Toad (species)

"Thank you, Mario! But our princess is in another castle!"

- Toad

Toads, also known as Mushroom Retainers and Mushroom People, are the dominant species of the Mushroom Kingdom. Toads reside in many towns and cities throughout the entire kingdom, including the outlier Rogueport, but they are most prominent in the capital of Toad Town. Most Toads are citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom, and many also work as loyal servants of the kingdom's ruler Princess Peach. Numerous members of the species serve Peach as castle attendants, guards or even as her Mushroom Retainers.

Super Mario Bros.
In the original story of Super Mario Bros., the Toads are shown as a race of mushroom people who live rather peacefully in the Mushroom Kingdom until Bowser and his minions, the Koopa Troop appear to take over the kingdom. The related species, the Goombas who had once lived in peace with the Toads soon betray them as well, causing more danger for the Toads. The Toads attempt to stop them but fail and many of them are turned to various items such as bricks and pipes via King Bowser using his magic. With Princess Toadstool being the only person who can reverse the effects of Bowser' magic over the Toads, Bowser soon kidnaps her thus starting the story of the game when the two plumbers Mario and Luigi arrive to stop the koopas.

Within the actual game Super Mario Bros. the only mushroom people left in their original forms are featured as Princess Toadstool's Toad advisers, the Mushroom Retainers. They appear in the first seven of the game's eight castles. After Mario destroys the False Bowser at the end of a fortress, he frees the imprisoned Toad, who infamously informs him that the Princess is in another castle. The Mushroom Retainers reappear in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels with the same role and message. In Super Mario All-Stars, there are as many Mushroom Retainers in the castle as the castle's world number (one Toad in World 1-4, two in World 2-4, etc.). In the All-Stars version of The Lost Levels, Worlds A, B and C have five, six and seven Toads respectively.

Super Mario Bros. 2
As the setting of Super Mario Bros. 2 takes place in a land far away from the Mushroom Kingdom called Subcon, Toads are almost completely absent from this game. However, this game is notable for being the first game to feature a specific Toad as a playable character. This Toad character (who is stated to have been one of the Mushroom Retainers in the former game Super Mario Bros.) is named Toad as appropriately, and he continues to appear as a singular representative for the Toad species in the future games of the Mario series. In Super Mario Bros. 2, Toad is known for his high strength and speed stats; however, his jumps are considerably lower in comparison to the other characters.

Super Mario Bros. 3
In Super Mario Bros. 3, there is a Toad in every castle owned by the Mushroom Kings. When Mario or Luigi enter the castle, the Toad asks them to get the Magic Wand back from the Koopalings to transform the King back to his original form. If Mario or Luigi loses an extra life on one of the airship stages, the vehicle will move to another location in the world. After the ship moves, Mario and Luigi are still able to visit the castle and the panicked Toad.

Toads are also found in a Toad House on the map of each world. They allow Mario and Luigi get extra lives, coins, and items. The Toad Houses let Mario take the contents of one of three chests, containing a power-up. They also run the Spade Panels which allow Mario or Luigi play a scrolling type game, where the player must match three parts of eithier a Mushroom, Fire Flower, or Starman. Depending whether or not the player matches the three correctly, and which image formed, one to five extra lives can be gained. N-Mark Spade Panels are also run by a Toad, and they allow Mario or Luigi to play a card game, where the player can earn lives, power-ups, and a max of twenty coins.

Super Mario 64
Although Toads are absent in Super Mario World, many Toads (including Toad himself) are found inside the rooms of Princess Peach's Castle in Super Mario 64. It is implied that these Toads are sealed behind the Castle's walls so that they could not escape to seek out for help. Upon Mario's arrival to the castle, the imprisoned Toads inform Mario about Bowser's takeover of the castle, and give him various hints about the Power Stars. A number of Toads even manage to hold onto a few Power Stars and later give them to Mario. Two Toads are also seen (alongside Princess Peach) in the ending of the game after Mario defeats Bowser for the final time. In the remake Super Mario 64 DS, the Toads presume the same role of providing tips while being sealed behind the castle walls; however, their messages are slightly altered for each of the playable characters that talk to them. Additionally, a Toad also tells Mario to find the various keys needed to unlock the drawers of Peach's dresser. Every time Mario brings a key to this Toad, a new minigame appears and becomes available to play in the Rec Room. Toads also make cameo appearances as background characters in the various minigames. Some are even dressed up as waiters in the Luigi minigames.

Super Mario Sunshine
An entourage of Toads accompany Mario and Peach to Isle Delfino during the events of Super Mario Sunshine. Toadsworth is among them. They are usually found around Delfino Plaza, often worrying about the Princess after her capture by Shadow Mario. The Toads offer Mario various hints, such as ground pounding crates to receive coins. The Toads also fix F.L.U.D.D. at the end of the game. While their presence is noted, the Toads generally do not have any other important role in the game, however.

In the ending credits, the five Toads can be seen enjoying themselves along with Mario, Peach (who is rescued by Mario) and Toadsworth.

New Super Mario Bros.
Toads do not make an appearance in this game (with the exception of appearing in the intro where they are seen panicking after the castle was attacked), with Toadsworth being the only exception within the actual game. They do, however, make cameo appearances in the minigames available in this game, since most of them were the same minigames from Super Mario 64 DS.

Super Mario Galaxy
Many Toads can be seen celebrating the Star Festival in the introduction sequence as well as the end of the game in Grand Finale Galaxy. However, during the beginning of the game, many Toads are trapped in Item Crystals at the time of Bowser's sudden attack over Toad Town.

Five Toads resembling the Toads from Super Mario Sunshine appear in Super Mario Galaxy as major supporting characters. They call themselves the Toad Brigade, and help Mario in his adventures across the universe, often using their ship, the Starshroom, to travel to various galaxies. The Toad Brigade is comprised of the following members: Captain Toad (the self proclaimed captain), Banktoad (digger), Blue Toad (the smart one), Mailtoad, and Yellow Toad (the sleepy one).

A species of Toad called Cosmic Toad was going to appear. They were distinguished from other Toads by the star-shaped spots on their caps. Their roles were likely replaced by Lumas.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
While the Toads do not make a proper appearance in New Super Mario Bros., they take on a much more prominent role in the sequel New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Additionally, Blue and Yellow Toad appear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii as playable characters in the multiplayer mode.

