Nintendo’s Mushroom Kingdom
Mario was always a big part of my life and continues to provide hours of entertainment, and frustration… ya girls not good at video games. Also, probably one of the first exposures to mushrooms for most of us! From the mushroom kingdom, to the adorable Toad's all the way to the incredible powers to shrink and grow the character's of the game. I hope to compile some fun facts from the many sources mastering this exact subject, and provide some entertaining perspectives from a mycological viewpoint.
Immediately overwhelmed- after minimal research I realize there is SO much info about the Mario-verse. There are some dedicated Mario fans out there, and I thank them for all of the fun facts!
I love how in depth the 'Mario-verse' truly can be. Not including Mario Kart- Super Mario Sunshine is probably my most favorite game due to personal nostalgia and 3 years of my life dedicated to that damn game. The mushroom kingdom truly doesn't end, instead its ever-changing, adapting to each game while remaining the same familiar place. Its perfection!
With that being said, there is A LOT of information out there about every aspect of Mario you could ever need to know, if you’re ever bored… I’d recommend going down a rabbit hole- if you don’t have time or patience for that at the moment; here’s a summary!
The Mushroom Kingdom
“Mushroom Kingdom - Most Famous of All Kingdoms
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Mushroom Kingdom
Our first introduction to the mushroom kingdom- actually the very first time we see a mushroom is in block #2 of the original Mario!
About:
Mario Fandom describes it perfectly;
“The Mushroom Kingdom is a colossal nation on the Mushroom Planet- [which is indeed shaped like a mushroom- as shown in Super Mario Odyssey] It is the largest country by size and population. The military consists of little more than Toads with spears, the occasional gun or military item, and such, along with mercenaries and other volunteer species. Due to this, the head of state is captured at least twice a year. Fortunately for the Kingdom, Mario and Luigi are always there to save the day.” More on that dynamic duo later.
The landscape of the Mushroom kingdom is everchanging and ever-growing- evolving with each game and new piece of technology comes to existence! Often times you will find yourself in 1 of 8 biomes- Plains, desert, islands, forest, sky, mountains, tundra, and/or volcano/canyon
The demographics of Mushroom kingdom include a large amount of memorable characters that we’ve grown to love through the years. Most of the population is made up of Toads- the cute mushroom buddies who Mario Wiki describes as, “a peaceful race of mushroom-like humanoid characters, many [of which] also work as loyal servants of the kingdom's ruler Princess Peach. Though most of the population is toads- many other ethnic groups found a home in the mushroom kingdom- these are loose statistics found by Dr. Wily in his youtube video, “The history of the mushroom kingdom (mario series)”
Population of Mushroom Kingdom
Government and History:
Government is sketchy- at best, and the history is even sketchier.
Government: Absolute monarchy, although critics (on Mario’s Fandom page) would argue this to be false.
“First and foremost, the present-day Mushroom Kingdom is not a true monarchy, on which a king or queen rules, but is in fact a principality, in which a prince or princess is the true ruler of the kingdom.”
We have to assume that King Toad has retired and no longer rules, leaving the kingdom to his daughter, Princess Peach. And, while the Princess gets kidnapped every single game… a toad chancellor takes over and makes any decisions this fictional world may find itself facing.
Now, during all of my research I stumbled upon a perfect article- exactly what I had been looking for titled “Top 7 most disturbing things about the Mushroom Kingdom” by Holland Cooper on GamesRadar.com. I have to do the whole quote because it’s just too great;
“Princess Peach Toadstool currently leads the Mushroom Kingdom. There are a few issues with this statement. First, she's a princess, not a queen - that's because her father, the King, apparently fled during the events of Super Mario Bros. and never returned (or was turned into an animal in Super Mario Bros. 3 and never returned, the details are hazy), leaving his politically inexperienced daughter to run the entire kingdom. This, alone, is troubling, but even more problematic is the class system that keeps the rich rolling in the coins while the poor scrub their boots. It's called the "Mushroom Kingdom." Mushroom Kingdom. The capital? Toad Town. Citizens of the kingdom? Toads. These Mushroom People are the dominant race throughout the Kingdom. But, for some reason, they're mere servants to the royal Toadstool family who, despite having "Toad" right in the name, are actually humans. The politically inexperienced minority (humans) is, in this case, ruling over the vast majority (Toads). Their textbooks must be a mess”
Speaking of messy text books- The history of the kingdom is even more up in the air with several sources saying several different things.
One thing is for certain- at the beginning of the very first game, in the Super Mario Bros. instruction booklet, while explaining the object of the game it reads, “One day the kingdom of the peaceful mushroom people was invaded by the Koopa, a tribe of turtles famous for their black magic. The quiet, peace-loving mushroom people were turned into mere stones, bricks and even field horse-hair plants, [ MORE ON THIS LATER ] and the mushroom kingdom fell to ruin. The only one who can undo the magic spell on the mushroom people and return them to their normal selves is the Princess Toadstool, (PEACH) the daughter of the mushroom king. Unfortunately she is presently in the hands of the great koopa turtle king (BOWSER) Mario, the hero of the story (maybe) (it legit says maybe.. HAHAHA thanks for having hope in me videogame…) hears about the mushroom people’s plight and sets out on a quest to free the mushroom princess from the evil koopa and restore the fallen kingdom of the mushroom people."
