Mushroom Kingdom

The is a fictional principality in Nintendo's ''Mario'' series. It is the setting of most main-series ''Mario'' games with an inconsistent presentation. There is no established canon regarding the topography of the ''Mario'' universe, and many areas are not certain to be part of the ''Mushroom Kingdom''.

Overview

The Mushroom Kingdom is a principality ruled by Princess Peach (however the manual for the first game in the series mentions Peach’s father as the “Mushroom King”) also known as Princess Toadstool as head of state, in the fictional universe of Mario games. In the instruction manual of ''Super Mario Bros.'' (1985), Peach debuts as the princess of the kingdom, with Toadsworth as her steward.

A very small amount of the inhabitants of The Mushroom Kingdom are humans, like Princess Peach, Mario, and Luigi live in the kingdom with the majority of the kingdom being populated with Toad citizens. Other characters that populate the Mushroom Kingdom in Mario games include colonies of Yoshis, Goombas, and Koopas. Other creatures in Peach's territory include Boos.

The kingdom's most famous currency is various colors of coins, also featured in almost all adaptations of Mario games. Dispersed across the land are brown brick blocks and golden "question-mark blocks", which may contain coins or power-ups. The main mode of transportation in the Mushroom Kingdom are warp pipes. Some pipes merely travel a short distance (such as over and underground), while some pipes are linked to entirely different worlds, also featured as different levels in games that feature warp pipes. New warp tools and areas have been introduced in games since including the secret "warp whistle" in '' Super Mario Bros. 3'' and cannons in ''New Super Mario Bros.''

Locations

Princess Peach's Castle is a large Central European-style red-and-white castle decorated with a stained-glass above the main doors representing the princess. Inhabited by the princess and her Toad retainers, the castle first appeared in-game in '' Princess Toadstool’s Castle Run'' (1990) but is really depicted in ''Super Mario RPG'' (1996) and is the central hub in '' Super Mario 64''. Its design has remained relatively consistent since, in games such as ''Mario Kart 64'', ''Paper Mario'', '' Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time'', ''Super Mario Galaxy'', and ''Super Mario Odyssey'' (where it is the Mushroom Kingdom's capital city), and the '' Mario Kart'' series. Peach's Castle is generally located in the center of the kingdom. It can serve as the final world or as headquarters, as a navigation hub or as a feature access point. In ''The Super Mario Bros. Movie'', Peach's Castle reappears, this time being located on the tallest hill in the kingdom, requiring a Warp Pipe to reach it.

Mario's house is the home of Mario and his brother Luigi. It is located nearby Peach's castle.

Toad Town is the capital of the Mushroom Kingdom as seen in the ''Paper Mario'' and ''Mario & Luigi'' series. It is generally located next to Peach's castle. Several species reside in the city, in particular Toads.

Bowser's Castle is the abode of Bowser, arch-villain of the ''Super Mario'' video games. The castle has often been destroyed and rebuilt and appears differently in each game it is featured in. It is usually filled with lava pits, booby traps, and Bowser's minions. Variations on Bowser's Castle appear in nearly every ''Mario'' game, and every '' Mario Kart'' game features at least one track titled "Bowser's Castle". The plot of ''New Super Mario Bros. U'' involves Bowser taking over Peach's Castle and making it look like his own. However, Bowser's Castle is often depicted in its own kingdom, that being Bowser's Kingdom.

Landscapes

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'' expands on this concept with a map screen to add topography to the kingdom. 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'' is set in Dinosaur Land, its geography very similar to the Mushroom Kingdom. The paintings that lead to the different levels in ''Super Mario 64'' follow this idea.

''New Super Mario Bros. U''

''New Super Mario Bros. U'' depicts the Mushroom Kingdom as a land composed by 8 worlds:

* Peach's Castle: A large Central European-style red-and-white castle surrounded by water and a white wall, with a bridge serving as an access.
* Acorn Plains: A grassy and mushroomy world with hills and small mountains.
* Layer-Cake Desert: A dry desert world with several stone statues.
* Sparkling Waters: An aquatic world with geysers and shipwrecks.
* Frosted Glacier: A snowy and icy world in a perpetual night full of stars.
* Soda Jungle: A forest world composed by a deadly purple poison liquid.
* Rock-Candy Mines: A world composed by high rock mountains.
* Meringue Clouds: A sky world full of clouds.

''Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle''

''Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle'' depicts the Mushroom Kingdom as a land composed by 5 worlds.

* Peach's Castle: A large Central European-style red-and-white castle surrounded by water, trees and flowers with a white bridge. It serves as the headquarter, notably to allow the player to travel to the other worlds.
* Ancient Gardens: A grassy world with plains and jungles.
* Sherbet Desert: A world composed by a sand desert and a snowy and frosty zone.
* Spooky Trail: A dark zone with falling buildings and abandoned houses.
* Lava Pit: A world made of rocks and lava where Bowser's Castle is located.

In other games

The ''Super Smash Bros.'' series includes four different arenas based on the Mushroom Kingdom. The original '' Super Smash Bros.'' includes the unlockable stage "Mushroom Kingdom" which is graphically based on the original ''Super Mario Bros.'' '' Super Smash Bros. Melee'' includes a re-vamped "Mushroom Kingdom" which omitted Piranha Plants and warp pipes from the original stage, and its stage "Mushroom Kingdom II" is based on the Subcon setting of ''Super Mario Bros. 2''. ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' includes the level "Mushroomy Kingdom", which primarily appears as an abandoned, derelict version of "World 1-1" of ''Super Mario Bros.'' In ''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U'', the "Mushroom Kingdom U" stage is based on ''New Super Mario Bros. U''.

Reception

The Mushroom Kingdom is depicted as a location from the ''Mario'' series. The fictional land is present in the Super Nintendo World theme park. GamesRadar+ wrote a humorous article listing the "Top 7 most disturbing things about the Mushroom Kingdom", listing facts such as "the kingdom's greatest hero is a dumpy plumber", "the political system is a complete mess", and "everything is alive" as examples. Animation Domination High-Def ran a short titled "Real Plumber in Mario World." ''Game Informer'' lauded the fact that ''Super Mario Maker'' allowed players to "build the Mushroom Kingdom of heirdreams", writing "since Mario first won the hearts of gamers across the world in the early '80s, fans have been sketching up their own ideas for ''Mario'' levels on paper and imagining what sort of worlds they could create for the iconic plumber to explore." Theyab Al-Tamimi created a comedy fanbook, ''Science of the Mushroom Kingdom'', exploring the species of flora in the Mushroom Kingdom; this was later recommended to readers by ''Kotaku''. Screen Rant stated that the Mushroom Kingdom "is a place full of mystery". A fan-created mod of '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' titled ''Super Skyrim Bros'' turns the game environment into the Mushroom Kingdom.

See also

*Hyrule

References

{{Mario series

Fictional countries
Mario (franchise)
Video game locations
Monarchy in fiction
Fictional kingdoms