Toad's Adventure: The Return of Wart
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Character Background Information
WARNING!!!
Contains some spoilers.
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The Hero
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Toad
Toad serves as a retainer to Princess Toadstool, as well as handling many
important administrative matters as an assistant to the Chancellor of the
Mushroom Kingdom. He has helped out in many different Mario adventures,
most prominently in Super Mario Bros. 2, where he helped to defeat the
evil Wart in the Land of Dreams. Curiously absent from Peach's court in
Paper Mario, Toad has in fact been on a journey to strengthen himself and
has only recently returned to the Mushroom Kingdom to find it again in peril.
When the Chancellor asks Toad to go up against Bowser's forces personally,
he won't pass up the chance to test his new skills.
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The Good Guys
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-- Main Party Members --
Goombario
A young Goomba who was named after and has always idolized Mario. His dream
came true in Paper Mario when he joined his hero's quest. Goombario still
thirsts for adventure, however, and after Toad liberates his family from
King Goomba and his goons, he decides to come along. Goombario is a little
older, more mature, and stronger than he was in Paper Mario. Also, he can
perform special sibling team attacks when paired with his sister, Goombaria.
This team technique was taught to them by Red & Blue Goomba.
Obtained at:
Goombario's House during Phase 1, "In the Mushroom Kingdom"
Battle Characteristics:
Goombario is a rather basic character with low physical attack strength when
compared to Toad. His skills still include headbonks and being able to
tattle on enemies to reveal important information on them. He will also gain
other skills, possibly involving the abilities of other kinds of Goomba
enemies (ie Paragoomba wings, Gloomba spells, and Spiked Goomba hat). When
Goombaria is also in the party and both characters have not yet taken a move,
they can combine their turns and attack with one of several sibling team
attacks, which are dramatically more powerful than their normal moves.
Goombaria
Goombario's younger sister. She was too young to help much in Paper Mario,
but now that she is older, both she and her brother believe that she should
come along on Toad's adventure.
Obtained at:
Goombario's House during Phase 1, "In the Mushroom Kingdom"
Battle Characteristics:
Goombaria's stats are not exactly identical to her brother's. She has
slightly different strengths and weaknesses (ie she has higher MP and
magic abilities). She can headbonk just like her brother, but her special
skill involves healing other party members. She will also be able to gain
skills of Goomba enemies like her brother. When Goombario is also in the
party and both characters have not yet taken a move, they can combine their
turns and attack with one of several powerful sibling team attacks.
Princess Peach Toadstool
Daughter of King Toadstool, she is a kind, fair, competent ruler gifted with
hereditary magical powers that help her to keep peace and undo the chaos that
Bowser constantly unleashes. She and the Chancellor are mostly responsible
for running the Mushroom Kingdom, as her father is a complete buffoon. Peach
has fallen into Bowser's hands many times in the past, so she has taken
extreme precautions during this newest invasion -- but Bowser isn't after
her, yet at least.
When the Bob-omb King overruns her castle, she is given the option of
fighting back, recalling the times when she was more than just a fainting
damsel in distress. If she chooses to fight, she joins up with Toad before he
fights the Bob-omb King and remains in the party. If she chooses not to fight,
then she will remain at her castle under tight guard.
Once Toad and party return to Toad Town during Phase 8, the Princess decides
that she MUST help in the fight to free the Mushroom World if she hasn't
already, and joins unconditionally, but not without protest from the Minister
and old Toadsworth, her closest advisors.
Obtained at:
(a) Peach's Castle in Toad Town during Phase 3, "A Princess in Need", IF and
ONLY IF the optional Princess battle sequence is undertaken.
(b) Peach's Castle in Toad Town during Phase 8, "Ultimate Menace Revealed",
if she was not obtained during Phase 3.
Battle Characteristics:
Peach is primarily a white magic user, able to heal and protect the party
members. She also knows a lot of status ailment magic (both curing and
inflicting). Her statistics will be fairly average.
-- Alternate Party Members --
The Mario Brothers
Mario and Luigi need no introduction, having saved so many different kingdoms
so many times from multiple menaces. They have consistently thwarted Bowser's
plans to take over the Mushroom World in the past, but this time even their
best efforts can barely seem to make a dent in the vast army that the Koopa
King has assembled.