During the introduction cutscene, two Toads help Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad, and Yellow Toad by firing Propeller Mushrooms and Penguin Suits out of a cannon. In the game, Toads also have to be saved in some levels, indicated by a bubble with a scared Toad in the middle. In single player Mode, the player has to search for the Toads that were imprisoned inside the ? blocks (by Bowser's minions) and carry them to the end of the level upon finding a Toad. If the player saves a Toad without it being damaged by an enemy, they will be rewarded with 3 extra lives. If the Toad is damaged, the player will be given one extra life. Regardless of the situation, an extra Toad House will open up after the player saves a Toad. If playing multiplayer, the Toads will not appear in levels, and will only appear inside a locked chest within an Enemy Course. Mario will have to pop all the Toad Balloons in the area to make the chest appear, while avoiding or defeating the enemies, which vary depending of the world. Mario will then be rewarded with three Super Mushrooms.

Toads also appear in the Toad Houses where they host minigames for the players to provide them with opportunities to win extra lives and power-ups. In Princess Peach's Castle, the player has the option to visit Toad and pay him Star Coins to watch secret hint videos. All the Toads in this game (except Yellow Toad and Blue Toad) have a white and red mushroom cap and a blue vest.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Likewise in Super Mario Galaxy, the Toads can be seen celebrating the Star Festival happily and peacefully while collecting Star Bits in Super Mario Galaxy 2 in the introduction. However, their happy celebration is soon disturbed by Bowser's appearance. Bowser, after using the power of the Grand Stars, was at a gargantuan size when he was attacking Toad Town. He eventually arrived at Princess Peach's castle and kidnapped Peach much to the shock of the Toads.

The Toad Brigade also make a returning appearance in this game and like in the first game, they attempt to assist Mario on his quest of rescuing the princess. They reveal that they had escaped the Mushroom Kingdom via the Starshroom (a mushroom-shaped spaceship) that the Lumas had made for them. The reason for this is that the five Toads had told the Lumas that they would try to stop Bowser and bring peace to the kingdom (though this job is eventually given to Mario once the Toads find him). Throughout the game, the five Toads help in a variety of different ways. Green Toad (a member of the brigade) turns to help Mario save Star Bits, acting like a bank in this game (hence, his name is changed to Banktoad in Super Mario Galaxy 2).

Super Mario 3D Land
In Super Mario 3D Land, Toads continue to help Mario on his journey on rescuing Princess Peach from Bowser and his forces. However, the Toads help Mario through a variety of different ways throughout the game. In the beginning of the game after the event of Peach's kidnapping, three Toads (Red, Blue, and Yellow) are seen to accompany Mario on his journey to check where Peach is. However, upon reaching the Super Leaf Tree which Peach had went on earlier to check its condition (after the event of the terrible storm from the previous night), the Toads and Mario soon discover that Peach is no longer there and that all the Super Leaves have blown away from the tree. This causes the Toads and Mario to begin panicking until Yellow Toad spots a letter that Mario and the three Toads soon read. After discovering that the letter was from Bowser illustrating the kidnapping of Peach, the three Toads immediately become surprised and run ahead in front of Mario to attempt to save her. This is especially noticed when the player is introduced to the World 1 map after the introduction sequence as the three Toads can be seen running through the map before Mario even reaches World 1-1.

Throughout the game, Mario can spot these three Toads through the use of a binocular and see what they are up to. When spotted by Mario at times, one of these three Toads will occasionally help the plumber through a variety of ways. One way that the Toad will help Mario is by tossing a Star Medal or a power-up near Mario in the level. Occasionally, the Toads will lead Mario to secret passageways that often lead to short-cuts, hidden Toad Houses, or even hidden Star Medals. When Mario is adventuring through Bowser's Castle in an attempt to save Peach, the three Toads are found in front of the cannon which leads to Bowser's lair. As this is as far as the Toads can go to helping Mario, the Red Toad will throw Mario a 1-Up Mushroom to assist him in his battle against Bowser. In the ending of the game, it is revealed that the three Toads had managed to reach Bowser's lair and had obtained several Super Leaves to help them, Mario, and Peach get off the high canyon that Bowser's Castle was on top of. With the Super Leaves, Red Toad, Blue Toad, and Yellow Toad all use the Super Leaves to become Tanooki Toads, and they fly alongside Tanooki Mario (who is holding Peach in his arms) across the Mushroom Kingdom to reach back to Princess Peach's Castle after the events of their long journey. After Mario continues his quest and defeats Bowser yet again in the Special World 8-Castle level, another letter is seen to be falling into an open plain. At this point, the three Toads that had helped Mario save Peach make a reappearance by themselves in which they are seen wearing their own Tanooki suits yet again. Upon seeing the letter, Yellow Toad picks up the letter and shows it to both Blue Toad and Red Toad. The three immediately discover (from reading the letter) that Peach had been kidnapped once again by Bowser, and that she now needed to be rescued again. Presumably, the three Toads went off to find Mario or Luigi once again to tell the hero of the news and accompanied him once again in his new mission.

Aside from the three Toads that accompany Mario on his journey, other Toads are also met throughout the adventure. A few Toads are seen to be kidnapped by the False Bowsers throughout Mario's journey, and they often must be rescued by Mario from the clutches of the False Bowsers. Toads are also seen in the final level where they are seen cheering on for Mario or Luigi beside the flagpole. Toad himself is present with occasional appearances through running the Red Toad Houses. These Toad Houses also allow the players to access the Street Pass option from their Nintendo 3DS. Toad also operates the cannons that grant Mario access to the Airship levels. Toad also makes occasional appearances in the levels (much like the other three Toads who accompany Mario on his journey), and he can be seen throwing Power-Ups or Star Medals to Mario when spotted through the binoculars. Unlike the other Red Toads in this game, Toad is distinguished to being the only Red Toad with a blue vest in this game.

