Toad is a recurring character and species in the Super Mario series. They are the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom and faithful understudies of Princess Peach. They will often assist Mario on his adventures to stop the evil Bowser, although most of them show cowardice in the heat of danger.
In Super Mario 64, Bowser "traps the Toads in the castle walls", and only a few Toads appear in the rooms to assist Mario. Three Toads will grant Mario a star for talking to them, having hidden them from Bowser's clutches.
Theorizing[]
Trapped Inside the Castle Walls[]
Many Toads allude to being "trapped inside of the castle walls" by Bowser. However, nobody knows what this means for sure. Many theories have been proposed, such as the Toads being turned into blocks by Bowser and literally turned into castle walls, as this has happened before according to a manual for the original Super Mario Bros. This would also explain why the architecture of the castle is so bizarre, as rooms were blocked off and rearranged due to the Toads being used to reshape the castle.
Alternatively, some say that Toads are trapped in a hollow space in between the castle walls by Bowser as they were getting in the way of his conquest. Only some Toads escaped, being the ones seen in the game. However, some say that those Toads are actually also trapped, citing them fading away as you walk away, meaning they could potentially just be using some kind of magic to project into the castle to talk to the player. This has been nicknamed "Toad Projection" by the iceberg. Notably, it is also a common theory that Princess Peach was sealed behind the stained glass seen in the Castle Grounds, which is built off of this idea of Toads literally being trapped inside of the castle walls.
Another theory believed by many is that when they say they are trapped inside of the castle walls, Bowser either used the star power to seal them inside of the castle so they couldn't find the Power Stars in the paintings themselves as Toads have occasionally helped Mario as playable characters throughout the Super Mario Bros. series, or due to Bowser locking the doors to all of the floors, the Toads were stuck in those floors as they couldn't leave, and being "trapped inside the castle walls" was just a bizarre way of phrasing it.
Phenomena[]
A reported sighting of Quin.
Quin[]
Main Article: Quin
Quin is an anomalous yellow Toad that can supposedly be found in some personalized copies of Super Mario 64. They typically have gibberish dialogue that gradually gets more coherent, but can also foreshadow events the player will later discover in other levels, such as sudden bouts of major Dynamic Level Rearrangement mentioned in Quin's dialogue before the player finds them.
Enemy Toads[]
Main Article: Enemy Toads
In some personalized copies, there are types of Toads that can be aggressive to the player, typically having black spots, but several variants exist with several other designs. This is an interesting phenomenon, as there are few cases of this occurring with any other character, and due to Toads being passive characters, it is debated whether or not to classify this as Enemy Discoloring or not. Notably, an anomaly known as the Prisoner appears to be a specific instance of Enemy Toads manifesting, but is also unique enough to be classified as it's own anomaly.
Star Toads[]
According to some who have encountered the Internal Clock, when it is night-time, Toads will have stars on their head instead of dots. This typically occurs alongside changes to the castle's appearance to match the current time of day. These Toads typically have new dialogue, usually mentioning the changes to the game made by the Personalization A.I. based off of the Internal Clock. Notably, star Toads have also been reported to appear in the anomalous Star Road area.
Dialogue Phenomena[]
According to many players, Toads have had their dialogue change. This phenomenon is rather widespread and inconsistent, as some have minor dialogue changes while others have entirely new and previously unseen dialogue. Similarly to Quin, this new dialogue typically references changes to the game, such as new ways to access levels or anomalous levels in general. However, it can also be entirely mundane, such as the Toads just being glad Mario is there and giving exposition on the game's story, which can notably reveal that the Personalization A.I. has changed it's idea of the game's story, which usually aligns with other anomalies such as Alternate Endings, Alternate Campaigns or Mass Game Retheming.
Ally with Info[]
Main article: Ally with Info
In Super Mario 64 DS, a Toad on the second floor tells the player to look for an "ally with info" within the Mirror Room. It's important to note that this is said with every character, including Wario who is unlocked within the Mirror Room, meaning that Toad isn't referring to Wario and it cannot be a simple translation error. There have been several theories as to this mysterious ally's identity, as well as reports of anomalous NPCs that fit the description of this ally with info.
Playable Toad[]
For a currently unknown reason, several players have reported a playable Toad in Super Mario 64 DS. Their abilities are typically a mixture of other characters, such as Luigi's scuttle jump, Mario's wall jumping, and even Waluigi's speed. Their Power Flower ability is inconsistent, with some saying it's simply borrowed from another character, some saying it allows them to walk up walls, and some even say they can use spores to spawn large mushrooms that can be used as platforms. Notably, these large mushrooms have been spawned by Toads in other games. This playable Toad is most commonly unlocked in a level known as Traitor Toad Tussle, an abandoned castle floor of some kind. Why this anomaly occurs is unknown, as there is nothing to hint at Toad being an unused playable character, but there is also no known motivation for the A.I. to entirely create a playable Toad. Notably, their passive abilities being a mix of other character abilities seems to suggest that their ability was either unfinished or the A.I. couldn't make it's own ability, depending on which force created it.