Mario is additionally the symbolic ruler of a Mushroom Kingdom protectorate,
Mario Land. He was granted this land by Princess Peach as a reward for his
unrivaled bravery. It has been blockaded by Koopa Battleships as part of
Bowser's multi-pronged attack.
Mario and Luigi are almost identical stat for stat, and are used in three
important alternate party sequences which reveal plot elements and show
what is happening on the front lines of the war. After the third alternate
phase, Luigi joins the main party to help Toad look for his missing party
members thrown out of battle by Bowser.
If some secret items are found, it is also possible to have Mario join the
main party shortly thereafter. This is a super secret, however.
Battle Characteristics:
Mario and Luigi are mostly oriented toward physical attack strength. They
also have special skills that include jumping, fire flower, and possibly
various other powerup attacks from different games. They are excellent in
attack strength, well above average in magic use, and fairly average
everywhere else.
-- Major Characters --
The Chancellor
His last appearance in a Mario adventure was during the fight with Smithy in
Mario RPG, however, the Chancellor, as second in command to the Princess and
the one who deals with most of the "dirty" work of running the Mushroom
Kingdom, has always been working behind the scenes. His administrative skills
are needed severely when Peach has to retreat to her castle for protection,
and he decides to call on the bravest Mushroom person he knows for help.
The Chancellor, when spoken to, may impart various tidbits of strategy and
plot throughout the game. He starts out in the Mushroom Capitol (the city
from Mario RPG), but moves to Toad Town in Phase 3 and remains there for
the rest of the game.
Skolar
The most learned of the Star Spirits who rule over Star Haven and keep the
mystical Star Rod, which has important historical connections to the Mushroom
Temple. Of all the Star Spirits, he knows the most about the ancient history
of the Mushroom World and because of this, the Star Spirits agree to send him
as a representative once they feel that their intervention is needed.
Skolar summons Toad to Star Summit near Toad Town after Toad's party fails
to enter the Mushroom Temple. There he pledges to assist Toad for the rest of
his quest, and grants him the all-powerful Star Beam attack. Later, when Wart
flees to the Mushroom Temple to attempt to claim its powers for his own,
Skolar alerts the party and they pursue him.
In the end, it is Skolar who can seal Wart and his dark minions back into the
Realm of Nightmares where they belong. And, because of Toad's unequalled
bravery and sense of justice, Skolar revives the ancient order of the Temple
Keepers by entrusting him with the Temple Key.
-- Minor Characters and Cameos --
King Toadstool
The fabled father of Princess Toadstool shows his face in a game at long
last. While his daughter and the Chancellor do all of the administration,
he still serves as a symbolic head of state and has voice in military
matters. He *was* key in organizing the new Mushroom Alliance and getting
the other seven kings to actually launch a cooperative defense, but the
success of his plans has yet to be seen since Bowser's forces roughly equal
his fledgling Alliance army. He is, in general, a buffoon, and has very
little sense about him when it comes to ruling a kingdom, or even giving a
speech for that matter!
The Seven Mushroom Kings
Rulers of the seven other Mushroom worlds to which the Mushroom Kingdom
serves as a gate, these seven men are nearly as feeble and incompetent as
King Toadstool, although this does differ to a great degree from king to
king. While some of them are fine rulers in their own kingdoms, they have
had a bad track record for working together in the past. King Toadstool has
finally managed to bring them all together under one roof and join their
armies for mutual defense.
The Minister
One of Peach's closest advisors, his primary duty is the upkeep of the
Mushroom Kingdom's castles. He can always be found at Peach's personal
castle at Toad Town.
Toadsworth
Eldest of the advisors in the Mushroom Kingdom's court, he is well-respected
and liked by all. He is rather old-fashioned, however, and doesn't think that
battle is ever a place for a Princess. As such, he objects the most when the
Princess decides to leave. Toad helps him realize, however, that the Princess
is strong and that together, they can all keep her from any harm.
Prince Pine
Prince of Jewelry Land, an independently ruled protectorate of the Mushroom
Kingdom. He is a personal friend of Princess Peach, and was the one who sent
her word of Jewelry Land's ill fate in Yoshi's Safari. As a part of the
greater Mushroom Kingdom, Jewelry Land is also threatened by Bowser's attacks.
