Game Theory: You Are WRONG About Toad!

The Mario franchise has been around for 40 years with numerous characters beyond the iconic ones, including both memorable and forgettable entries.

• Mario and Luigi are the original duo • Peach and Daisy are the dueling princesses • Bowser and Bowser Jr. represent the antagonist pair • Yoshi and Birdo, Wario and Waluigi form additional pairs

Mario Kart Double Dash in 2003 gave Toad a partner: Toadette, who became almost synonymous with the brand through a simple palette swap.

The episode explores whether Toad and Toadette are actually dating, which leads to a surprising discovery about their true nature.

Shigeru Miyamoto stated that when the original Toad was created, they didn't consider whether Toad was male or female, leaving it deliberately open-ended.

People assumed Toad was male because Toadette appeared female with distinctive pigtails and the 'ette' suffix, but this was never officially confirmed.

Since Toad and Toadette are neither canonically male nor female, the question becomes: what are they biologically?

To answer this question, one must determine if Toads are actually mushrooms, as suggested by their appearance and name.

• The original Super Mario Bros. manual describes Mushroom Retainers as 'mushrooms who originally served in the court of Princess Toadstool' • Koichi Hayashida's Captain Toad interview states 'while toads may be mushroom-like, it's unclear just how closely related to mushrooms they are'

• In Mario Sports Mix, Toad can grow and manipulate mushrooms from the ground, similar to real mushroom reproduction • Peach's Smash Bros. move releases fungal spores when Toad is hit, making enemies sleep

Nintendo confirmed that the white and red thing on Toad's head is part of his head, not a hat, matching mushroom cap structure.

Based on appearance, behavior, and official statements, Toads are advanced forms of mushrooms or at least mushroom-related organisms.

• Asexual reproduction: one fungus buds off and splits into two identical copies • Sexual reproduction: mushrooms release spores that develop into root-like structures called hyphae

Compatible hyphae send out chemical signals to suitable mates, fuse together, and grow into fully-fledged mushrooms.

Games show Toads getting married and starting families, with examples including couples in Toad Town, families in Super Mario RPG, and Toad Raz who gets married.

Evidence suggests Toads reproduce sexually rather than by splitting, making them distinct gender or mating-type individuals.

Unlike humans with X and Y chromosomes, fungi have mating types determined by genes called matte genes, which can number from two to twenty thousand depending on the species.

In Paper Mario and Super Mario RPG, Toad couples are always formed from two different colored Toads, suggesting each color represents a distinct mating type.

Color correlation to mating type serves as a way to identify compatible mates and know which partners will produce the best offspring.

Toadette is not Toad's girlfriend or boyfriend—they are simply different mating types of the same species, with each Toad color being its own specific mating type.

The Super Mushroom was inspired by the Fly Agaric mushroom, but Toads are the reverse: red spots on white cap instead of white spots on red cap.

After extensive research, the Hydellum peckii fungus (strawberry and cream fungus, bleeding tooth fungus) matches: white cap with red spots and ages to beige with brown spots.

The Hydellum peckii's aging pattern matches elderly Toads seen in games, supporting the theory that Toads are related to this specific fungus.

The exact number of mating types for Hydellum peckii has never been researched by scientists, so the Games Theory team had to determine it through video game evidence.

The team went through 88 Mario games and cataloged every single unique Toad color variant found throughout the entire franchise.

There are 53 differently colored Toads and Toadettes, each representing their own distinct mating type.

With 53 different mating types capable of mating with any other color, there are 1,378 different possible Toad couples across the Mario franchise.

Toad has plenty of potential matches beyond Toadette, with mushrooms in the Kingdom providing countless romantic possibilities.