Kings

"Hey you! How about lending me your clothes? No dice? What a drag!"

- Mushroom Kings

The Mushroom Kings are the monarchs of the various lands of the Mushroom World. They are first found in Super Mario Bros. 3. There are seven Mushroom Kings in total, and each was turned into a different creature by Bowser's children. The Kings do not have official names, although The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 gave some of them names, and The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! even introduced several Mushroom King-like characters and their territories. Like Princess Toadstool, they have Toad helpers.

Super Mario Bros. 3
Not long ago, while the Koopalings are invading the seven kingdoms of the Mushroom World. A Koopaling came to the castle of the land and knocks out the Toad, then stomps the Mushroom King to steal his Magic Wand and transforms him into a creature. The evil Koopaling now rules over the world in the king's place now that he is in his vunerable state, with Boom Boom and the Koopa Troop all over the kingdoms, until Mario and Luigi, sent by the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom come to help them, first starting with Grass Land.

To save a Mushroom King, the Mario Bros. have to go to his castle, where the Toad is pleading the heroes to save the world and return the Mushroom King back to the way he was, with the Magic Wand the Koopaling stole from him. After that, Mario and Luigi must defeat the Koopaling, destroy the airship and will return the Mushroom King King back into his human shape. As a Mushroom King king thanks the Mario Bros. for saving him, he gives a letter from Princess Toadstool to Mario and receives a special item. Mario and Luigi may continue their way to the next kingdom or Dark Land after saving the Pipe Maze King. If the player manages to restore them to their human forms in either the Hammer costume, the Frog costume, or the Tanooki suit, the King will instead ask the Mario Bros. if they could lend them their clothes or asking if Mario or Luigi wants them to be restored in their original forms (mistakingly thinking that they had been transformed into actual frogs instead of simply donning a frog suit).

In the GBA remake, Super Mario Advance 4, if the player defeated Bowser before saving the kings, upon selecting the castle, the player is treated to a cutscene where it shows the Koopaling of the respective world invading the castle, snatching the Magic Scepter, using it to transform the king, and then escaping seconds before Mario arrives. In addition, because Princess Peach would have been saved beforehand, the King will not give the player a letter from her.

Each Mushroom Kings had been transformed into strange creatures by the Koopalings:
 * Grass Land King – Turned into a dog (a Cobrat in the SNES and Game Boy Advance remakes).
 * Desert Hill King – Turned into a silkworm (a Hoopster in the remakes).
 * Sea Side King – Turned into a kappa (a Dino Rhino in the remakes).
 * Big Island King – Turned into a Tyrannosaur (Donkey Kong Jr. in the remakes).
 * The Sky King – Turned into a vulture (an Albatoss in the remakes).
 * Iced Land King – Turned into a seal (a Monty Mole in the remakes).
 * Pipe Maze King – Turned into a Piranha Plant (a Green Yoshi in the remakes).

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 created personalities for several of the Mushroom Kings. Many, if not all, of them also looked different.


 * Desert Hill – The Sultan
 * Big Island – Prince Hugo (Note that Prince Hugo was established as a new ruler in his only appearance, and, considering that The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 takes place after Super Mario Bros. 3, it is likely that he is a different King than the in-game one.)
 * The Sky – Emperor Ed
 * Iced Land – King Windbag

Gallery
The following screenshots are from the Super Mario All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 3.