Mushroom Kingdom

The Mushroom Kingdom the setting of most of Mario's adventures. Usually, each game takes place in a specific part of the Kingdom, treating the others as if they don't exist; this is primarily due to the fact that they are irrelevant to the story of said game. The Mushroom Kingdom is a Monarchy, with Princess Peach being heir to the Throne; The capital, as seen in Paper Mario, is Toad Town. Though Princess Peach and the Mario Brothers are human, the city is mostly populated by the Toads (called "Kinopios" in Japan). Some of the Dinosaur-like Yoshi immigrated into the Mushroom Kingdom shortly after Super Mario World.

The Kingdom is often tormented by the Koopa Kingdom. Bowser, King of the Koopas, has kidnapped Princess Peach countless times. Initially, it was because she had the power to undo Bowser's dark magic, but in more recent times he has developed romantic feelings for the Princess. This can be best seen in the original Paper Mario. Games in the Mario series often suggest that the Mushroom Kingdom is a rival of Bowser's domain, the Koopa Kingdom. The Koopa Kingdom has been glimpsed at least five times as the last worlds in Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Though several maps and tracks from the Mario Kart and Mario Party series take place here as well. It is also seen in the credits reel of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga when they drop off Bowser. It is unknown if the Koopa Kingdom is a completely separate area, or merely a captured portion of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Government
The Mushroom Kingdom is a monarchy. Princess Peach acts as the head of the government, while her title as "Princess" raises arguments of what her presence in the government is. The Mushroom Chancellor remains in office for many years and gives advice to the kingdom's government and is the second in command after Princess Peach, who is first in command. As Chancellor, he takes over as the acting leader of the government if the ruler is gone for an extended period of time.

Demographics
Although the Mushroom Kingdom is primarily made up of Toads, many other ethnic groups have joined the Mushroom Kingdom in the past years. 66% of the Mushroom Kingdom is made of Toads, 19% of Koopas and 9% of Bob-ombs. Those are the majority, but around 2% are Shy Guys and/or Bandits, 2% are Yoshis, 1% are Bumpties, a small 1% are Piantas and the remaining 1% are humans and other small ethnic groups (making a total of 100).

Princess Peach's Castle AKA Castle Toadstool
Princess Peach's Castle is a large castle that appears to be inhabited solely by Toads and the Princess. It is surrounded by a moat, but has a regular bridge instead of a drawbridge connecting it to the other side. A large stained-glass window of Peach sits above the entrance, and four short towers are at the castle's four corners with a much taller tower in the center. The castle has three floors and a basement[1]. Princess Toadstool's Castle, as it appears in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, is considered to be the first appearance of Peach's Castle. It appears quite differently than it does in later games. Aside from Toadstool's place of residence, the Castle serves as the seat of power in the Kingdom where the Chancellor and several Toad advisors hold court.

It appears as the hub of Super Mario 64 where Bowser has kidnapped Peach and imprisoned her in her own castle. Mario must dive into worlds created from the castle's wall paintings to retrieve and harness Power stars to open doors that Bowser had locked.

In Mario Kart 64, on the track Royal Raceway there is a path to the castle as depicted in Super Mario 64. It is not vital to drive through and only wastes time. However, after a player finishes with the GP there is an award ceremony out the front of it.

In Paper Mario, Bowser again captures the Princess by raising her entire castle via an underground craft that he had built directly underneath it, thus trapping her in her own home again.

In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time the castle acts as the main level/hub due to space-time rifts caused by Professor E. Gadd's time machine. It has four floors and two item shops. The player learns some of the main abilities in the front courtyard. A version of the castle (set approximately 25 years in the past) also appears as the final dungeon of the game. It is overrun by shroobs.

In Super Mario Galaxy The castle is again lifted into the air, but this time by means of several large anchors dropped by flying ships controlled by Bowser and Bowser Jr.. It is relocated to the center of the universe, where it plays out as the intro to the final stage in the main story. When the player defeats Bowser, the castle, along with many ships and planets, is sucked into a black hole. Afterwards, it is returned to the Mushroom Kingdom by Rosalina and the Lumas, along with Mario, Bowser and his minions, Bowser Jr., and Peach, albeit looking slightly different from the original castle.

