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!"

- Captain Toad

The Toad Brigade is a group of five Toads that aid Mario through some games, starting with Super Mario Galaxy. They are led by Captain Toad. Later the group would expand to include Toadette, bringing the membership up to six.

Super Mario Galaxy
Enjoying the festivities in Princess Peach's Castle during the Star Festival, a 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 Captain 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. This is first proven at the Space Junk Galaxy, as he mutters that he is afraid to board the airships. He can be seen as rather lazy. He always has a miners light on his head and a backpack on his back. Hint 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 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, where they show up for the 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 than in Super Mario Galaxy. Firstly, Captain Toad has the other Toads refer to him as "the new captain," and, when he is first met, he reveals he is actually just a Toad who instated himself as captain simply by wearing a headlamp. 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. 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 are Royal Guards.

Super Mario 3D World
Captain Toad also appears in Super Mario 3D World. In this game, he is a playable character in his own puzzle levels called The Adventures of Captain Toad where the player can not jump and must collect five Green Stars. He also appears in several other levels, and awards Mario and the other characters with a Green Star when found. He is the only Toad Brigade member in the game; while yellow, green and purple Toads similar to his crew can be seen with Captain Toad in a Clear Pipe back to the Mushroom Kingdom during the credits, they only act as hosts of the Toad Houses.

Super Mario Odyssey
The Toad Brigade appears once again in Super Mario Odyssey. Mailtoad returns, unlike in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, but only as the employee of the regional coin side of Crazy Cap shops; Yellow Toad also appears in the same capacity. Toadette is added to the crew, known in-game as "Archivist Toadette." She rewards the player after they have completed achievements, which they can view by talking to her. Blue Toad is now known as Hint Toad, and will give Mario the locations of Power Moons for fifty coins. Unlike in the Super Mario Galaxy games, Captain Toad is usually in a separate location than the rest of his crew.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Captain Toad stars in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker as a playable main character along with Toadette, who joins the Brigade. All the other members of the Toad Brigade (except for Mailtoad who is absent from the game) also appear in various stages to help the captain, with Hint Toad giving him Super Gems or Super Mushrooms upon being found. Yellow Toad can be found fast asleep in most levels and can additionally cause Captain Toad to fall asleep if he were to stand near the sleeping toad. Banktoad meanwhile is seen studying a map in most of his appearances throughout the game. The appearance of the Toads are vastly different from past games, as they are outfitted in explorer outfits with backpacks similar to Captain Toad's redesign from Super Mario 3D World. The three other Toad Brigade members also appear in the first set of levels in the bonus stages. In these stages, the goal is for Captain Toad to find the three Toads scattered around the stage and lead them to a platform that only lifts once four characters are standing on it to reach the Power Star. If any of the other Toad Brigade members are hit by an enemy, however, the player automatically loses a life rather than the Toad turning into a small form akin to Captain Toad and Toadette. The Toad Brigade members also make cameos in the beginning of the Challenge levels, ending of the Mummy-Me levels and in the credits.

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

 * In Sand Spiral Galaxy, a generic red Toad is seen near the entrance with a Boo Mushroom. However, the only red Toad in the Brigade is Captain Toad, who is always seen wearing his headlamp and backpack.
 * Similarly, in the Lost Kingdom, a blue Toad wearing the Toad Brigade attire can be found near Talkatoo; however, the only blue Toad in the Brigade is Hint Toad, who is seen in the beginning of the stage instead and always wears glasses, unlike this Toad.

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