Toad House

"Toad houses. Ah, the simple life."

- Kersti

Toad Houses are Mushroom-shaped buildings that first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3. They have since made appearances in more recent games. Toad Houses are usually located across every world map except for the last world within the Super Mario games. Toad Houses always hold either a useful surprise or reward for the player. Within most games, Toad Houses are generally run and hosted by ally characters such as Toad, Toadsworth, and a variety of other Toads.

Super Mario Bros. 3


In Super Mario Bros. 3, upon entering a Toad House, Toad will appear and present the player with three Treasure Chests. While it's implied that each chests has a different content, the game's code randomly decide the item given only after opening a chest, meaning there's no advantage to pick a chest over the others. Toad Houses in earlier worlds tend to hold more basic power-ups such as Super Mushrooms and Super Leaves, while the ones in later worlds may hold Tanooki Suits and Hammer Suits. The player may only open one chest, after which, the Toad House will disappear.

In some of the alternate Toad Houses, Toad hosts a mini-game consisting of matching cards in which the player must flip the cards and obtain matches of different patterns in order to win. Upon selecting some matching cards (until the player loses all his or her chances in the game), the player is rewarded with the earned amount of extra lives.

In World 1-3, if the players press and hold on the white block, Mario or Luigi will then be "behind" the level's objects (bushes, blocks, enemies, etc.). If the players keep running right and behind the black background at the end of the level, they will enter a secret Toad House, where they will acquire a Warp Whistle.

Beta screenshots of Super Mario Bros. 3 showed that Toad wouldn't be the only one hosting Toad Houses - a Koopa and a Hammer Bro. would also run the Toad Houses.

White Toad House
If a player collects a certain amount of coins in a world's particular level, a White Toad House will appear (in remakes of the game, these Toad Houses are blue). Within these special Toad Houses lie a single chest. A P-Wing can be found in the chest in odd-numbered worlds, while an Anchor will appear in even-numbered worlds.

The following shows the criteria for unlocking the White Toad Houses.

World-e
There are also three different colored Toad Houses in the bonus World-e of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. However, instead of containing items in chests, they have minigames that reward random items. To unlock the gates blocking them, one must collect the required amount of Advance Coins.

Due to the limited amount of e-Reader levels released outside of Japan, the maximum amount of Advance coins obtainable to non-Japanese versions (Excluding European versions) are 49, leaving only the first minigame unlockable.

Super Mario World
Beta screenshots of Super Mario World showed Toad Houses were going to appear in this game. The Top Secret Area has a similar function to the Toad Houses in the final game.

New Super Mario Bros.
Toad Houses reappear in New Super Mario Bros. on the world map, often requiring Star Coins to open up (or completing a bonus, lettered level). Toad Houses (except the Mini House) disappear after one use. However, if the brothers can complete all eighty levels in the game, all Toad's Houses will reappear and become permanent (marked by a blue circle on the world map), providing up to 99 lives and infinite items to help find all the Star Coins. Manned by Toadsworth, they supply all the helpful items in the game in four different varieties:

Power-Up Toad House
Power-Up Toad Houses are capped by a red mushroom on the world map. A giant Roulette Block alternates between a Mushroom, Fire Flower, Blue Shell and a Mini Mushroom. Whatever is displayed when Mario or Luigi bumps it from below is what will be stored as the backup item. If a brother has a backup item already and the item chosen has less or equal value to the original backup item, 1000 points will be awarded instead.

1-Up Toad House
1-Up Toad Houses are capped by a green mushroom. Six ? Blocks are spread out. Three contain a 1-Up Mushroom card. One contains a 1-Up Mushroom X3 card, which is equal to 3 1-Ups. One contains a X2 card. One contains a Bowser card. The X2 card doubles all cards already revealed, and the Bowser card ends the minigame (though Mario keeps any 1-Ups revealed). Up to twelve 1-Ups can be won.

Mega Mushroom Toad House
Mega Mushroom Toad Houses are Mushroom Houses that look like Mega Mushrooms. When Mario or Luigi enter this house, Toadsworth will create a Giant ? Block. When hit, a Mega Mushroom will appear. The Mega Mushroom gained from the Mega Mushroom House will override any item in the item slot. Like other houses featured in New Super Mario Bros., Mario will usually have to pay five Star Coins to pass the signpost leading to the Mega Mushroom House. These Toad houses are featured in every world of New Super Mario Bros..