Toad Town
Toad Town is the capital of the Mushroom Kingdom as seen in Paper Mario. It is populated by a people called the Toads, the most famous of which is Toad himself. Other species inhabiting Toad Town are Shaman, Koopa Paratroopas and Doogans.

In Paper Mario, Mario and his group of friends travel through Toad Town quite often, as most areas in Paper Mario can only be reached by passing through Toad Town; for example, Mario might need to take the train from the Toad Town train station. There are three shops in Toad Town, one of which sells badges, as well as a Post Office, a restaurant, and a Toad House where Mario can rest and regain health. It is also the home of Merlon the fortune-teller. Additionally, a place in Toad Town exists where Mario can play games and wager coins. This location can only be found after receiving a special Silver Credit from Koopa Koot and hitting a tree near the train station.

In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Mario walks around Toadtown Square and learns the basic skills of the game. If he helps certain citizens, he will get extra Mushrooms for his journey. Mario only visits Toad Town once in this game, at the beginning.

In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the Mario Bros. and their baby selves travel to a Toad Town of the past, which was almost completely destroyed by the Shroobs and infested with purple fungus. The only survivors left in the town are two old lady Toads who run the shop there. The only other inhabitants of Toad Town are a variety of bizarre creatures and enemies.

In Super Mario Galaxy a Toad Town-esque village inhabited by Toads is located near Princess Peach's Castle.

Toad Town has also been referred to in other games, for example in the Nintendo GameCube game Animal Crossing. Toad Town is only referred to briefly in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door; Zip Toad, a movie-star sends Mario an e-mail stating that he is going to be starring in a new movie, which is being filmed in Toad Town. A town simply referred to as "Mushroom Kingdom" also appears in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, it is possible that the Mushroom Kingdom may have been an earlier version of Toad Town.

Landscape
The Mushroom Kingdom has been revamped several times over the course of the Mario games, similar to the kingdom of Hyrule in the Legend of Zelda series. In Super Mario Bros., for example, the Mushroom Kingdom encompasses 32 different levels of varying terrain. Super Mario Bros. 3 expanded on this concept by adding topography to the kingdom through means of a map screen. However, in most games, the Mushroom Kingdom primarily comprises eight different landscapes:


 * Plains - Usually the first Map the Player must traverse. The overall geography comprises a Prairie with rolling Hills. Princess Peach's Castle, along with Toad Town, is located here.
 * Desert - An Egyptian-themed area complete with Sandy Dunes, Pyramids, and Sphinxes.
 * Islands - The Map spreads out across several Tropical Islands and Peninsulas, and is aquatic-themed. Some of the levels are completely underwater.
 * Forest - Usually set in a backdrop of trees, pipes, or a combination of both; many of the Levels contain multiple exits and are maze-like in structure.
 * Sky - Set above the Upper Atmosphere, clouds and lifts take the place of most platforms and flight is possible in many cases.
 * Mountains - Many of the levels here scroll vertically as opposed to horizontally. Sometimes, the levels are set in a Mountain Range.
 * Tundra - Arctic-themed areas where traction is difficult due to the slippery ice covering most surfaces.
 * Volcano and Canyon - A bleak territory that is home to Bowser. In some cases, there is abundant lava. This is typically not considered part of the Mushroom Kingdom, but is nonetheless an area that must be cleared. Bowser's Castle is usually located here.

Each area usually has a Castle or Fortress, and sometimes more than one of each.

The games do not follow these landscape variants exactly, but still are recurring themes in the Mario series. For example, even though Super Mario World was set in Dinosaur Land, its geography was very similar to the Mushroom Kingdom's. The paintings that led to the different levels in Super Mario 64 followed this idea as well.

The Mushroom Kingdom reappeared in Super Mario RPG, where it was depicted as a single City. Paper Mario reversed this trend by considering the entire game world as different parts of the Kingdom and naming the city "Toad Town". The Mario Kart series has shown us Mushroom City, and the Mario Golf series has implied that there are Humans as well, though they appear to be a minority.

