Toad Brigade

"Mr. Maaario! You gotta hear this! We did such a good job, they're promoting us to Royal Guards! With me as the Royal Guard Commander, nobody will ever kidnap Princess Peach again! EVER! Koopas... Boos... Giant, overgrown moles... Whatever! Bring it on!"

- Toad

The Toad Brigade is a group of five Toads that aid Mario in Super Mario Galaxy. It seems likely they are the same Toads who first accompanied Mario and Princess Peach to Isle Delfino in Super Mario Sunshine, where they had minor roles and no individual personalities. At this point in time, though, they had not formed the Toad Brigade.

Three of those Toads also make a somewhat prominent appearance in Mario vs. Donkey Kong, as assistants in the production of Mini Mario toys. There is also a possibility that they are the five playable Toads in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers.

Super Mario Galaxy
Enjoying the festivities in Princess Peach's Castle during the Star Festival, Toad and his friends are scattered across the galaxy after Bowser carries Peach's castle into outer space. They eventually escaped, along with Luigi, until they are separated from him and are later discovered by Mario in the Honeyhive Galaxy, where he rescues them.

Shortly afterwards, the Toads join Mario at the Comet Observatory, where they decide to help him in his quest to gather the Grand Stars, and move their base of operations to the Garage. After the Lumas help them build a spaceship, the Starshroom, the Toads form the Toad Brigade and start traveling in order to find Power Stars with Mario. They are then seen throughout several galaxies in search for the stars, and often cheer Mario on during battles. They often arrive to provide a Launch Star to Mario on their ship in order to help him progress.

The five members of the Toad Brigade each have special attributes: the leader is Toad who, despite trying to come off as brave is always fleeing at the first sight of trouble, making up ridiculous excuses along the way. He can be seen as rather lazy. He always has a miners light on his head and a backpack on his back. Blue Toad wears glasses and often gives Mario advice in levels. Yellow Toad is very lazy and happy-go-lucky, and is either sleeping, much to the annoyance of a yellow Luma, or spinning around in circles. The green Toad, later known as Banktoad, carries a pickaxe and often sings songs while digging with it. The purple Toad is the Mailtoad. He will give Mario letters from Peach or Luigi when received. He also enjoys snorkeling, and can often be found underwater or with a snorkel mask.

In the Grand Finale Galaxy they show up for a final time. Their leader reveals that because of their work in helping Mario retrieve the stars, they have been promoted to Royal Guards.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
The Toad Brigade reappears in Super Mario Galaxy 2. Like in the previous game, they continue to aid Mario throughout the different worlds. The Toad Brigade is introduced in an alternate manner then from Super Mario Galaxy. Firstly, Toad has the other Toads refer to him as "the new captain," and, when he is first met, he reveals he is actually Toad who instated himself as captain simply by wearing a headlamp. However, when Banktoad has 9,999 Star Bits, he wears a headlamp but that doesn't make him the leader. Additionally, the Brigade does not seem to know as much about the Lumas as they did before. The Starshroom used in Super Mario Galaxy 2 is stated by brigade members who reveals that the Lumas built it for them so they can return to follow Mario to help him on his quest. Also, they do not talk about their previous exploits and some have different roles in comparison to the original game. For example, the green Toad now is a Banktoad and not an adventurer as he was in the previous game. Mailtoad continues to give Mario letters. Additionally, Mario can give Banktoad some of his Star Bits.

Throughout the game, the Toad Brigade follows the Starship Mario using their Starshroom. Mario can go onto to their Starshroom simply by using a teleportation pad on the Starship Mario in order to speak with them. There is also a 1-Up Mushroom each time Mario teleports to their ship. They sometimes assist him on his journey but generally they are just seen exploring the areas rather than looking for power stars. In the Bowser levels, the Toads are sometimes seen deep within the area, with the Toads often having a coin for Mario to collect. In the ending credits, the Toads are seen celebrating within the credits as Mario finally gets the cake that he had earned from saving Princess Peach. It is unknown if they still become Royal Guards.

''Super Mario Galaxy Bio
Toad's Collectible Card Bio: ''Toad is Princess Peach's closest confidant and sworn protector. Typically Toad is a happy character, as seen by the constant smile on his face. But now he has reason to be concerned. His beloved princess has been kidnapped by Bowser, and Toad will stop at nothing to help find her. Just when all is feared lost, Toad and his friends appear in their Mushroom-shaped ships and help guide Mario on his quest to save Princess Peach.''

Trivia

 * The Toad Brigade Captain is believed to be the character Toad as seen by their similar personalities, both being red-capped toads and the fact that Toad had artwork provided for Super Mario Galaxy. He is even referred to as Toad in his Super Mario Galaxy trading card, name and bio-wise.
 * Like Mailtoad, Banktoad wasn't given a name or a real occupation until a Super Mario Galaxy game, with Super Mario Galaxy 2 being the one for Banktoad.
 * On the cover of Super Mario Galaxy 2, Toad is shown to wear a blue vest, however, in-game he wears a red vest.