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U
Both Blue Toad and Yellow Toad return as primary protagonists and playable characters in the Wii U launch title New Super Mario Bros. U. The duo of Toads once again aid Mario and Luigi directly by adventuring alongside them through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to save Princess Peach and her Castle which had been infiltrated by Bowser, the Koopalings, and the rest of the Koopa Troop. However this time, both Blue Toad and Yellow Toad will be facing more different enemies and will also be aided through the new Power-Ups (such as the Super Acorn to turn them into Flying Squirrel Toads) and the Baby Yoshis.

Toad also appears throughout the game by hosting Toad Houses to assist the heroes throughout their adventure, appear at the end of the level when the player catches a rabbit, and appear past the end of level Fortress to give Mario and co. a power-up if they complete a stage with the last two digits of the Time Limit being the same. (i.e finishing the stage with 211 time remaining).

They return in New Super Luigi U, where Mario was not featured at all. The two Toads journey through the Mushroom Kingdom to save Princess Peach once again along with the help of Luigi and Nabbit.

Super Mario 3D World
All five colored Toads appear in Super Mario 3D World, with Toad (now is colored blue as a tribute to his appearance in Super Mario Bros. 2) as a playable character, a red Toad as Captain Toad from Super Mario Galaxy games, and the Yellow, Green, and Purple Toads as the hosts for Toad Houses. However, at the start of Champion's Road, another Red Toad can be seen with a red jacket that set's him apart from Captain Toad. This Toad does not wear a headlight, and seems to play no role in the game other than background.

The Toads that are hosting the Toad Houses tend to change color between worlds, with Yellow Toads as the host in World 1 and World 2, while Green Toads are the host in World 3 and World 4 and Purple Toads in World 5, World 6, World Castle, and World Bowser. These Toads also appear in the credits. The last appearance of the Toads is in Champion's Road which support the player along with the rest of the cast throughout the level.

Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!
Very much like in the original Super Mario Bros., the mushroom-headed inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom were the peaceful subjects of the Mushroom Kingdom in the animated film Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!. They were mentioned to having lived in peace until King Koopa of the Turtle Tribe arrived. When the fair Princess Peach rejected his marriage proposal, the evil king attacked the land and kidnapped her. Like in the video game, the terrorized people of the Mushroom Kingdom were turned into various inanimate objects (thus, being unable to help the Princess). Mario and Luigi save a group of mushroom people (headed by one named Toad) and later on a lone mushroom person (identified as "Toad 2" in the credits). As a result, they were freed from their spells. To thank them, "Toad 1" and Toad 2 both rewarded Mario with the mushroom and flower power-up, respectively.

In the film, all of the voices of the mushroom people are feminine, and they generally use very polite language. Most of these Toads were presented with pinkish/red mushroom caps and had a similar appearance to the later created character Toadette.

Super Mario Shirayuki-hime
In the retelling of the classic fairy tale story of Snow White and Seven Dwarves featuring Mario characters in Super Mario Shirayuki-hime, seven Toads played the roles of the seven dwarves. The seven featured Toads acted very much in a child like manner; however, they were very close to Princess Peach throughout the tale and sworn to protect her as Mario ran off to do an errand. Sometime later, the seven Toads decided to head out of the cabin (in which the Toads, Mario, and Peach stayed in) and go exploring. After bidding Peach farewell until their short returns, Bowser (disguised as an old woman) arrived to the scene and tricked Peach into eating a poison apple that would cause her to fall into a deep slumber. Not long after Bowser had fled, the seven Toads arrived to the scene and discovered Peach on the ground. Assuming that she was dead, the Toads fell into sadness and placed her in an outdoor coffin in order to preserve her beauty.

Upon hearing the cries of the Toads, Mario arrives to the scene and finds the seven Toads crying around the presumed dead Peach. Fortunately with the help of a magical potion that Mario had obtained from his journey, Peach manages to regain consciousness (thus, breaking Bowser's spell over her) and thanks the plumber as the Toads rejoice in happiness. After getting up, Peach reveals that it was the wicked Queen Bowser who had cast the spell over her. In their determination of getting back at Bowser, Mario along with the Toads and the Princess run off to Queen Bowser's castle. Upon reaching the castle, the group of protagonists are stopped by many Goombas. Fortunately, the group of heroes manage to get through by simply overpowering the Goombas. Upon reaching Queen Bowser, Mario attempted to attack the wicked Queen (while the Toads stood on guard by protecting Peach) until her henchmen (the Koopalings) appeared and stopped Mario in his tracks. Outnumbered by the seven Koopalings, Mario received a harsh beating from their magic. Fortunately, the Toads (upon seeing Mario's distress) came to Mario's aid and helped him in the battle. After Mario and Toads had defeated the Koopalings, they are soon stopped when they see the wicked Queen Bowser threatening to kill Peach by holding a knife to her neck while she was suspended in her clutches.

Fortunately, Luigi arrives into the scene wielding a hammer, and gives a mighty blow to the wicked Queen Bowser. The sudden attack caused the Queen to drop Peach (who was soon saved by Mario and the accompanying seven Toads). Upon the defeat of Queen Bowser and her henchmen, the groups of protagonists consisting of Mario, Peach, the seven Toads, and Luigi can be seen cheering in victory over the defeat of their enemies. After celebrating, Mario, Luigi, Peach, and the seven Toads can be seen walking out of Bowser's castle in a joyous manner and heading to a presumably more safer location.

DIC cartoons
In the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Toads played a minor role by being background characters throughout the show's plot. The most prominent Toad was Toad himself who was featured as a main character. For odd reasons, most Toads (except for Toad himself) did not appear the same as their game counterparts and often appear with humanistic characteristics (such as noses and teeth). They reappear with an almost similar role in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. As with Toad's case, no members of the Toad species appeared in the Super Mario World series as a result of their absence in the actual Super Mario World game.

Wario's Woods
Wario's Woods is the first Nintendo video game that starred a Toad as the main and central hero (specifically the character Toad himself). In this game, Toad has to defeat Wario and his minions from taking over the Mushroom Kingdom. A green colored Toad also appears as a playable character for the second player in the VS mode. They are featured as the playable characters for both the NES and SNES versions of the game. Wario's Woods marks the last appearance of where Toad has super-human strength.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Toads live in various towns, such as Mushroom Kingdom, Rose Town and Seaside Town. Many Toads are shopkeepers or inn owners and helped Mario and his party by offering their services. In Rose Town, Mario has to help the Toads, who are paralyzed by Bowyer's Aeros. In Seaside Town, the inhabitants, including many Toads, are imprisoned in a shed by Yaridovich. Mario eventually rescues them. A few Toads also appear in remote areas such as Monstro Town and even inside Barrel Volcano. Many Toads in this game have different patterns on their hats than normally found on Toads. The inhabitants of Rose Town have target shapes, Hinopio in Barrel Volcano has a flame pattern.