In Super Mario Bros.
The Mushroom Kingdom is shown by random blocks and levels. According to the manual, these are actually people of the Mushroom Kingdom before they were transformed into blocks by Bowser's magic. Therefore, you can infer that Mario is actually traveling between Mushroom Kingdom towns.

In Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japan)
The setting and story is same as the original, but the game is harder.

In Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA)
The setting is not in the Mushroom Kingdom, but in a dream world called Subcon.

In Super Mario Bros. 3
The setting is back in the Mushroom Kingdom. However, this time it is shown as a division called "Mushroom World". To the right is shown what the World 1 Map looks like.

Transportation
The main mode of transportation in the Mushroom Kingdom has been said to be through Warp Pipes. The range of these warp zones vary in length: some pipes merely travel a short distance (such as over and underground), while some pipes are linked to entirely different worlds. In Super Mario Bros. 3 Mario and Luigi were able to transport to different worlds using "warp whistles." Warp whistles have not appeared in any Mario game since, but a very similar warp whistle did appear in the first game of the Legend of Zelda series, it had the same general look, and even the tune played when the warp whistle is used is the same. New Super Mario Bros. introduced a new variation called warp cannons.

The Mario Kart series opened up the concept of automobiles and motorbikes (not just karts) and highways in the Mushroom Kingdom, so it is an unclear issue. Flight is possible, as many inhabitants of the kingdom are capable of flying. Some have the natural ability (Lakitu, Albatoss, etc.) while Mario and Luigi would need flight-enabling power-ups or outside assistance such as a flying carpet. Aircraft of various sorts have also been seen in more recent games; the Koopas have a tendency to use flying ships, Isle Delfino was reached by airplane (which landed at an offshore airport), and the blimp in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, which was used to travel to the Glitz Pit. Aquatic transportation is usually covered by swimming, but gondolas, submarines, and even cruise ships have been seen as well.

Technology
Technology has also been seen in various forms throughout the Mario games. In earlier games of the series, not much technology was seen, and this led people to believe that the Mushroom Kingdom still used antiquated niceties as evidenced by the many castles and old-fashioned houses that the mushroom people live in. However, starting with Super Mario Sunshine, modern technology has been seen in the series. as Peach and Mario fly to Isle Delfino on an airplane and watch a tourism video on a television. Modern electronics and infrastructure have been seen, as in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Mario has a handheld device analogous to a PDA that he can read e-mails on. In Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, a time machine is also featured. Not to be overlooked are devices such as F.L.U.D.D. There is also the Game Boy Horror in Luigi's Mansion as well as lots of electricity throughout the mansion when you clear rooms in the mansion. In Mario Kart: Double Dash!! more modern technology such as automobiles and neon lights can be seen in some of the tracks (such as Mushroom City). Super Mario Galaxy has confused the matter even more, as the technology utilized by different characters in the series have surpassed even modern technology. For example, Bowser has access to a Koopa Clown Car and flying battleships, along with metal planets that have somehow utilized their own gravity fields. The overworld, appears to be designed far beyond present human technology, and through the overworld, the Toads were able to design flying aircraft in order to find stars and counter Bowser armada.

Appearances in other games
The Super Smash Bros. series has included three different stages in the two released games of the series. The original game included the unlockable stage Mushroom Kingdom which was graphically based on the original Super Mario Bros.

Super Smash Bros. Melee included a re-vamped Mushroom Kingdom which omitted Piranha Plants and warp pipes from the original stage. A Subcon, the setting of Super Mario Bros. 2, stage was also featured which included Birdo among other two-dimensional enemies. Also, the Mushroom Kingdom Stage of the game's Adventure Mode featured many aspects of the series, including a golf course in the background of the stage.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl included another version of the Mushroom Kingdom. Being referred to as "The Mushroomy Kingdom", over the years since the original Super Mario Bros., the kingdom has become nothing more than a dirty, crumbled version of its former glory. The stage scrolls from the beginning of the stage to the end. Every once in a while, World 1-2 of Super Mario Bros. will load instead of World 1-1. Both the worlds 1-1 and 1-2 l have a 50% chance of loading.