At one point, the port of the capitol city of Jewelry Land is overrun by
members of a Goomba insurgency. They are holding the port so that Mushroom
Frigates cannot launch and aid Mario Land or Sarasaland in breaking the Koopa
blockades. Toad and party will defeat those Goombas in order to board a
Mushroom Frigate.
Toadish Leader
He appears in the introduction and tells his small group of Toad Soldiers
to stand their ground. He is an outstanding officer in the Mushroom Alliance
army, and is closely involved in plotting strategies with his commanders. He
talks to Mario and Luigi during the first and second alternate party
sequences.
Moustafa
The mysterious, difficult-to-find guardian of Dry, Dry Outpost, a descendant
of the ancient royal family that once ruled the desert. He wants Tryclyde out
of his town as soon as possible, so he points Toad and friends in the right
direction to make that happen.
Prince Mallow
Mallow, the cloud who was raised by Frogfucious and joined Mario in the
battle to defeat Smithy in Super Mario RPG, is now occupied in his duties as
prince of Nimbus Land. Given charge over the kingdom's defense by his father,
he takes an unprecedented move by pledging his formerly neutral nation's
support for the Mushroom Alliance. Not a moment too late, either, as the
reinforcements he sends arrive just as Wart's army joins forces with Bowser.
One of his soldiers joins Mario and Luigi to form a party of three, bringing
a personal greeting from Mallow himself.
Red & Blue Goomba
These two large Goombas were once King Goomba's thugs, but they decided to go
straight after getting whipped by Mario and Goombario. Since then, they have
been friends of Goombario, and taught him and his sister how to perform their
powerful sibling team attacks. These two interact with Toad briefly during
the confrontation with King Goomba and help defeat him using their own team
attack. They can be found hanging around Goombario's house a lot.
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The Bad Guys
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-- Major Characters --
Bowser
Fresh from his defeat in Paper Mario, Bowser is more about business this
time. His motivations for attempting to take over the Mushroom World are
diverse, but chief among them, and mostly emphasized here in TA, is the
somewhat overlooked fact that the Koopas' homeland is a wasteland, just as
was depicted in Yoshi's Island World 6. Bowser was supposed to be a new hope
for the Koopas, a strong leader who'd take lands from the "weak" Mushroom
tribes and revive the Koopa Kingdom. Thus far his plans have only achieved
defeat and personal dissatisfaction, making him somewhat lonely, as depicted
in Paper Mario, and willing to kidnap Princess Toadstool just for the
company.
Bowser must be fought in a major three-phase battle at his new Keep on the
Mushroom continent during Phase 11, "Almost There!".
Malek
The newest chief Magikoopa advisor to the Koopa throne, Malek replaced Kammy
after her failure to foresee the weakness in using the Star Rod, and for her
general overconfidence. Malek has little respect for his predecessor, but he
identifies strongly with his grandfather Kamek, who was the advisor during
King Bowser's childhood. Malek has been on a quest to find the Mushroom
Temple since before the time period of Super Mario Bros. 3, but has only just
now stumbled upon a magic tome that reveals both its location, deep in the
Koopahari Desert, and how to summon it forth from the sands. What he doesn't
know yet is that he'll also need the key to the temple to let Bowser enter
it...
Malek assists Bowser during the third and final phase of the Bowser boss
battle in Phase 11.
Wart
Sent into exile by the eight rulers of Subcon after his defeat at the hands
of Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad in Super Mario Bros. 2, Wart has
been wandering about the Realm of Nightmares, gathering together his still
loyal minions and searching for magical artifacts, hoping to escape from
the dark pit and exact revenge on the four who made him eat vegetables. He
has enough minions, but the only artifact he's found is a rusty old key from
the real world... seems useless to him, but he's holding on to it just in
case. Not long into his adventure, Toad will learn that Wart has indeed
escaped into the real world and has pledged his minions' support to Bowser,
as well as the true threat: that Wart has the Temple Key!
Note that even though Wart has aligned himself with Bowser, he has not given
him the key to the Temple. To begin, he doesn't understand what the key truly
is. Later, when he finds out, he decides to keep it for himself, hoping to
claim the temple's power for his own. Bowser remains unaware of this element
of betrayal all the way to the bitter end, however.
Wart is the final boss of the game, and is encountered in the Mushroom
Temple. He can also be fought again later in a special secret area.