Paper Mario
Toads appear in Paper Mario as the main residents of Toad Town. There is also one in each Toad House in all towns of the game, except for the one in Star Haven. According to Goombario, these Toads had been sent to man the Toad Houses by Princess Peach in order to help the denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom's towns. The Toad inhabitants of Dry Dry Outpost, known as Dryites, wear turbans over their mushroom caps. Also, a Toad martial artist, known as The Master, is featured in the game. He runs a karate dojo in Toad Town, and has two pupils named Lee and Chan. He can be fought as an optional boss. The Master's sister, Tayce T. is also a Toad Town resident. She is considered by many to be an extraordinarily good chef. She cooks any item that Mario bring to her into new, potentially stronger items.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
The species appear again in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. They live in many of the game's towns, and are also owners of almost every shop found in Rogueport and the surrounding areas. During the events of the game, a large group of orange Toads are stranded in the Pirate's Grotto on Keelhaul Key, along with the Piantas Francesca and Frankie. Mario has to use Admiral Bobbery's Bomb ability to help them escape the Pirate's Grotto.

Super Paper Mario
In Super Paper Mario, Toads do not make a major appearance. Toad himself is present at the beginning of the game, telling Mario and Luigi that Princess Peach had been captured, and several Toads appear as part of the audience when Mario performs a Stylish Move. Toads also appear in the minigame, Mansion Patrol. They somehow manage to get themselves captured by Boos, and the player has to aim the Wii Remote cursor at the ghosts, and destroy them to free the Toads. Whenever a captured Toad is freed, they provide the player with a power-up, but if the player accidentally shoots a Toad, they will lose points. They also are mentioned in Toad's Caught Card which is the last of the card collection.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Toads appear as supporting characters in the 3DS title Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Many Toads are first to be seen in Decalburg, a town similar to Toad Town, where they were celebrating alongside Mario, Peach, and various other characters in the annual Sticker Fest celebration. However, their celebrations were soon ruined Bowser comes upon stage to steal a Sticker Comet. Three Toads attempt to pull Bowser away from the comet by his tail and put up a brave fight; however, their attempts prove to be of no use as Bowser launches himself away from the Toads and crashes headlong into the comet. The power of comet immediately strengthens Bowser and he immediately unleashes a tornado that blows away most of the Toads and Mario from the scene.

After some time of the tornado's disappearance, Mario finds many Toads scattered through Decalburg either stuck within the debris or in need of assistance. In order to clear the mess, Mario assists the various Toads and gains their help in cleaning up Decalburg (with the Toads even unraveling the entire town which had been rolled up in a paper-like style). Upon leaving Decalburg, Mario finds more Toads in various areas and an assortment of them play crucial roles in assisting the plumber on his journey. One such case is a group of Toads that act as a ladder for Mario to climb upon so that he could retrieve a missing bridge sticker.

A Green Toad who first appears standing on the burritoed town square of Decalburg seems to be in-charge of restoring the town square. If Mario use Paperize mode near the fountain and remove it, Green Toad will come out and shows Mario the Sticker Museum he made in his basement.

Additionally, ancient Toad species are revealed in murals of Drybake Stadium, alongside Koopa Troopas. These Toads have human-like proportions, and are much taller than normal Toads, with longer limbs and smaller heads.

After saving a folded Toad on the roof of a structure in Decalburg, the Toad states that he was folded 256 times, a reference to the storage capacity of older consoles.

Luigi's Mansion
In Luigi's Mansion, Toad followed Mario in from orders of Princess Peach, quickly getting lost in the mansion. He is found crying in the Foyer, and after talking to Luigi acts as a save point for the game. Toad also offers hints to Luigi depending on what part of the story the player has reached. Toad oddly enough can be found in several sections of the mansion, before Luigi has even reached that specific room. This helps making the save points easier to reach. Such locations include the second floor balcony, second floor toilet and the inside the outhouse.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
In Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Toads have a bigger role than in the first game, serving as assistants for Professor E. Gadd by inspecting the different mansions in Evershade Valley: Toad inspects Haunted Towers, a yellow Toad inspects Old Clockworks, a blue Toad inspects Secret Mine, and a green and purple Toad both inspect Treacherous Mansion. In the events of the game, the Toads are trapped in paintings by King Boo and his henchmen after the Dark Moon shattered.

Throughout the game, Luigi must locate the Toad assistants by finding the paintings they're trapped in and using the Dark-Light Device to set them free, then returning them to a Pixelator Screen in the mansion. The Toads are used to assist Luigi to get through missions: using the Poltergust 5000, he can latch on a Toad's head with to carry him or by firing the Toad from the nozzle with, the latter which is used for weighing down platforms or accessing alcoves that Luigi can't reach. The Toads can also retrieve treasure and key items for Luigi if they touch it and go back to him. Each Toad has his own fear, and a Toad will not cross an area that he fears so Luigi must carry him with the Poltergust 5000 to circumvent this. As long as Luigi is escorting a Toad, Luigi will not enter another room unless the Toad is with him. The Toad assistants will also panic if ghosts suddenly appear or from sudden noises, frantically running around a room screaming until the source is dealt with or they are flashed with the Strobulb (they will otherwise cheer for Luigi if he is sucking up ghosts). When dealing with Sneakers, the ghosts may capture a Toad if Luigi is capturing another ghost; the plumber must use the Power Gauge to grab the Toad from the Sneaker to release him, but sometimes it will let him go on its own. The Toads will follow Luigi through the mansions, but if left alone, they will sit idly, crying until Luigi goes near them. When a Toad assistant returns to the Bunker, they will provide a snapshot from E. Gadd's tridimensional security-camera which can be used for clues in later missions.

