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Toad, known in Japan as , is a fictional character who primarily appears in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, he is portrayed as a citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom and is one of Princess Peach's most loyal attendants; constantly working on her behalf. He is usually seen as a non-player character (NPC) who provides assistance to Mario and his friends in most games, but there are times when Toad takes center stage and appears as the protagonist, as seen in ''Super Mario Bros. 2'', ''Wario's Woods'', ''Super Mario 3D World'', and ''Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker''. While Toad is the name of an individual, it also refers to an entire species (much like Yoshi and Birdo). However, in Japan, the species name is sometimes called , literally "Mushroom People" (which is an alternate name for used in earlier localizations, along with "Mushroom Retainers"). In other words, Toad (Kinopio) is a member of the Toads (Kinokos / Mushroom People). In ''Mario'' franchise, there are also some other individual toad characters (e.g., Toadette, Toadsworth, Toadbert). The common point of most toads is their traditionally large mushroom cap and vest. The Toads usually play assisting roles in the ''Mario'' franchise and its action games, such as Toadsworth introduced in ''Super Mario Sunshine'' and the ''Toad Brigade'' association in ''Super Mario Galaxy''. Despite this, Toads also play the role as heroes in some games. Such a case included the two Toads (Yellow and Blue) who were featured as playable characters along with Mario and Luigi in ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii''. The two Toads return as playable characters later on in ''New Super Mario Bros. U'' as well as ''New Super Luigi U''. Toad himself (in a blue palette in reference to his original sprite from ''Super Mario Bros. 2'') returns as one of the playable characters in ''Super Mario 3D World''. The Wii U title ''Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker'' will also be casting Captain Toad into the spotlight; thus, marking it as the first game in 20 years since ''Wario's Woods'' to have a Toad as the main star as well as the very first official Nintendo title overall to have Toad as the titular character. ==Concept and creation== Toad and the mushroom people were first seen in the game ''Super Mario Bros.'' where the species was revealed to comprise the majority of the population of the Mushroom Kingdom. Toad's design was made directly from the power up the Super Mushroom, as well as the game's general association with mushrooms.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Shigeru Miyamto interview: Iwata asks Mario History Volume 1: Page 4 )〕 Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the ''Mario'' franchise, reasons that Toad's creation was that of being a character that has a simplistic design; yet, still appears cute and lovely and pleasing to everybody.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Shigeru Miyamto interview: Iwata asks Mario History Volume 2: Page 8 )〕 In the game, the peaceful Toads of the Mushroom Kingdom had been turned into various objects such as bricks and pipes by the evil King Bowser; however, some of Princess Toadstool's loyal servants, known as the "Mushroom Retainers," were simply kidnapped.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Super Mario Bros. )〕 During the development of ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'', the developers at Nintendo decided between four characters to be playable in the game: Princess Peach, Toad, Wario and Waluigi (all suggestions made by fans). Two Toads (Yellow and Blue) were eventually included as playable characters in ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'' due to their physical similarity to Mario and Luigi. Toad's English name appears to have been inspired by the word "toadstool", a word used to describe mushrooms including those featuring umbrella-like cap-and-stem form characteristics which Toad's design portrays along with the character's general resemblance to a mushroom. Toad's Japanese name "Kinopio" appears to be a mixture of the Japanese word for mushroom ("kinoko") and the Japanese name for the character Pinocchio ("Pinokio") which both roughly blend together to form the meaning of "a real mushroom boy" (as evidenced through Pinocchio's desire to become a real boy in his own tale). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Toad (Mario)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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