Mushroom Retainer



Mushroom Retainers are special advisers that assist the monarch of the Mushroom Kingdom in the country's administrative duties. The seven Toads that fill this role first appear in Super Mario Bros., where they are kidnapped along with the princess by Bowser. One Toad appears at the end of each castle and thank Mario or Luigi for rescuing him. However, each one infamously states that their princess is in another castle. In Super Mario Bros. Special and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, these Toads keep the same role (in the latter, they also celebrate around the princess and her savior during the original ending). In the Super Mario All-Stars versions, an incremental number of them are seen being saved from a castle at a time, depending on the current world.

The term "Mushroom Retainer" has rarely been used since the original NES game, having only recurred in the video game series with the enhanced Game Boy Color port Super Mario Bros. Deluxe and in the digital manuals of Virtual Console re-releases. This is because it is intended to be an early localized name for the Toads as a species, along with Mushroom People. However, Mushroom Retainer implies that it is a castle job, thus it is distinct from civilians and does not apply to them. The name and role that goes with it does make an appearance in other early media; for example, in the Nintendo Comics System, Toad is Princess Toadstool's Mushroom Retainer and Wooster is the Mushroom King's (somewhat regretful yet reserved) Mushroom Retainer.