of useful healing items for use as they traversed through the system of gates that blocked their way to Shroob Castle. Eventually they reached the castle.

As a result of their continued efforts, they eventually managed to enter the castle and destroy the Shroob forces. Though they accidentally unleashed the Elder Princess Shroob after defeating Princess Shroob, the Mario Bros. ultimately managed to defeat the alient forces. With the help of the Hydrogush 4000, the future Professor Elvin Gadd pumped artificial baby tears into the various Time Holes, removing the handiwork of the Shroobs and reviving the kingdom.

Reconstruction

Details of Toad Town's reconstruction are also slim. The Mushroom Kingdom had recovered by the time Bowser invaded in Super Mario Bros., although there is no evidence against the kingdom having reconstructed years prior to the Koopa Clan's first invasion. Additionally, the involvement of Toad Town in major political events prior to its next chronological appearance in Paper Mario, such as Bowser's many invasions, is unconfirmed as well.

Bowser's Castle Kidnapping

On the day of Princess Peach's latest party, many of the Mushroom Kingdom's greatest citizens turned out for the festivities. Mayors, celebrities, and even the heroes Mario and Luigi arrived at Princess Peach's Castle, which was protected by the royal guards. The festivities proceeded as expected until a great earthquake roared through Toad Town, originating from underneath the castle.

The earthquake was caused by Bowser through the power of the Star Rod, which he had stolen from the Star Spirits in Star Haven. The Koopa king magically transported his castle underneath Princess Peach's and begun to ascend his castle into space, uprooting the princess's castle and taking it with him. Many of the party's attendees fled out of the castle when the earthquake began, but the rest, including the Toad Minister, Mario, and Princess Peach, were taken captive.

Toad Town was in chaos. Not only was its governing body absent, the earthquake caused damage throughout the town to the point where the southern portions of town, including the port and train station, were unreachable. Most of the residents were devastated by the loss of the castle, which had left a giant crater in the now destroyed section of the town beyond the castle gates. An organized attempt to undo the damage of the earthquake began over the next few days, after which Mario arrived in town on his latest quest to stop Bowser and his minions. As Mario fought throughout the Mushroom Kingdom, the town continued to reconstruct. The majority of the damage was reverted by the time Mario returned from the Koopa Bros. Fortress, having rescued the first Star Spirit, Eldstar.

Just as life was returning to normal, the Shy Guys of Shy Guy's Toy Box emerged and began an unorganized series of petty thefts and vandalism. Mario returned from Forever Forest after rescuing the third Star Spirit, Skolar. With the help of Lady Bow, Mario discovered the location of the toy box and entered. Mario and his partners managed to recover the lost goods of the town as he fought through Shy Guy's Toy Box. Muskular, the forth Star Spirit, was guarded by General Guy, the leader of the Shy Guys. In defeating the general, Mario ended the Shy Guys' actions and brought peace to the town once more.

Mario and his partners fought against and defeated Bowser at the top of Princess Peach's Castle with the help of the Star Spirits, the princess, and her friend, Twink. After the battle, Mario recovered the Star Rod just before Bowser's Castle exploded, sending Bowser and his assistant, Kammy Koopa, flying. The Star Spirits placed a protective shield around the heroes, Bowser's prisoners, and the princess's castle, safely guiding it back to its place north of Toad Town's central plaza, returning peace to the town.

In honor of Mario and his friends' heroic deeds, Princess Peach through another party after the castle grounds were restored. Many of the same guests arrived. The princess gave a speech to her people, thanking her rescuers. Later, Luigi lead a massive parade in which representatives of many lands of the Mushroom Kingdom participated. Even Bowser and Kammy, looking sullen, took part in the parade. Despite a fight that broke out between the Kammy and Jr. Troopa that ended when Bowser burnt both with his flame breath, the parade was peaceful. Peace had returned to the kingdom.

Appearances

Paper Mario

In Paper Mario, Mario and his group of friends travel through Toad Town quite often, as it is the hub area for the game and most areas can only be reached by passing through Toad Town (Forever Forest, Lavalava Island, Pleasant Path, etc.). At Toad Town's train station, the K64 train frequently departs to Mt. Rugged, and its dock is home to arriving and departing boats.

A massive sewer system called Toad Town Tunnels is under the town and has warp pipes to all areas in the game. Badges, Super Blocks, and enemies lurk in the damp darkness.

Toad Town's main entrance square contains an item shop, the Toad Town Dojo on the second floor of a two-story building (the first floor of which is inaccessible) and multiple houses, including Russ T.'s library-like home.

Rowf and Rhuff's badge stand, a Toad House, the home of Merlon the fortune-teller and the Post Office are near the gate to Peach's Castle at the north end of town. South of here you can find Tayce T.'s house, the entrance to Toad Town Tunnels and the path leading to Forever Forest.

The area that includes Tayce T.'s house and the Forever Forest entrance.

In an otherwise abandoned house in the southwest part of town is the Shy Guy's Toy Box, where Muskular, one of the Star Spirits, was being held. Also here is a second item shop. The southern-most area is where the train station is located, as well as the Li'l Oink farm. Finally, the western-most area of Toad Town has the docks and a single building in which a lively bar is housed.

