A mock-up of what the level may look like with no Toads rescued.
Toad Town, also known as Toad Village, is a supposed locale in Super Mario 64 often found by Stop N' Swopping Paper Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 together. The area appears to be based off of Toad Town from Paper Mario 64, being a grassy field with several Toad Houses and Toads inhabiting the level, though it does appear to be it's own location. As the player progresses, more Toads inhabit the level, unlocking more missions and even new locations. This area is unique, as it reportedly functions as both a unique level and a hub world, either as a smaller area alongside Princess Peach's Castle or rarely as a fully-fledged Alternate Castle.
Description[]
Toad Village is described to be comprised of a large grassy island, with houses scattered across the island that bear a resemblance to mushrooms, similar to the town's depiction in the Mario & Luigi series. Flower patches and trees are reportedly scattered around, with different elevations also documented to be throughout the level. Other potential details include a well, crates, and a waterfall. No enemies typically inhabit this level. The area itself is commonly found somewhere via the Castle Grounds or Castle Courtyard, such as a new path or a Warp Pipe.
Toads[]
A commonality throughout reports of this level is that Toads can inhabit this level and upgrade it, adding more houses, as well as other objects such as bridges and ladders, and even vehicles such as boats to access previously inaccessible areas and islands. Notably, the Toad Shrine has been reported to appear after all Toads have been unlocked. Toads can also be found scattered throughout the area, often with new dialogue though Toads from Princess Peach's Castle have reportedly been recycled into this area. Without any Toads, the level lacks music, environmental sounds, and the sky appears to be foggy.
How Toads are "unlocked" is notably variable. A common explanation is that they simply appear as you collect Power Stars or unlock floors, or only appear when you talk to Toads in the castle, who notably disappear in these reports. If the player simply needs Power Stars, Toads either appear with each Power Star milestone or only when specific missions are cleared, such as boss missions. However, some say that special collectibles are required to fill the village with Toads, such as anomalous stars. However, some say you need to find actual Toads throughout the levels, often in new areas or even subareas of levels that previously did not exist.
The Toads that inhabit Toad Town are typically the same Toads seen in unpersonalized copies, but other variants, primarily blue Toads, have also been seen. If the Internal Clock detects it is night, Star Toads can also appear in this level. Other anomalous Toads such as instances of Coincidental Character Creation, Quin, and even the Prisoner have also been reported. As such, this level acts as a hotbed of Toad-based phenomena due to it's unique theme.
Missions[]
Toad Town often has Power Stars hidden within it, though most reports say it lacks a level screen. Common stars are simply found by talking to Toads or within houses, though some say that stars can be hidden on top of houses or in parts of the level that one must complete an obstacle course to reach or unlock a certain amount of Toads. 8 red coins stars are also reported, as well as 5 secrets. Another common mission is finding an object in the level to bring to a Toad that requests them, seemingly an example of Quest Items. Notably, Koopa the Quick has been reported to appear in the level, though this is by far the least common of the missions.
Associated Levels[]
The reason this level is classified as a hub world is because within houses or parts of the level itself, such as hidden Warp Pipes, cavern entrances and even boats, entrances to new levels can be found that usually help accelerate the town's growth more than other levels. These levels commonly aren't reported without Toad Town, though they have occasionally been documented in other hub world areas such as Princess Peach's Castle or some other location.
Massive Mushroom Maze[]
Massive Mushroom Maze is one of the most common levels reported alongside Toad Town, being a large maze made out of mushrooms, hence the name. The level is often found within the basement of a house, either with a hidden door behind the basement or a hole in the floor inside of the house itself. The level usually only has one Power Star at the end of the level, though several Toads can reportedly be found to be rescued if they are directly found in the copy. The level is commonly considered a sub-area of Toad Town itself, as it's the only level that can reportedly appear inside of Toad Town when it's not a hub world.
Mario's House[]
Main Article: Mario's House
If Toad Town is unlocked via Stop N' Swop, this level commonly appears alongside it. It resembles Mario's house from Paper Mario 64, as the name suggests, and often contains very few Power Stars. This level is notable as often also being reported as a part of the hub world and being connected to Toad Town if it isn't found inside of Toad Town itself. Some have even said that Mario's House is an area integrated into the main segment of Toad Town, though it often requires several Toads unlocked to reach, making many consider it an "extra area."
The Shop[]
Main Article: The Shop
If the Shop is run by Toads in the copy, it often appears within Toad Town after a certain amount of Toads are unlocked. It otherwise operates exactly as it appears in other reports.
Ghastly Gulch[]
Ghastly Gulch is a ravine level filled with Boos and dead trees that appears to be similar to Gusty Gulch. However, it does not match the color palette and instead typically matches the theme of Big Boo's Haunt and other anomalous ghost levels. Other anomalous ghost enemies such as Eeries, Big Boo's Creeps and Dry Bones can also reportedly appear here. The missions in the level typically include beating a Big Boo or Grand Eerie and climbing up to the top of the ravine, which can reportedly lead to Big Boo's Forest.
The Flaming Slide[]
The Flaming Slide is a slide level that appears to take place in a volcano, similarly to the sub-area of Lethal Lava Land. It appears to be similar to the Super Secret Slide, containing several extreme obstacles, though flamethrowers and fire-themed obstacles such as Bullies and lava are much more common. Instead of having a Power Star at the end, some say that a Big Bully has to be defeated to obtain the Power Star, and an 8 red coins star has also been reported.
Reports[]
It is worth noting that these reports are from anonymous sources, and as such they should be taken with a grain of salt.
Reports 1/2[]
These were located on an old forum about video games before it shut down soon after.
"Does anyone remember that village in Mario 64 with all the Toads? It starts out eerie and dark, nothing like the Mario I know. Eventually, once Toads start populating the area, it becomes disturbingly cheery."
"YES! I'm so glad I'm not crazy!!! The more Toads you saved, the more areas that were unlocked... those stages didn't have stars though, I don't remember what they had instead though."
Report 3[]
This report was located on YouTube as a reply to a comment documenting a supposed forest area within the Castle Courtyard.
"There was this toad town place, you turned around and walked out of the courtyard to the castle, then went through some forest, and one of the areas in that forest was the toad town. You had to rescure toads and they would build new areas for you to explore. I remember there was this lone house with a well nearby, but you couldnt enter any of the homes anyways"
Report 4[]
This report was supposedly found within a now deleted video talking about Super Mario 64. This was the only mention of the area.
"Those Stars you got would transfer over and more Toads would fill up this Toad Village. It would give you special stages with new collectables, almost like post-game content. I remember how dreadful everything was before you rescued any Toads. There was a distinct grey fog that didn't fit anywhere in a Mario game."