Blue Toad House
A single Blue Toad House is found at the beginning of World 1 after beating Bowser and saving Princess Peach. Inside it, there are blocks with different designs on them. These are the different backgrounds the player can select for their Nintendo DS' touch screens, and they cost twenty Star Coins each. After Mario or Luigi collect all the Star Coins in the game, a fifth background can be chosen.

Bonus Toad Houses via Flag Fireworks
By ending the level with the last two numbers of the time limit being the same (except 00), three things are triggered: The Super Mario Bros. "Level Clear" theme is played instead of the normal one, fireworks go off (1 for ending in 11, 2 for ending in 22, and so on, awarding 4,000 points per explosion for a maximum of 36,000), and a bonus Toad House appears at the starting point where Mario first enters the world. Time limits ending in 11, 22, or 33 yield a Power-Up Toad House, 44, 55, and 66 yield a 1-Up Toad House, and 77, 88, and 99 yield a Mega Mushroom Toad House. None of these houses are permanent, even after completing all of the levels in the game.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Toad Houses reappear in the second game of the New Super Mario Bros. series, New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Unlike the first New Super Mario Bros., this game does not require Mario to collect Star Coins to open Toad Houses. Instead, the player will automatically unlock it when a certain level is completed. Also, a Toad House will appear at the start of the World if Fireworks are triggered, like the prequel. In single-player, this is accomplished by rescuing a Toad. In multiplayer, all players must reach the flagpole when the last two digits of the remaining time are the same. In both modes, the last digit of the remaining time tells how much fireworks are set off and each one adds 4,000 points to the player's game score. After using a Toad House, the players will get a tip, reminding them to use them on a tough course. Or if the players used a 1-Up House, they will get a message about visiting Princess Peach's Castle to watch Hint Movies. There are three colors of Toad Houses. Red, Green, and Yellow. If Mario gets a red Toad house, he will play Power-Up Panels. If he gets a green Toad House, he will play the game 1-Up Blast. If he gets a yellow one, he will get a Starman.

Power-Up Toad House
In Power-Up Toad Houses, Power-Up Panels is played by matching two of the same items. If two Bowser or Bowser Jr. tiles pop up, the game will end and Mario keeps the items earned from the game.

1-Up Toad House
In 1-Up Toad Houses, 1-Up Blast is played by hopping into a cannon and players hit to shoot out and pop balloons.

Star Toad House
Star Toad Houses contain one Star in a chest, and they are much rarer than the other Toad Houses. These houses have white roofs with multiple stars around the house.

Bonus Toad Houses via Flag Fireworks
Like in New Super Mario Bros., Toad Houses can appear at the starting points of worlds by using the same strategy. In multi-player mode, the strategy is exactly the same, but since there are no Mega Mushroom Toad Houses, Star Toad Houses appear when the time limit's last two digits show 77, 88, or 99. In single player mode, the strategy is slightly different. Instead of finishing the stage with the last two digits of the time limit being the same, if Mario or Luigi saves the Toad in the level and takes him to the end, only the last digit counts (e.g. 1, 2, and 3 make a 1-Up Mushroom Toad House appear instead of 11, 22, and 33). Once again, these Toad Houses aren't permanent unlike the others.

Super Mario 3D Land
Toad Houses make a reappearance in Super Mario 3D Land where they are manned by Toad himself and a variety of other colored Toads (depending on the situation). The red Toad Houses (which are run by Toad) often provide Mario with power-ups that would be able to help the hero on his journey. The Toad Houses also allow players to access gifts that they receive via StreetPass, known as StreetPass Gifts. The number of power-ups that Mario can receive from StreetPass Gifts depends on how many times the player has encountered the same Mii with StreetPass. A maximum of five power-ups can be received at the same time, which are the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, Super Leaf, Boomerang Flower and Statue Leaf. Also, P-Wings might even appear in Toad Houses. Without the use of StreetPass, only Super Mushrooms, Fire Flowers and Super Leaves can be received. A single blue Toad House is found in World 3, where players can see an album of the photos they have received (12 in total).

New Super Mario Bros. 2
Red Power-Up Toad Houses, Green 1-Up Toad Houses and also Star Toad Houses return in New Super Mario Bros. 2 once again. Like in the original New Super Mario Bros. some of them requires Star Coins to access them, while others are unlocked either automatically or by secret exits in other levels, like in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Completing all levels in World Star makes the Toad Houses stay permanently on the map, providing the player with endless items, including Gold Flowers and Starmen. Unlike the previous two games, Toad Houses cannot be summoned by fireworks, as that feature is replaced by Rainbow Courses.