The Toad assistants aren't seen or mentioned in the game until mission B-3: Graveyard Shift in Haunted Towers. When Luigi is looking for a special key to unlock the door in the Hollow Tree, E. Gadd suggests he goes to the Crypt to find it. Instead of finding the key, Luigi sees a painting of Toad in the back of the room (after destroying the wall hiding it). After using the Dark-Light Device on the painting, Toad will come out of it. After freeing Toad, E. Gadd will contact Luigi, stating that Toad is an assistant of his looking after the Haunted Towers, and tells Luigi to bring him to the Gardener's Lab as there's a Pixelator Screen that will take him back to the Bunker (as the Pixelator from the Bunker cannot pixelate both Toad and Luigi at once). Toad has a fear of bodies of water and will not follow Luigi if he crosses it; the green-clad plumber must use the Poltergust 5000 to latch on to Toad's head and carry him across instead. After capturing The Three Sisters and working their way to the Gardner's Lab, E. Gadd will activate the Pixelator Screen to transport Toad back to the Bunker. At the end of the mission, E. Gadd will tell Luigi that Toad brought back a snapshot from his security-camera of ghostly activity in the Rooftop Pool.

In mission C-5: Piece at Last, E. Gadd and Luigi are in search for the missing rotor for the Clock Tower Gate. The professor reveals to Luigi that he hired a yellow Toad assistant to look after the Old Clockworks, and stating that he was apparently "checking on a malfunction in the Synchronization Room", later adding that he forgot about him and how "terrible it must be to work for him". Interestingly, in an earlier mission, C-1: A Timely Entrance, in the Cargo Room Luigi can get a glimpse through a pipe to the Service Elevator of the yellow Toad balancing on a rail trying to reach a ruby, when 2 Boos appear and watch from behind, before the Toad goes off balance and falling down to the floor below, with the Boo's then pursuing. Luigi eventually heads to the Synchronization Room and sees another painting with the yellow Toad in it. After freeing him, the yellow Toad decides to help Luigi retrieve the rotor in the Storage Room, but also tells him that he has an "irrational fear of clocks" (Chronomentrophobia), and asks him to keep him away from large gears and clocks. After fighting a Strong Sneaker and its group of Greenies, the two eventually make it to the Storage Room. After retrieving the rotor, the yellow Toad will state that he "feels sick" after touching it and asks Luigi to escort him back to the Service Elevator as there's a Pixelator Screen there. Before Luigi brings the yellow Toad to the Pixelator Screen, he can use him to retrieve a Gemstone and some Gold Bars by launching him with the Poltergust 5000 to the other side of the room. When Luigi and the yellow Toad make it back to the Bunker, E. Gadd will reveal that the yellow Toad brought back a snapshot as well, displaying ghostly activity behind the Clock Tower Gate; most noticeably, a possessor ghost with a Dark Moon piece, and an ominous glow from the outer limits of the image.

In the Secret Mine's mission D-1: Cold Case, Professor E. Gadd reveals to Luigi that he has a blue Toad assistant there, and asks him to see if he knows about the Dark Moon piece that fell there, since the Parascope isn't picking up signals well due to bad weather. He suggests Luigi to go to the Chalet to see if he's "napping by the fireplace", but when he gets there, the blue Toad assistant is nowhere to be found. E. Gadd then suggests that he go to the Fishing Hut, hoping that he's not fishing instead, stating that "he's not being paid to catch fish, unless they're some kind of freaky ghost fish". Luigi goes to the Fishing Hut, and after revealing the invisible painting, he frees the blue Toad from it. Just when Luigi would think that he and the blue Toad would head beck to the Chalet with no problem, the blue Toad jumps for joy upon being freed, breaking the ice underneath the two, both plummeting to the bottom of the mine. Luigi and the blue Toad must then find an elevator to take them back to the Chalet, but the zip line in the Airway is deactivated on the other side, so the two must find an another way to get to the elevator. Blue Toad has a fear of ice; if Luigi tries to carry him across sheets of it, it will break from the weight of the two, so he must launch the blue Toad from the Poltergust's nozzle over the ice to get across. After eventually making their way back to the Chalet and using the Pixelator Screen there to transport the blue Toad back to the Bunker, E. Gadd will state that Luigi and the blue Toad heard a "crazed laughter" from the bottom of the mine and will show Luigi a snapshot from the blue Toad. In D-3: Across the Chasm, E. Gadd will tell Luigi that the blue Toad knows how to get across the chasm to get to the Workshop where the Dark Moon piece is located.

In E-1: Front-Door Key in the Treacherous Mansion, Luigi can get a glimpse through a window to the Front Entrance of a purple Toad being imprisoned in a painting by King Boo, as well as another painting with a Toad trapped in it. In E-2: Double Trouble, E. Gadd requests Luigi to go back to the Treacherous Mansion to bring back his Toad assistant that may be in danger due to the paranormal readings from the Parascope getting stronger. The professor hopes that he may know the whereabouts of the last Dark Moon piece. When Luigi happens to free the Toad, he will reveal that his other friend got captured as well, and questions why E. Gadd never told Luigi that two Toads were looking after the Treacherous Mansion, snarking if the professor is color blind, then adding that his other friend is in the Jungle Exhibit/Ice Age Exhibit. When Luigi visits the Ice Age Exhibit, he can peek through a hole in the ice wall to see a painting with a Toad in it. When Luigi uses a log from the Jungle Exhibit and ignites it with a burning torch in the Ancient Exhibit and goes back to the Ice Age Exhibit and melts the ice wall, the green-clad plumber will free the purple Toad from his painting. Likewise, the green Toad is trapped in a painting in the Jungle Exhibit behind a Carnivorous Plant. Luigi first has to pick up a bucket from the Dark Age Exhibit and fill it with water from the Jungle Exhibit to water a plant that produces a spiky plant ball that he can then use to defeat the Carnivorous Plant and free the green Toad from his painting. Regardless, once both Toads have been freed, E. Gadd will contact Luigi to bring the Toad to the Inner Courtyard as there's a Pixelator Screen there (the professor being unaware there are two Toads with the plumber). Once at the Inner Courtyard, and eventually defeating a Boo and several Strong Sneakers, Luigi and the two Toads reveal a spiral staircase and make their way up to the second floor where the Pixelator Screen is. When the two Toads return to the Bunker, E. Gadd wallops one of the Toads in the nose in panic, mistaking one of them for a ghost. When Luigi returns to the Bunker as well, E. Gadd states that he forgot that he had two Toads inspecting the Treacherous Mansion due to how busy he gets with his research, and remembers to have to give them their paychecks now. He also adds that the two Toads had no idea where the Dark Moon piece is, but they claimed that a lot of action was taking place on the second floor, and brought a security-camera image with them.