-- Wart's Arch-Henchmen --
These nefarious boss characters, like their master and others of his army,
have gained dangerous dark powers. They deserve a catagory of their own. All of
these five characters are major phase bosses, and are also encountered again as
required mini-bosses in the Mushroom Temple.
Mouser
Mouser has a huge ego and was especially crushed by he and his master's
defeat. He has a score to settle. He has never believed he is just a mouse,
and with his new powers, he intends to show the world. His primary attack
is still throwing bombs, but he has many other tricks up his sleeve too.
Mouser is the main boss of Phase 2, "The Wilderness."
Robirdo 2.0
Robirdo, a crazy mechanical beast constructed by Wart, is the master of all
Birdos, and wields dangerous flame and giant egg attacks. She has been
seriously upgraded since our heroes last encountered her. When fought again
in the Mushroom Temple, her version number will increase to 2.5, and with it
her attack powers increase! Robirdo is the main boss of Phase 5, "Hope's
Sunk."
Tryclyde
Tryclyde won Wart's favor by having a cunning brain and offensive capabili-
ties three times normal strength. Like Mouser, he still uses his old attack
of belching flames from all three of his heads, but he also has new moves,
including some dangerous poison- and confusion-inflicting attacks. He is
also the master of all Cobrats, and may summon them to his aid at will.
Tryclyde is the main boss of Phase 6, "Into the Desert."
Fryguy
Another of Wart's arch-henchmen, Fryguy is a giant, bad-tempered fireball
who splits into many smaller selves when sufficiently angered. His attacks
are mostly fire-based, and he is seriously weak versus water and ice attacks.
You will have to defeat his four smaller alteregos once he is vanquished.
Fryguy is the main boss of Phase 8, "Ultimate Menace Revealed."
Clawgrip
One of Wart's most powerful minions, he is a giant rock-tossing crab who has
the power to change size at will. He will also be able to make Toad's party
change size too, not to mention toss special rocks which cause petrification
and paralysis status ailments. Clawgrip is the main boss of Phase 9,
"Descent into the Jungles."
-- Other Major Boss Characters --
King Goomba
This hot-headed windbag of a Goomba wants to rule over the western half of
the Mushroom Kingdom, and has always been a major part of the Goomba revolts
that have been going on for longer than anyone can remember. Like the Bob-omb
King below, he is mostly just a puppet for King Bowser. He leads a group of
his Goomba troops to take Goombario and his family hostage. Red & Blue
Goomba, who were once his thugs, appear and help Toad to defeat him. King
Goomba is the main boss of Phase 1, "In the Mushroom Kingdom."
The Bob-omb King
Although King amongst Bob-ombs, he is still just another of Bowser's willing
puppets. He is constantly looking for opportunities for promotion or reward,
and he finds seizing Peach's castle and occupying Toad Town to be a perfect
one. He intends to hold the town until Bowser can come there himself. The
Bob-omb King is the main boss of Phase 3, "A Princess in Need."
Kammy Koopa
Thought to have disappeared completely after being relieved of her position
as Chief Magikoopa Advisor to the Koopa Throne, this self-absorbed and short-
sighted witch suddenly appears before Toad while he is lost on the Dinosaur
Islands and challenges him in battle. She intends to raise an insurrection
against Bowser with the help of other Koopa outcasts hiding on the island.
Her main attack is still the pathetic block spell she used in Paper Mario.
She can also command Toadies, the bumbling propellor-headed fiends that Kamek
controlled in Yoshi's Island. That is about the extent of her powers at this
time. Kammy is the main boss of Phase 7, "Dinosaur Islands - Beached Again!".
She will appear again during the final phase of the Bowser battle, but will
be defeated and imprisoned in the Keep. There is something secret that can
be done with her after the game's normal ending is achieved, however.
The Koopa Kids
Iggy, Morton Jr., Lemmy, Ludwig, Roy, Wendy, and Larry. These mischievious,
bratty offspring of Bowser are always up to no good whenever their father is
trying to accomplish something important. They're supposed to be using their
Doom Ship to guard the Mushroom Temple, but they're too busy playing pranks
on each other to notice that Toad's party has boarded. Once cornered, though,
they must each be fought in a battle royale. Each has different strengths and
weaknesses, but none are too difficult on their own. The Koopa Kids together
are the main boss of Phase 10, "Get That Airship!".