Talk:Moleville Toad

Name change

As mentioned here, the "treasure-hunting Toad" was evidently named after a wish that, as it turns out, wasn't even his. Not only that, but using "Toads" to refer to the people wasn't in common usage until Paper Mario; Super Mario RPG was one of the last games to distinctly use "Mushroom person", which can be seen in one of the Nimbus NPC's lines describing an inn guest (remake even keeps this, changing "mushroom person" to lowercase, when it had the opportunity to use "Toad" instead). So let's fix that. My suggestion: considering he opens the "Miner's Store" later in the game, I think "Miner" is a good enough name for him. It might even qualify as conjecture removal. What do you think? LinkTheLefty (talk) 10:39, March 14, 2024 (EDT)

I agree with changing the name, but I'm not sure about "Miner". For what it's worth, the Japanese name for the shop is「ほりだしもの屋」, which doesn't appear to name the character. So, maybe moving the page, but keeping it as conjectural? Blinker (talk) 16:08, March 14, 2024 (EDT)

Yeah, it can just as easily be interpreted as being a shop for miners. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 16:22, March 14, 2024 (EDT)

I interpreted it as "Trove's Store" but there's a double-meaning in there since the word can mean "bargain" (although it would also make sense if it was supposed to be "Miners’ Store" but there was a misplaced apostrophe). It might be worth checking the other languages in the remake to see what approach the foreign renditions take. LinkTheLefty (talk) 16:58, March 14, 2024 (EDT)

Looking on YouTube, in Italian it's "una Bottega del minatore", or "a miner's store". Not as in "(a miner)'s store", but as in "a (miner's store)". In Spanish, it's "una tienda minera", or "a mining shop". And I've checked three French playlists, but none of them talk to the guy... Blinker (talk) 18:56, March 14, 2024 (EDT)

I got it, with rough translations. FreE: "galeries de la mine" (mine galleries); FreA: "Boutique de la Mine" (Mine Store); Ger: "Bergbauladen" (Mining store); Dut: "mijnwinkel" (mine store); Chi: "珍品店" (Curio Store); Kor: "골동품 상점" (Curio Store). So none of them refer to the owner, meaning that "Miner" won't work. Alternate suggestion: something along the lines of "Miner's Storekeeper" or "Miner's Store manager"? LinkTheLefty (talk) 13:56, April 1, 2024 (EDT)

I wonder how that wish was misconstrued to be this character's in the first place, given the speech pattern hint of Croco in the Japanese version (which I assume was there the whole time in the original Super Famicom release all those years ago), and the fact that some bosses like Belome and Punchinello have a wish but recurring boss Croco's is strangely absent.
Anyway, regarding an alternate name, does "Miner's Store Toad" work? rend (talk) (edits) 11:07, April 3, 2024 (EDT)

I think it's because treasure hunter feels a little bit strange for Croco. My guess is it may have been Woolsey giving a sly nod to Locke from Final Fantasy VI (a thief who insists on the term treasure hunter). The Japanese wish (original/remake) has a different nuance, being (my translation) "Lemme nab the world's treasures!" So you get the sense the character is a grabby traveler, which fits Croco better, especially when you factor he sounds more like a worldly wannabe in Japanese. I can see how someone out of context could mistake the English version for that other character who was searching for treasure in the mines.
Well, like this character, my preference would be to not use "Toad" if we can help it. Also like that character, there's another problem with the conjectural name - the Miner's Store doesn't always exist, so I wonder if it's odd to identify him as the "Miner's Store" Toad. He is, however, the only Toad in Moleville. Maybe "Moleville mushroom person" or "Moleville Toad"? LinkTheLefty (talk) 22:02, April 11, 2024 (EDT)