In the ending of the game, the Toad assistants teleport to the Treacherous Mansion's Terrace with the pieces of the Dark Moon in their arms. As Luigi and the Toads hold up the pieces to the sky, the pieces shine brightly and form a completed Dark Moon. With the Dark Moon in place, the previously mind controlled ghosts revert back to their peaceful ways and celebrate with the heroes. The ghosts even go onward to giving the other Toads rides on them. In the final scene, the Toads join the Mario Bros., Professor E. Gadd, and several ghosts for a group picture. Within the ending credits, it is revealed the ghosts have truly went back to their happier states and even reveal to be on friendly terms with the Toads and co.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Toads appear at the beginning of the game in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga in Toad Town and at Peach's Castle. They are seen escaping the castle after Peach is attacked by Cackletta and Fawful. Various Toads will give Mario mushrooms if he assists them with various tasks before he leaves for the Beanbean Kingdom. Toads also have their own immigrant community in the Beanbean Kingdom. Outside the town, which is located high above Teehee Valley, Toads make only minor appearances in the game.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the Toad's life force, known as vim, is extracted by the Shroobs to be used as fuel for their UFOs during their invasion of the Mushroom Kingdom. This process occurrs at the Vim Factory. Many Toads also appear at Peach's castle, giving information to Mario and Luigi. Also, there are Toads with red caps and white spots that live in Thwomp Volcano. Many Toads are also transformed into shroob mushrooms when their vim is extracted from their bodies (this is especially seen in Toadwood Forest).

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story


In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Toads are affected by the Blorbs which causes them to bloat to extreme sizes. It is revealed that this was caused by Fawful, who had sold odd mushrooms that caused the sickness. Princess Peach requests the aid of Mario and Luigi in finding a cure. As well, singular and recognizable Toads appear in the game such as Toadsworth and Toadbert. A new character named Doctor Toadley appears later in the game to help Mario and Luigi find the Star Cures, he also fuses them into the Miracle Cure. This manages to cure the case of the Blorbs and allowed the Toads to regain their original shapes once again.

Toads who escaped the Blorbs are also found in Bowser's body after he swallowed them up. They are mostly found in the market place like area in his abdomen called Toad Square. In the ending of the game, the Toads along with the Mario Bros. and Peach are released from Bowser's body and can be seen to be rejoicing until Bowser begins his attack on Mario and Luigi after gaining consciousness.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Several Toads are scattered about Pi'illo Island in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong
In Mario vs. Donkey Kong, three Toads appear as employees of the Mario Toy Company. They work quite peacefully until Donkey Kong had arrived to steal the Mini Mario toys. During the robbery, the Toads are shown to be in complete fear of Donkey Kong; thus, making them unable to do anything at the time to stop him. The Toads later reappear at the end of the game where they are seen laughing at the careless Donkey Kong who at that point had dropped all the Mini Mario toys that he had stolen. The three Toads are then kidnapped by the enraged Donkey Kong. Fortunately, they are rescued by Mario during the final battle between him and the ape.

During the battle, the Toads play a key supporting role for Mario (after being rescued by him) by carrying the large DK Barrels that Donkey Kong had thrown previously back to the stage. By using these barrels, Mario is then able to attack Donkey Kong, with each hit causing the ape to fall lower and lower down the building. Upon hitting him for the third time, Donkey Kong can be seen clinging on to one of the railings of the buildings by one hand. Unfortunately for him, the Toads then arrive back to the stage to stomp on his hand as revenge for kidnapping him. This causes the villainous ape to fall off the building completely (though he does survive by landing on a truck full of Mini-Mario toys).

Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
In Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, many Toads attend the grand opening of Super Mini Mario World Theme Park. They take the position as interviewers who watch the opening until Donkey Kong arrives to ruin the scene.

Additionally, one of the new playable characters is the then new Mini Toad toy, which is created along with a few other new Minis due to the success of the Mini Mario company. These toys are directly based off Toad's current design.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!
In the sequel Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!, many Toads are seen in the introduction of the game where they are seen waiting in line for the grand opening of the new Mini Mario amusement park. The first 100 customers (who are all shown to be Toads) are able to receive a new Mini as a gift, the Mini Pauline toy. Shortly afterwards, Donkey Kong is seen to plow through the crowd of Toads in his hopes to receive one of the Mini Pauline toys. Due to his rampage, many Toads are thrown into the air as he pushed through the crowd while many other Toads are seen fleeing into the park in order to avoid the large ape.

Likewise in the first game, the Mini Toads reappear in this game as playable characters (though their cap spots are recolored as blue instead of red to fit in with the game's color scheme). Additionally, the Mini Toads also assist Mario and the Mini Marios on their quest to rescue Pauline from Donkey Kong's clutches.

Mario Party series
Toads also make recurring appearances throughout the Mario Party series. The most prominent Toad is Toad himself who initially serves as the main host for the first two Mario Party titles and as well as the fourth installment. In the later titles, he becomes a playable character starting from Mario Party 4 while his female counterpart Toadette makes her playable debut in Mario Party 6. Aside from the two playable Toads, other Toads play the roles as assistants that aid the playable characters throughout the game. Toads also serve as shop keepers in Toad's own board Toad's Midway Madness in Mario Party 4.

Toadsworth makes an appearance in Mario Party 7 as the main host of the game though he oddly does not make any later appearances in the Mario Party series. In Mario Party 9, Yellow Toad serves as the main host while several other Toads play assisting roles and Toad himself maintains his role as a default playable character.

