Toad

Toad is one of the main characters of the Mario franchise. He is Princess Peach's attendant and a longtime protector of the Mushroom Kingdom. Though his species debuts in Super Mario Bros., Toad as a character first appears in Super Mario Bros. 2, being one of the four main protagonists and playable characters. In some of his appearances, Toad is a supporting character who helps Mario and Luigi on their adventures. Toad has also had a few starring roles, such as Wario's Woods and Kinopio Live. Toad is a recurring character in Mario spinoff games, and he has also appeared in the Mario & Sonic crossover series.

Like his species, Toad's signature feature is having a head shaped like a mushroom, including a spotted mushroom cap. For the species, red is usually the standard color for these spots, partially because it is used for Toad in most of his appearances; these Toads are known as Red Toads, but they have also been named Toad in several of their appearances. Toad can generally be differentiated if he is the only Toad who appears or if he has a distinct role, such as a playable appearance. Toad usually wears a blue vest, although it is colored red in some games. Toad has a consistent role of being the main representative of his species, just as Yoshi is to his species.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Toad makes a small appearance in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games as one of the referees. He can frequently be seen alongside Cream the Rabbit as judges in the various event matches including the fencing and high jump events. The two also are seen calling out fouls and starting the races in the Athletics events.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii)
In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games for the Wii, Toad returns as a referee. He and Cream are the main hosts that introduce the events to the players in Festival Mode. Toad and Cream also have similar judging roles as in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. Toad is the only red-spotted Toad of his species, even though numerous Toads appear within the crowds during the different Olympic events.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Nintendo DS)
In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games for the Nintendo DS, like the Wii version, Toad is a referee within certain events and the only red-spotted Toad to appear.

In Adventure Tours, Toad is the first character whom Mario and Sonic meet in Frostown. In doing so, Toad excitedly decides to join them. Toad mainly serves as a guide during the adventure, and upon joining the party, Toad even says that he is unable to do much. Toad often has dialogue while events unfold or when the characters progress. During the ending, an unlockable photo of Toad with many of the other hosts alongside him can be obtained.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Wii)
In Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games for the Wii, Toad is a common referee, alongside Cream, Espio, and Charmy. Toad hosts the event Dream Equestrian in which he has the characters return Yoshi Eggs through a series of horse riding events

Toad also co-hosts London Party alongside Cream. Here, Toad provides information about various events, such as characters appearing on the map, scores and upcoming Events. As hosts, he and Cream also both judge the players and often provide them their daily duties in order to achieve stickers and points. Toad and Cream also give out the final scores of the events as well.

A Mii outfit based on Toad can also be unlocked by playing against a friend five times in the Single Event mode.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Nintendo 3DS)
In Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games for the Nintendo 3DS, Toad appears as a referee in several events alongside other Toads, as well as appearing on the results screens in medleys. A badge of Toad can also be randomly earned from the badge machine.

In the story mode, Toad has a relatively large role, as he accompanies Mario and Luigi for most of the story and often interprets for them. After initially being scared by the Phantasmal Fog, Toad helps Mario and Luigi clear it from the Main Stadium, before following them to Hyde Park, where they find that the Girls group, Toads and Rouge have already cleared the fog from the area. Mario, Luigi, and Toad reunite with Sonic and Tails at the British Museum, and the group clear the fog after defeating Eggman Nega. They explore the museum to learn about the source of the fog, before splitting up after some news from Charmy and Espio, and Toad and Mario later follow Wario challenging Dr. Eggman, who he later defeats after teaming up with Waluigi. Seeing this, Toad heads back to the Main Stadium with the others, which is shortly covered back by the Phantasmal Fog. After rescuing Cream, Toad and the Heroes travel to Stonehenge with Omega, where they find the seal for the Fog urn before heading back to London. The group head to Big Ben to confront Bowser and Dr. Eggman, though Toad and Omega eventually return to the Main Stadium due to no longer being able to endure the fog. Toad also leads the call over the walkie-talkie to the Heroes during their confrontation and also invites Bowser and Dr. Eggman to register for the Olympic Games after they are defeated. Toad appears at the opening ceremony, as well as in the photo at the end of the credits with the athletes and Omochao.

Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
In Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, for the events that are played without the Wii U GamePad, Toad appears during the Mario & Sonic Live segment and host said events, with Toad commenting at the start and end of these events. A Mii costume based on Toad can be unlocked by playing Medley Mania at least once.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Wii U)
Toad is an unlockable character in Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games for the Wii U, although he is only playable in the 4x100m Relay event. This is Toad's first playable appearance in the Mario & Sonic series. Toad can be unlocked by winning against him in a tournament match. Toad's stats include his Power at 7, Speed at 8, and Technique at 3.