The flower garden, just south of the Toad House, is tended to by Minh T., and serves as the portal to Flower Fields. The path to Flower Fields can be opened if Mario and co. give Minh T. all four Magical Seeds which are received from Bub-ulbs spread out all over the Mushroom Kingdom.

The main entrance to Toad Town also has a Warp Pipe that leads to Mario and Luigi's house.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Mario walks around Toad Town plaza in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga to learn the basic skills of the game. If Mario assists certain citizens, he'll get extra Mushrooms for his journey. Mario only visits Toad Town at the very beginning of this game.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the Mario Bros. and their baby selves travel to a Toad Town of the past, which was completely destroyed by the Shroobs. The only survivors left in the town are two old lady Toads who run the shop there. Everywhere else in Toad Town at that time was overrun with enemies.

Mario Party DS

Toad Town is briefly seen in the game's intro. During the intro, what appears to be shooting stars cross over the night sky in Toad Town. These were actually Sky Crystals, and Mario was lucky enough to obtain one. All in all, Bowser stole Mario's crystal and shrunk them down. The miniature crew traveled across Toad Town and it's surrounding areas to get the other pieces. The first two Party boards were located in Toad Town itself. Wiggler's Garden is shown located in the town square, and Toadette's Music Room is located near the Town's coast.

Toad Town's design in this game greatly differed from it's appearance in Super Mario Galaxy, and looked more like the way it did in Paper Mario. The houses looked more like real-world houses, as opposed to the colonial-styled brick houses it had in Galaxy. Peach's Castle, which is usually the landmark of Toad Town, was not visible in the Toad Town scene in the intro.

Trivia

• Toad Town has also been mentioned to in other games, such as the GameCube game Animal Crossing. The character Gulliver talks about his pet goldfish in Toad Town, implying that he lives there. However, he also talks about his goldfish in Hyrule. Toad Town has even been given mere references in other Mario games, such as Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, where it was apparently quickly visited by Lumpy in his quest for oil at Dry Dry Desert and was mentioned by Zip Toad as the future filming area for On Golden Toad 2.

• There's a secret area where Mario can play games and wager coins. Mario can only play if he has the special Credits from Koopa Koot. This is basically the Pianta Parlor from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

• The town known as "Mushroom Kingdom" featured in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars may have been a sort of predecessor to Toad Town. As a matter of fact, a certain beta screenshot of Paper Mario shows Toad Town's west gate labeled "Mushroom Kingdom" rather than "Toad Town" or its Japanese name, indicating that Toad Town was once considered to share names with this aforementioned Super Mario RPG town.

Enemies Found in Paper Mario

• Jr. Troopa (Mini-boss; encountered after the player recruits Sushie or accomplishes Chapter 5)

Enemies Found in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

• Shroid
• Skellokey
• Love Bubble

Area Tattles

• This is the west entrance to Toad Town. In case you couldn't tell, it's the main gate. The fancy gate and the star emblem on the ground are symbols of this fair town. Goomba Village, where my house is, is a brief journey west from here. You'll find a very smart Toad named Russ T. living in this town. He knows lots of useful information for adventurers. You'll also find shops that sell various items. Oh yeah! There's also a Dojo.
• It's your house! Cool! Nice landscaping! I like my house, but yours is even nicer. Did you do the decorating yourself?
• This is the central area of Toad Town, a plaza in front of Princess Peach's Castle. Pleasant Path begins to the east of here. This used to be a bustling area before Bowser's attack. Guests at the castle were always in and out. And tourists came from all over to see the castle. The wizard Merlon also lives around here. If you get stuck, his fortune telling might just help you out! There's also a Toad House where you can take a short rest and a post office where you can pick up mail for your party members. Also, over by the flower garden, there's a guy named Rowf who's opening his own specialty shop.
• Peach's Castle... used to be here. There's not even a trace of it now. How awful!
• Miss. Tayce T., a famous local cook, lives around here. I'm pretty sure my mom wants to learn cooking from her. Tayce T. will cook for you if you take ingredients to her. Oh yeah!Forever Forest lies to the east, so a Toad watchman stands guard there and prevents people from wandering in.
• This is the residential area of Toad Town. It's mostly homes. But there's also a shop. For Toad Town, this area is pretty quiet.
• This is Toad Town's port. It's home to the only restaurant in town. I like to stand at the end of the pier and gaze at the sea.
• There's Toad Town Station. It's a station for the Dry Dry Railroad. From there, you can take the train to scenic Mt. Rugged. And there's also Oink Oink Farm, where they raise Li'l Oinks. Raising Li'l Oinks costs coins. My dad said there's a Playroom here, but I don't see it...
• This is the reception area for the Playroom. You should ask what kind of games they have, Mario.
• It's called Jump Attack. If you win the game, you'll collect lots of coins. If you lose, you won't get a thing. Too bad!
• They said this is called Smash Attack. The idea is to whack the blocks placed on the floor. Let's get in there and smash all of 'em! But... Actually, it may not be a good idea to hit them all.
• If we go east, we'll get to the entrance of Forever Forest. If we go west, we'll hit Toad Town. Remember?
• This whale tongue is squishy. It makes it hard to walk. It's also kind of dark...
• It's completely dark. I can't see a thing. Mario! What's up ahead? You know, being inside a whale belly is gross... Damp... Squishy... Let's never do this again.
• It's a room beneath the Toad Town pond. I don't think anyone's been here for a long time.