Power-Up Toad House
These houses are run by Toad again and Mario and/or Luigi may select one of the power-ups provided by Toad as an inventory item, if it's empty (should be chosen first), and another as the current power-up. The player may choose not to include an inventory item too. In the first Toad House, Toad will provide two Super Mushrooms and a Fire Flower. After that, Toad Houses provide the same three items: a Fire Flower, a Super Leaf or a Mini Mushroom.

1-Up Toad House
Mario/Luigi plays a simple minigame in this house. He needs to hit a glove from below to knock 1-Up Mushrooms that Toad throws in the beginning to an above platform down to him so he could collect them to earn extra lives. It is possible to miss the 1-ups that come down, wasting them.

Star Toad House
These Toad House function in a similar way as they did in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. In almost all of these houses though, Mario will get a Gold Flower from Toad this time around instead of a Starman. However, a single Star Toad House in World Star that can be unlocked by getting all Star Coins in the game gives Mario a Starman to use in his item reserve.

New Super Mario Bros. U
Power-Up and 1-Up Toad Houses appear in the Wii U game, New Super Mario Bros. U. Additionally, there is also a purple Toad House between Acorn Plains and Sparkling Waters. No Toad Houses appear if the player gets double digits at the end of a course, though a Toad will appear behind the end-of-level fortress and give the player an item. A red Toad House can be seen in the background during the game's credits.

Power-Up Toad House
There are two Power-Up Toad Houses, one involving hitting the right Question Block for the items, and another that involves Baby Yoshis. In the latter, Baby Yoshis swallow icons that give the player a chance to win or lose the minigame. Balloon Baby Yoshis have the item icons which determine what power-up the player will get, Bubble Baby Yoshis hold multiplier icons that determine how many power-ups the player will get, and the Glowing Baby Yoshis hold a Toad icon or a Bowser icon. The former allows the player to get the power-up, and the latter automatically marks a loss. The player must fit the Baby Yoshis in their respective color spots.

1-Up Toad House
On both sides of the Toad House are Cannons, which shoot out 1-Up Balloons, Coins, and Bowser Balloons. The player(s) must collect the 1-Up Balloons and coins to gather up lives. Collecting the Bowser balloons decrease the amount of 1-ups the player get in total. The game is over when the timer runs out.

Records Toad House
There is a single purple Toad House situated on Secret Island. The Toad House contains various records, such as how many coins players have collected, how many Boost Blocks were placed, and so on. This Toad House can only be reached after the game is completed via Cannon Pipe.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Toad Houses were shown to be the actual residences of the Mushroom People living in the Mushroom Kingdom. Toad's house in particular was a frequently used location during the course of the series. In addition to the houses, most commercial buildings were shaped like Mushrooms, such as the Mushroom Land Central Library and the Mushroom Kingdom Orphanage.

Paper Mario
In Paper Mario, Mario and his partners can restore their HP, FP, and SP at a Toad House. They appear in almost every town, and they are each run by a Toad. The Toad House in Goomba Village has the slogan "Refresh your body and mind", while the others are "Refresh your body and soul". In the later Paper Mario games, the Toad Houses are replaced by Inns. Unlike the sequel, you can sleep in a Toad House free of charge.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Toad Houses reappear in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. They're only seen in Decalburg, and don't serve the same purpose as in the original Paper Mario. A few Toads are trapped in the houses during the beginning of the game. Some notable Toad Houses include the Sticker Museum and the Sticker Shop.

Mario Party 9
Toad Houses appear in Mario Party 9. They can only be accessed by landing on a Lucky Space. They are run by Yellow Toad, and they give the player the items on the back of the cards they turn over.

They can win any of these items.
 * 1-2-3 Dice Block
 * 4-5-6 Dice Block
 * Slow Dice Block
 * 3 Mini Stars

It all depends on the two cards the player turns over.

They also appear in the Minigames Goomba Village and Toad and Go Seek.

Other appearances
In Mario Party 3, the buildings on the party board are similar to Toad Houses.

In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Mario's parents' house, seen at the end of the credits, closely resembles a Toad House, and in the sequel, in the beginning it shows a Toady taking Baby Mario and Baby Luigi from their parents' house, showing another resemblance.

In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, on the course Mushroom Bridge, Toad House-like buildings can be seen on a hill next to a dirt path shortcut, however, they do not provide power ups and the player cannot go inside them.

In Mario Sports Mix, several possible Toad Houses make a cameo in the background during the tournament mode of the Mushroom Cup.

Trivia

 * In Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 and the New Super Mario Bros. series, the player will have unlimited access to default Toad Houses after total completion.