SO- after reading this everything regarding Mario made A LOT more sense. I had never heard/read/seen anything of this sort… probably my own fault for not reading the packaging of anything, but THIS is the main gig, the explanation- for the pipes and the weirdness and the constant kidnapping and turtles. There is clearly A LOT of lore on this subject- Mario’s fandom page has a full in depth saga of the victories and tragedies the mushroom kingdom has faced under its many rulers, before declaring independency which would then lead it to be taken over by Bowser in just about every single game? I was unable to find sources for any of this information, so I wouldn’t bet on it.
Mushroom Kingdom’s most known for: chaos.
Another thing we can absolutely count on is chaos. Mario’s Wiki describes the basic existence of the mushroom kingdom as this,
"Despite being mostly peaceful, the Mushroom Kingdom is often the victim of numerous catastrophes, which include multiple attempted takeovers (mostly at the hands of Bowser), awakenings of great evil, a few pandemics such as the Blorbs, ruining of several festivals and traditions, alien invasions, and even the near destruction of the kingdom itself. Nearly all of these disasters lead to Peach getting herself in danger, leaving Mario and Luigi, the kingdom's heroes, as the ones to save her. While Bowser is mainly focused on conquest, other villains may try to destroy the kingdom and its inhabitants, leading him to team up with the heroes at times."
Again, Cooper writes in his disturbing things about the mushroom kingdom post, something so hilariously perfect that I have to throw some shade Mario’s way. Cooper describes Mario as “the champion of the mushroom kingdom” recounting that “its up to… hum. No knights, no soldiers, no anything- just an Italian plumber who can jump real good.” Then goes to mention that he’s not even the best at jumping!! Luigi can jump just a bit higher! HA!
Another comedic point brought up in the GamesRadar article was that, “the Kingdom's royalty still occasionally hang out with him for casual fun. Despite being an unstoppable evil force, Bowser is still allowed to attend any sporting activities the people of the Mushroom Kingdom hold. Soccer, baseball, tennis, racing - you name it, Bowser shows up with a bunch of his evil friends to hang out for a fun day of sporting, and everyone seems as pleased as punch to accept him as a friend, despite the fact that he's a terrible, terrible monster.”
This horrendous dictator who reigns HAVOC over the mushroom kindgom is invited and even hosts his own sporting events from time to time.
LOL AT THAT!
Something else I learned that puts another piece of the puzzle together was from The Mario wiki page on mushroom kingdom which lists this tiny little significant fact that I had no idea about. It would explain so much as to why a plumber, why the pipes? Why are they like the only humans, WHAT IS THIS?
"Leaping Lizards describes the Mushroom Kingdom as being deep under the surface of the Earth, which is used as an explanation for how Mario and Luigi can reach the Kingdom through a series of pipes in Brooklyn.[1]"
While were answering some questions- WHY THE MUSHROOMS? David Shimomura of Kill screen describes the Mario games perfectly and has an interesting bunch of knowledge regarding the inspiration of the mushroom kingdom. He reports that during an interview with NPR- “Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the Mario franchise, said that he took inspiration from Alice in Wonderland and other types of fairy tales that tells of mushrooms having mysterious power. Which originally explains the reasoning behind the human's seemingly strange power to change size!” The exact references to Japanese culture besides the mushrooms, which are very popular in Japanese cuisine and in the country side, are so deep into Mario lore that I didn’t even want to unleash that monster. The form is one that was familiar to Shigeru Miyamoto and one he could easily animate with a small number of pixels that the original game was stuck with. Shimomura finishes by applauding Miyamoto’s ability to do, “what he does best: he got creative within the given limits.” Definitely something that can be counted as true when it comes to Nintendo!
Toad and the mushroom kingdom are iconic- but the mushroom they’re based on is even more iconic! One of my most favorites, and most recognizable mushrooms is the Amanita muscaria (fly agaric). This mushroom does have hallucinogenic properties and has been known to distort the size of perceived objects.
sound familiar?
Amanita muscaria is culturally HUGE- playing a role in lore across the globe, Christmas folktales, inspiring Alice in Wonderland, and even made its way into video games through Nintendo- starting at the original game as the powerup mushroom, ending up as the cute character we all know and love- who even had his own game, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker.
Miyamoto reasons that “Toad's creation was that of being a character that has a simplistic design; yet, still appears cute and lovely and pleasing to everybody. “ Originally designed after the first mushroom of the franchise, Toad now finds himself to be a staple piece of the Mario-verse.
