That Time Princess Peach Enslaved Toads in the Mushroom Kingdom

Oh, Princess Peach. Beloved royalty of the Mushroom Kingdom, and the constant damsel in distress that sets the tone for most Super Mario games. However, there is a darkness in this one, and she is not all smiles, pink hearts, and expensive parasols. No, no. Quite the contrary, Princess Peach is royalty, and as a lover of history, royal families always have skeletons in their closets… and Princess Peach is no different.

This is that time Princess Peach enslaved Toads in the Mushroom Kingdom.

For starters, this is an interesting subject within a fictional universe, but bare with me. Princess Peach is the daughter of King Toadstool, a royal figure we know absolutely nothing about outside of some text within the US version of the original Super Mario Bros‘ instruction manual. The king has appeared in random mediums, like manga and adventure books, but he has never actually made an appearance in any of the Super Mario games. In Super Mario Bros 3 on the NES, there are numerous kings throughout the Mushroom World, but these are not related to King Toadstool or Princess Peach.

We are introduced to Princess Peach in the first Super Mario game as a damsel in distress, kidnapped by the “terrible” King Koopa, an apparent rival within the Mushroom World. Since King Toadstool is only mentioned in the manual, it is assumed he is still alive during the point in time that this game takes place, meaning Peach is not the leader of the Mushroom Kingdom… yet.

It can be assumed that King Toadstool passed away or was killed some time after this, because this character is never mentioned again throughout the entire span of the Super Mario series. What we do know, however, is that King Toadstool did rule the Mushroom Kingdom alongside a Queen, and then apparently they both disappear. Accept that however you want, but it does not look good for the pink-clad princess.

Whether or not Nintendo likes this assessment, there is one major thing we can take away from Peach’s parents: King Toadstool was a larger Toad, which means the Queen must have been human (Or human-like). We can only make this conclusion on the fact that Princess Peach is not only human-like in her design and build, but she is significantly taller and larger than how her father is described as well as compared to the Toads of the Mushroom Kingdom. She may be the product of interspecies breeding, but that is not the subject of this article.

Princess Peach either continued a trend started by her father and mother, or she is the initiator of the enslavement of Toads within the Mushroom Kingdom. I hear some of you saying right now, “How do you know that the Toads are slaves?” Well, hear me out.

Look at the Mushroom Kingdom in just about every iteration (Outside of Super Mario 64). There are usually numerous Toad houses outside of the castle itself, but then there are dozens and dozens of Toads within the castle serving various roles and fulfilling duties demanded by the leader of the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach. Toads are also not seemingly paid at all, and since Peach provides housing and food for them without pay, they are stuck serving a tyrannical leader that sees them as nothing more than a pawn in their kingdom.

Toads are tasked with beautifying the kingdom, too, decorating everywhere Princess Peach deems important, and serving in such a way that freedom to decline or say no is not an option. Does this sound familiar? Well, it should, because this is an ugly pattern that has made its way into numerous cultures and societies worldwide for centuries, and to even consider that Princess Peach is a different kind of leader is beyond ignorant, as no royal leader in history has ever been without numerous faults and sinful deeds.

Things have gotten so bad within the Mushroom Kingdom that even Peach’s friends, Mario and Luigi, can regularly abuse Toads, jumping on their heads like a silly game, despite the fact that they are hurting them tremendously. In games like Super Smash Bros, Princess Peach even uses a Toad as one of her defensive moves, meaning she throws the poor, little guy in the line of fire to only protect herself. This kind of selfish leadership is precisely the kind we have seen from royal families throughout history, and the fact that we do not hold Princess Peach accountable for the way she holds Toads hostage and forces them to serve her every need is pathetic.

One last major point that furthers this awful reality in the Mushroom Kingdom is Peach’s relationship with Mario. We know that Mario is a bully and he loves abusing animals, but the whole concept of the original Super Mario Bros game was that the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom were turned into bricks and only Princess Peach could return them to normal. Instead of Mario (And Peach) avoiding a disaster within the kingdom, Mario just takes his time waltzing around the Mushroom Kingdom breaking bricks and killing Peach’s subjects with no ramification whatsoever. It’s almost as if Peach wanted it this way.

Sure, a lot of this is speculation and reading between the lines, but I stand by the historical fact that royal figures are rarely-to-never good people. Princess Peach has surrounded herself with Toads that serve her wholeheartedly, but a lot of that has to do with Peach giving them what they need and demanding tons in return.

It almost makes you wonder who the real bad guys are in the Super Mario universe, because every time Peach is kidnapped by King Koopa, the Toads are free and the Mushroom Kingdom seems to be fine without her. It is only when Mario gets involved that the Toads revert back to their slave-like state and serve him as they would their princess, and we know Mario can be the bad guy at times.

Either way, there is definitely something going on, and Princess Peach, Mario, and Nintendo do not want us snooping. They just want us to accept her as a peaceful, loving, and caring person, but my gut refuses to accept that. She is bad, and she will put you under her thumb in a minute, too, if given the opportunity.

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Thank you for stopping by Nintendo Link and enjoying this “That Time” article. What do you think about Princess Peach in this light? She is a terrible person, huh? Definitely not the cutesy and wholesome princess Nintendo claims her to be. Let us know what you think in the comments below! Happy gaming, everyone.