Mario Superstar Baseball
In Mario Superstar Baseball, there are five playable Toads in the game. They all have different colored caps and strongly resemble the Toads from the Toad Brigade. They all have different stats but they are generally balanced characters. Additionally, Toadsworth and Toadette are also playable in this game. In the sequel Mario Super Sluggers, the five Toads return as playable characters (as well as Toadsworth and Toadette). Many more Toads appear as audience members.

Mario Super Sluggers
In Mario Super Sluggers, each Toad has good running abilities, but their fielding skills are rather weak. In fact, the Purple Toad has the weakest fielding abilities in the game (tied with King K. Rool). In Challenge Mode, all Toads (even Toadsworth and Toadette) are on either Princess Peach or Daisy's team.

Super Princess Peach
Several Toads are captured by Bowser (along with Mario, Luigi and even Toad himself) in Super Princess Peach. During the game, Princess Peach has to rescue them. A captured Toad can be found in every world (except Giddy Sky and Bowser's Villa), and Peach has to defeat the world's boss to free them.

Toads also appear in the minigames. Toad Jump puts the player in control of the character Toad who must jump over foes trying to attack him. By blowing into the DS Microphone, Toad can jump over his enemies to reach safety. If the player blows longer, he will jump longer by using a type of a flutter jump. Toad also appears in the minigame Toad Tote, where he is in the middle of a burning Toad Town and must be guided to the exit. Lastly, there were blue, yellow and red Toads in Toad Shot, which had the player shooting various enemy targets to gain points, while avoiding any misses and any Mario or Luigi targets, which take points away.

Super Mario Strikers
In Super Mario Strikers, Toads (voiced by Kelsey Hutchinson) appear as team players who can be chosen on to any team. The color of their caps is determined by what team they are on (example, red Toads are on Mario's team while green Toads are on Luigi's team). They are technique players who are useful to use at a close range and are quite speedy. Additionally, Toads also make up as a part of the audience in this game as well.

Mario Strikers Charged
In the sequel Mario Strikers Charged, Toads reappear as both a part of the audience and more importantly as playable team members. They are once again technique players. Their skillshot is the Fire Meteor. Oddly, the playable Toads in this game do not have voices unlike the previous game; instead, the Toads make small squeaking sounds as heard when using their mushroom heads. Like in the previous game, the color of their head spots change depending on the team that the Toads are on.

Mario Kart series
Aside from Toad who is featured as a playable character throughout all the installments and Toadette in some installments, other Toads are sometimes seen as a part of the audience. In Mario Kart Wii, many Toads can be seen cheering for the winners in the celebration ceremony. Toads are also a frequent sight in Toad's home course Toad's Factory. Large balloons of various Toads (red, blue, and yellow colored) can be seen as a form of decoration throughout the Mario Kart 7 course Toad Circuit. Being Toad's own course and other obvious references, this circuit likely pays a tribute to the Toads. In Mario Kart 8, Toads are common spectators in many courses.

Mario Sports Mix
In Mario Sports Mix, Toad, along with three other Toad colors can be used; the colors being blue, yellow, and green. The alternate colors can be unlocked by using Toad 15, 20, and 25 times. Alternatively, the blue and yellow Toads can also be unlocked by clearing certain Mushroom Cup missions. The green Toad on the other hand is found at certain Star Cup routes. Also the Toads appears as NPC seen in several courts in the game. The Toads even have a home court for Hockey and Dodgeball at Toad Park.

Kirby series
A retinue of Toads makes a cameo appearance in Kirby Super Star Ultra, the remake of Kirby Super Star. (Toad himself appears in the original game.) These Toads are first seen in the "Spring Breeze" mode of the game. They are located at Stage 4, the Final Stage – King Dedede's Castle atop Mt. Dedede. The Toads (alongside Mario, Princess Peach, Luigi, and Wario) are inside an arena watching and cheering on Kirby in his final battle against King Dedede. Each time Kirby lands an attack on King Dedede, the Toads become more excited. They also appear in "The Arena" mode of the game, once again cheering on Kirby in a battle against King Dedede inside the same arena as before. Additionally, the Toads appear in the "Helper to Hero" mode, rooting for Kirby's various Helpers, such as Knuckle Joe and Waddle Doo, in their own brawls with King Dedede. Lastly, the Toads show up in Level 1 of the "Meta Knightmare Ultra" mode of the game. This time, however, they are cheering on Meta Knight in his personal fight against King Dedede.

General information
Toads, in general, are very loyal to Princess Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom, but tend to panic in dangerous situations. For example, during Bowser's attack on Peach's Castle in Super Mario Galaxy, many Toads begin to panic, mindlessly running around in circles and occasionally tripping, only to resume mindlessly running around in circles. Also, during the events of Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, in the conference held by Princess Peach, a Toad suggests that the entire kingdom should "panic". It is often due to their cowardice, that many Toads are relatively non violent; that notwithstanding, they may fight if it is by all means for self defense, though they seem to prefer running away and cowering before their foes. There are other Toads who develop tough natures, such as those who live in Rogueport, or adventurous natures, such as the Toad Brigade.

However, at most times, they are generally peaceful characters who are happy to assist the heroes. They are usually characters who remain on the good side in the games as well. At the more peaceful of times, Toads are generally seen as cheerful characters who often have almost childish like personalities.

Physical appearance
Toads are fairly short humanoid mushrooms with human skin tone and they either have white caps with red, blue, green, yellow or purple spots or red, blue or pink caps with white spots or light brown caps with dark brown spots. they have black, dotted eyes.

Female toads grow hair behind their caps, and males don't; however, some male toads are shown to have grown facial hair.

Mushroom caps


All Toads have special mushroom caps on the top of their heads, just like actual mushrooms. Whether the mushroom cap is a hat or part of Toad physiology is never revealed in the games, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 reveals the cap to simply be a type of hat. When Toad took off his mushroom cap in that cartoon, he revealed his round head with a few strands of hair. When Toads are hit, they seem to drop spores (as seen in Mario Tennis and the Super Smash Bros. series). Indeed, the Chancellor of the Mushroom Kingdom claims to have "almost dropped [his] spores" after hearing Exor crash into Bowser's Keep in Super Mario RPG.