That Mario-verse who has NO limit. Toads and the Mushroom Kingdom have impacted the Mario games since the very beginning- setting the location for this wild universe, and addicting game to exist. As Mario and technology grows- the mushroom kingdom expands. To conclude I will provide a list, found on wikipedia, of all of the locations known to gamers in the mushroom kingdom.
GOOD LUCK ever getting this out of your head.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you learned something new, and I hope you share those facts with your best friend, partner, parent, or pets!
Toad Town - The capital city of the Mushroom Kingdom
Peach's Castle - The capital building of the Mushroom Kingdom
Mario Bros.' House - Mario and Luigi's house
Luigi's Mansion - A mansion owned by Luigi
Yoshi's House - Yoshi's Home
New Super Mario Bros. U
Acorn Plains - A grassy world with plenty of shrubs, slanted mountains, and the Acorn Tree.
Acorn Tree
Layer-Cake Desert -A desert world with various desserts, such as melting ice creams, giant cakes, and a sea of sand with Moai-like statues called Stone-Eyes.
Sparkling Waters - A tropical world with multiple islands, bubbling water geysers, and a sunken ship. This world can be entirely skipped for Frosted Glacier.
Soda Jungle - A rainforest flooded by purple poison, based on the Forest of Illusion and World 4 from Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros., respectively.
Rock-Candy Mines - A mountainous world with tall, pillar like mountains. A cloud train seems to separate this world from the next world.
Frosted Glacier - A snowy world that takes place at night filled with stars and constellations. This world can be entirely skipped for Sparkling Waters.
Meringue Clouds - A sky world resembling the foreground of levels in World 7 from New Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Mushroom Way - A northern road between Mario's Pad and Mushroom Castle.
Bandit's Way - A southern road home to outlaw monsters.
Paper Mario series
Goomba Village - A small village populated by Goombario's family
Koopa Village - A village of Koopa Troopas
Koopa Bros. Fortress - The Koopa Bros. hideout
Dry Dry Outpost - A small desert town home to Dryites
Dry Dry Ruins - The ancient home of the Nomadimice
Forever Forest - A spooky forest.
Boo's Mansion - One of many ghost houses found in the world
Gusty Gulch - The path to Tubba Blubba's Castle; includes a village home to Boos
Tubba Blubba's Castle - A castle filled with Clubbas and their master, Tubba Blubba
Lavalava Island - A volcanic island and its village full of Yoshis and Ravens
Flower Fields- Flowers and fauna grow here; home to the Bub-ulbs
Shiver City - A snowy city full of Bumpties
Starborn Valley - Birthplace of the stars
Crystal Palace - An intricate maze of mirrors and statues
Decalburg - A town inhabited by Toads where the Sticker Fest is celebrated
Surfshine Harbor - A harbor north of Decalburg
Yoshi Sphinx - A Yoshi-shaped Sphinx in a desert near Decalburg
Enigmansion - A haunted mansion within a snowy area near Decalburg
Mario & Luigi series
Hollijolli Village - A jolly little Christmas-themed town the Shroobs invaded
Toadwood Forest - A forest where Toads' vim is drained
Vim Factory - A factory where Toads' vim is processed to fuel the Shroobs' machines
Gritzy Desert - A desert with a hidden colosseum
Koopaseum - A stadium hidden in the Gritzy Desert
Gritzy Caves - The caves underneath the Gritzy Desert
Thwomp Volcano - A now-dormant volcano where Thwomps live
Thwomp Caverns - The inside of Thwomp Volcano
Star Hill - A star-filled mountain
Star Shrine - A shrine at the top of Star Hill
Dimble Woods - A forest filled with many Wigglers and Treevils
Cavi Cape - A cape near Plack Beach and Blubble Lake
Plack Beach - A beach south of Bowser's Castle
Bumpsy Plains - A grassy plains area near Bowser Path
Bowser Path - A path that leads to Bowser's Castle
Toad Town Caves - A sewer system underneath Toad Town that held the Dark Star
Tunnel - A tunnel underneath Cavi Cape
Toad Town Mall - A mall on the south side of Toad Town
Project K - A railroad connecting Toad Town Caves, the Tunnel, and Bowser's Castle
Tower of Yikk - A tower designed and inhabited by the late Yikk
Sunbeam Plains - A large grassy field neighboring Peach's Castle and Doop Doop Dunes
Doop Doop Dunes - A desert with a bridge leading to Bowser's Castle
Doop Doop Dunes Grotto - A cave underneath Doop Doop Dunes
Twinsy Tropics - A tropical island near Bowser's Castle
Twinsy Tropics Dungeon - A prison and mine under Twinsy Tropics
Gloomy Woods - A forest with a haunted east half
Mount Brrr - A frigid mountain where Bowser's villa is located
Mario Kart series
Mushroom City - A giant city with many buildings
Mushroom Bridge - A bridge near Mushroom City
Moonview Highway - A highway in Mushroom City
