
Upon reaching the mythical area, Toad and his friends then learn that the once peaceful land is now ruled by the tyrannical toad, Wart. As they head out, the four heroes soon discover a cave that leads to the strange world known as Subcon. In the game, he, along with Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool go on a picnic at the beginning of the game. While often retroactively believed to be one of the Toads in the original Super Mario Bros., the individual character Toad did not debut until Super Mario Bros. Toad's defining traits are his cartoonish and cutesy appearance, his optimism and humble, his sometimes cowardly personality, and his characteristic smile and voice.

Since Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Toad's partner in spin-offs has been Toadette. He also appears regularly as a playable character in the Mario spin-offs. His role as Peach's steward has sometimes instead been given to Toadsworth. 2, Super Mario 3D World, and his starring roles in Wario's Woods and Kinopio Live. He usually has the role of a supporting character who tries to help Mario and Luigi on their adventures, although he occasionally has been a main protagonist, such as in Super Mario Bros.

He is actually a singular character among an entire species of look-alikes (much like Yoshi is to the Yoshi species), leading to confusion over some of his appearances. Toad is a character who is Princess Peach's attendant and a longtime protector of the Mushroom Kingdom. “M-M-M-M-M-M-M-Mario! Help! It's Sh-sh-sh-sh-shocking.