There is an unlockable Mii costume set based on Toad. It must be collected in two separate parts, each with their own stat changes.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition
In Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition, Toad is not a playable characters but rather an opponent in 4x100m Relay. Toad has different stats, more than the other characters; while his Power is almost the same, being at 7.5, his Speed was decreased to 5.5 while his Technique was significantly increased to 10.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Toad reprises his role from previous Mario & Sonic games by appearing as a referee in different events. Toad is one of the main characters in Story Mode, in which he, along with Mario, Sonic, Bowser, and Dr. Eggman, were sucked into a game system known as the Tokyo '64. In it, the Mushroom Retainer sprites from Super Mario Bros. were retroactively applied to Toad, although with his eyes and mouth colored black, as the Super Mario Bros. sprite had both transparent in favor of the sprite as the sprite was always shown on a black background.

Story Mode
In Story Mode, Toad brought Sonic and Mario the Tokyo '64, addressed to them from an anonymous sender. Just as Luigi arrived though, Bowser showed up, with Dr. Eggman close by, causing Luigi to get frightened and drop the Tokyo '64 he was holding and turn it on, causing Toad, Sonic, Mario, Eggman and Bowser to get sucked into the Tokyo '64. Inside the heavily pixelated world of the Tokyo '64, Toad, Sonic and Mario learned that the Tokyo '64 was a trap made by Eggman and Bowser, but it had backfired by sucking the villains in too. Although Eggman claimed there was no way out, he convinced Bowser to compete in the Olympic Games featured inside the Tokyo '64 so they could win gold medals, prompting the heroes to follow them so Mario and Sonic could compete in the digital Olympic Games too. After Sonic and Mario had beaten Eggman and Bowser in two events, Toad heard Eggman mention that winning gold medals was the key to escape the Tokyo '64. After relaying this information to Sonic and Mario, Toad's group tried to confront Eggman and Bowser, only to discover that they had snuck away. Thankfully, a Pecky told Toad that Eggman flew out west, so Sonic decided to chase him, while Mario and Toad looked for Bowser. Although the duo eventually found Bowser, he got away while Toad talked to Mario. Reuniting with Sonic, the heroes reported that their foes had gotten away and were probably meeting somewhere.

Eventually finding Eggman and Bowser in the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, the heroes came face-to-face with the villains. After Toad made Eggman admit that there was a way out of the Tokyo '64, Sonic told him and Bowser that they that would not get away with the gold medals. Mario proceeded to challenge Eggman, which he won. After Sonic later beat Bowser in an event, Toad reunited with Sonic and Mario, who revealed to them that he had seen someone who looked like Eggman head off in a taxi, prompting Sonic to go after it. However, upon stopping the taxi, the heroes discover that "Eggman" was actually a Picky impersonating him. However, after the Picky mentioned a big flame, the heroes realized they could find Eggman and Bowser at the Olympic Cauldron in the National Stadium. They then decide to stay back and figure out what they were up to.

Eventually, Toad, Sonic and Mario heard Eggman say that by inserting fourteen gold medals into fourteen keyholes underneath the Olympic Cauldron, they could return to the real world. However, Eggman and Bowser soon noticed Toad and the others eavesdropping nearby, prompting them to hurry out and get more medals. Eventually, Sonic and Mario faced Eggman and Bowser in another event in the National Gymnasium. There, Sonic beat Eggman in another event, which Toad congratulated him for. Soon after though, a screen that eventually said that "Power-up Items" from Eggman Nega were on the way, appeared. As mysterious items fell all over the digital world, Eggman and Bowser hurried out to get them and use them to win medals. Knowing they would be at a disadvantage against Eggman and Bowser if they got those power-ups, Sonic and Mario left Toad to stop the villains from getting the power-ups. Toad later met them again at the base Tokyo Tower. There, Toad pointed out that a "Miracle Roll" power-up was on the top of the tower. However, Toad stopped Mario from climbing it since Badniks guarded the tower. Regardless, Sonic and Mario teamed up and secured the Miracle Roll. However, Toad warned them that Eggman and his Badniks had fled to other Miracle Rolls.

Over time, Toad and the others discovered that the Tokyo '64 was running out of battery and that they would disappear if they were still inside the Tokyo '64 when the battery gave out. Regardless, Sonic and Mario were challenged to the decisive events by Eggman and Bowser. Knowing that the villains would try to play dirty however, Toad was given Sonic and Mario's gold medals for safekeeping while the heroic duo faced the villains. After losing the final event, Bowser tried to take medals from Mario and Sonic, only for Toad to reveal himself and show that they had outsmarted them. As Dr. Eggman tried to come up with a new plan, Sonic reminded them that they did not have much time left and that they should team up to get out. Eventually, Eggman and Bowser agree to help. The five characters thus went to the Olympic Cauldron and placed the gold medals into the keyholes. Soon after, a column of light appeared to take them back to the real world. While this was happening however, everything around them began to flicker, signifying that the battery had run out. The group subsequently began to fade away while unable to reach the escape route. Fortunately, they were saved in the last minute when Tails and Luigi replaced the battery on the Tokyo '64. Now restored, Toad and the others reached the exit and return to the real world. As Toad readjusted from his time inside the Toyko '64 though, Eggman and Bowser challenged Sonic and Mario to a decisive event (which the villains ultimately lost).