While most Toads wear white mushroom caps with different colored spots, there are exceptions. Toadette wears a magenta colored mushroom cap with white spots (another example being Toadiko), and Toadsworth wears a yellowish colored mushroom cap with brown spots. Some Toads even have caps that are an inverted version of the regular caps, like Toadbert, who has a blue cap with white spots. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, the color of a Toad's cap can change via power up such as the Fire Flower. Furthermore, some Toads have other shapes on their caps, such as the yellow stars on Doctor Toadley's cap and the Toad Waitress and Vanna T. have hearts on their caps.

Abilities
While the Toads are often shown to be fleeing at the first sign of danger during the games, some situations prove that the mushroom people are more than capable of protecting themselves during battle. In Super Mario Bros. 2 (the first game that has a Toad as a playable character), Toad is revealed to be even stronger than the Mario brothers themselves and he is also shown to be very speedy as well. The Mario baseball games also prove the strength of the playable mushroom people as they are shown to be considerably powerful, despite their size. The Mario soccer games also have the Toads being able to use powerful head butts as an offensive attack. Additionally, the Toads are capable of performing a fiery and powerful skillshot known as the Fire Meteor in Mario Strikers Charged. In Mario Sports Mix, Toad's strongest stat was his speed while his power and technique stats were slightly below average. Additionally, Toad is capable of using his spores to creating a reflective shield as well as gargantuan mushrooms that Toad is capable of controlling to attack opponents for his special move. These attributes are also present for Toad's alternate colorations. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, the two playable Toads are shown to have stats that rival Mario and Luigi's own powers and abilities. The Toads are also capable of using the same power ups (such as the Fire Flower) that are available to be used by the Mario brothers in order to gain new forms. The Toads are also shown to be skilled in riding Yoshis in this game as well. In Super Mario 3D Land, the three Toads that help Mario on his journey are shown to be just as capable as Mario himself when it comes to adventuring around the Mushroom Kingdom. They are also shown to be very speedy as they were capable of easily outrunning Mario throughout the game since the introduction. The three Toads and Toad himself are also capable of using various Power-Ups in this game such as the Propeller Block (which serves the same purpose as that from New Super Mario Bros. Wii). The Toads are also capable of using the Super Leaf to becoming Tanooki Toads during the ending of the game, and as a result they are capable of using the powers of their Tanooki forms quite effectively as a result of their ability to access flight.

In the anime Super Mario Shirayuki-hime, the seven Toads are able to function similarly as Super Mushrooms as they are able to power up Mario after he has been weakened. However, this ability has not been shown in the actual games or any other portion of the Mario series after this OVA.

Toad guards
Toad guards serve as the protectors of the Mushroom Kingdom and Princess Peach. They typically wield spears and shields, their uniforms is a classic mantle. In Super Mario Galaxy these shields have Peach's symbol, her crown, emblazoned on the front. Like normal Toad citizens, Toad guards are not particularly brave, often asking Mario or other heroes to complete dangerous missions instead of doing so themselves. For example, when Bowser launches an attack on Peach's Castle during the centennial Star Festival, the Toad guards request Mario to protect the Princess, although that is the Toads' official duty as royal guards. One of Peach's bodyguards even hides behind Peach when Bowser hovers in front of her balcony.

Mario Superstar Baseball lnformation

 * Type: Balanced
 * Starting Team Captain: Princess Peach
 * Status: Player
 * Stats:
 * Red Toad Stats:'''
 * Batting: 5/10
 * Pitching: 4/10
 * Fielding: 4/10
 * Running: 6/10
 * Blue Toad Stats:'''
 * Batting: 4/10
 * Pitching: 3/10
 * Fielding: 4/10
 * Running: 8/10
 * Yellow Toad Stats:'''
 * Batting: 4/10
 * Pitching: 4/10
 * Fielding: 4/10
 * Running: 8/10
 * Green Toad Stats:'''
 * Batting: 5/10
 * Pitching: 3/10
 * Fielding: 4/10
 * Running: 6/10
 * Purple Toad Stats:'''
 * Batting: 5/10
 * Pitching: 5/10
 * Fielding: 4/10
 * Running: 5/10
 * Player Profile:
 * Strong Point: Running
 * Special Talents: Body Check
 * Trajectory:
 * Field: Center
 * Height: Normal
 * Star Pitch: Slowball
 * Star Swing: Center
 * Default Batting Position: Right
 * Default Throwing Arm: Right
 * Sweet Spot: The Toad face on the bat
 * Compatible Relationships: Princess Peach, Toadsworth, Toadette
 * Bio: "Princess Peach's subject. Though he tries to protect the princess from the evil Bowser, she gets kidnapped with disturbing regularity. There are many Toads who look just alike, and though they are generally small and look cute, they are actually quite powerful."

Mario Strikers series

 * Type: Playmaker
 * Skillshot (Charged): Fire Meteor
 * Bio: Speed and king-sized passing skills makes Toad one of the top play-makers on the circuit. Just don't call him 'Little Guy'.

Stats (Charged)

 * Movement: 10
 * Shooting: 3
 * Passing: 10
 * Defense: 3

Super Mario 3D Land profile

 * Official American Website Bio:"Your friendly neighborhood Toads are hanging out all over the place, waiting at home to give you items should you stop by, or hiding in certain stages to toss you a power-up."

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon profile

 * Site Bios:
 * Flag of USA.png "Before the Dark Moon shattered into pieces, a crew of Toads were assisting Professor E.Gadd from within the mansions. Since then, all communication with the Toads has been lost. Do you think they're in trouble?"
 * Flag of Europe.png "These Toads were helping E. Gadd with his research, but after the purple mist descended on Evershade Valley they were kidnapped by ghosts and haven’t been seen since. Where could they be..?"

Trivia

 * In the code of Super Mario Bros. 3, there is what seems to be a "Toad Suit" similar to the Tanooki Suit and Hammer Suit. However, this is only a Hammer Suit with pallette errors that appears out of the Giant Question Block in World 7-8.
 * In the beta version of Super Mario Galaxy, Lumas were replaced with toads that had star spots instead of circle spots on their mushroom caps. It is unknown why they are scrapped.
 * In Super Mario Chess, Toads appear as rooks on Mario's team.
 * Though in Super Mario Bros., many Toads were transformed into various objects, in later games, these objects seem to be part of the natural environment.