Toad

Toad (, Kinopio) is a recurring character from the series.

Origin
The Toads as a species made their debut in  as Princess Peach's assistants, and have appeared in nearly every Mario game since. They are humanoid characters with mushroom-shaped heads and simple eyes who wear sports vests, white diaper-like pants reaching up to their chests, and brown shoes.

Toads appear with a wide variety of different colored spots on their cap. The most common Toads feature white caps with red spots and mostly appear in many Mario games as an NPC. The Toads with the blue or yellow spots are also playable characters. Other Toads sometimes feature caps with an inverted color scheme (e.g. a red cap with white spots, etc.).

In Super Mario Bros., a single Toad is encountered at the end of the castle levels in World 1 through World 7 after defeating the fake Bowser where they deliver the famous line "Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!" Toad made his playable debut in Super Mario Bros. 2 (a reskin of the Japan-only game , then re-released in Japan as Super Mario USA) as one of four playable characters. He has the greatest speed and power but has the lowest jump height, which would return with the playable appearance of a blue Toad in . Toad also appears as a playable character in various Mario spin-offs and a common NPC in most Mario games.

Prominent members of the Toad race include, a female Toad who mostly appears in the Mario spin-off games; , an old Toad who acts as Princess Peach's attendant; and , a Toad explorer who leads the reoccuring and helps Mario in his quests in the Mario series.

Assist role
Toad serves as 's neutral special move which can be used to counter an enemy's attack.

As a background character
Toad also appears as a background character in the stage of Adventure Mode.

Toad can be found running back and forth behind the arena with the Yoshi Team and behind the finish line.

In addition to these two roles, a notable rumor had spread about Toad being playable in Melee.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Toad appears as a playable character in the Super Mario Bros. 2 Masterpiece.

Assist role
Toad returns and serves as 's neutral special move.

Assist role
Toad returns and serves as 's neutral special.

As a Mii Costume
Toad serves as the basis for the Toad Hat and Outfit DLC Mii Costume for the s. The Toad set was released alongside the other Wave 4 Mii Fighter costumes on September 30th, 2015.

During the reveal trailer, the Mii Brawler representing Toad is first seen on the Mushroom Kingdom U stage. The Mii Brawler is next seen collecting a Super Mushroom on the Jungle Hijinxs stage. The ending image feature the two Mii Brawlers on the Gaur Plain stage.

Trophies
The Toad trophy appears in both versions. In, it is part of the Super Mario Bros.. The Toad + Quacker trophy is exclusive to the Wii U version; it is part of the Super Mario Kart Trophy Box.

Assist role
Toad returns and serves as 's neutral special; however, unlike in previous games, Toad actively guards her, rather than be used like a human shield. Toad also attacks alongside Peach during her grab, pummel, and throws.

A also appears as part of 's moveset, acting in a similar fashion to Peach's Toad.

As a Mii Costume
The Toad Hat and Toad Outfit returns as a Mii costume for the s in the base game.

Spirits
Toad also appears as three different primary spirits. It can also be obtained by scanning the Toad amiibo.

Toad's Spirit Battle uses a Mii Brawler puppet fighter wearing the Super Mushroom Hat and a blue Toad Outfit and is fought on the Princess Peach's Castle stage. During the battle, the Mushroom items appear, referencing how the Toads are a race of mushroom-like humanoids, while the Mii Brawler favors Suplex, referencing Toad's plucking abilities in its major playable appearances.

Captain Toad can be obtained by enhancing the Toad spirit at level 99.

During the Cheep Charger spirit battle, the Peach puppet fighter favors her grab and throw moves, which features Toad and is fought on the Mario Circuit stage. During the battle, Peach has increased move speed, referencing the Cheep Charger's high acceleration stats.

Trivia

 * The panicked Toads seen running in the stage in Melee have the same animation as the one used in Peach's neutral special move.
 * In an official poll held on Smabura-Ken (the game's official Japanese website) regarding characters for a potential sequel, Toad placed ninth with 27 votes. Among video game-original (and therefore eligible for Smash) characters, Toad is currently the highest-voted one who has yet to become a fighter.