Shrooms of Power: Who Really Rules the Mushroom World?

New guest writer Kevin Johnson asks: How widespread is the Toadstool dynasty?

She was Princess Toadstool at first. When Super Mario Land was released, there was a bit of confusion over whether Daisy and Princess Toadstool were the same. The crappy movie implied that they were, but Nintendo pretty much laid that to rest. When they brought the Peach name over from Japan, Peach and Daisy officially became two different people, and two different leaders.

Though the actual identities have been cleared up, the connotation of the “Toadstool” name is another matter. How do the inhabitants of the Mushroom World view the Toadstool crown? What does it evoke, and more importantly, how significant is the name Toadstool throughout the regions? In other words, how much power and influence does Princess Toadstool really have over the lands around her?

College-level geography is more complex than knowing the location of a bunch of countries and capitals and rivers. Geography is concerned with how the landscape can be defined and subdued in relation to race, gender, politics, and power. We this more sophisticated geography in the phenomenon of gerrymandering, in looking at the importance of the Ohio Valley in American history, or in exploring the intricate play between nation-states in old Germanic lands. If we apply these parameters to the Mushroom World, the result is a rather startling picture.

The name “Mushroom World” raises our first issue, since it implies that the mushroom people, the Toads, are the only race around. Why is it called “The Mushroom World” despite the fact that Koopas, Piantas, Yoshis, Goombas, and a host of other species exist on this world? There has to be a tremendous amount of power (and vanity) in play here; it’s not like we call Earth “Human World”. Maybe there was a treaty passed, allowing the mushroom people the right to the planet’s name. The result would be a bit one-sided, but more palatable. Still, even if that is the case, then it’s clear that the Toadstool name and influence is pretty far-reaching.

Let’s narrow our inquiry from The Mushroom World to specifically the Mushroom Kingdom and attempt to define what the Mushroom Kingdom actually controls and what it simply supports. As ruler of this kingdom, Princess Peach Toadstool has proven herself wise and capable. Within her capital city of Toad Town, she receives respect and adulation, and hardly anyone questions her authority. So it wouldn’t surprise me that the six “Elemental” regions from Super Mario Bros. 3 (Grass, Desert, Water, Giant, Sky, Ice, and Pipe), although ruled by their own respective kings, may relinquish a lot of their own power to her.

But there is a darker side to this interplay of political and royal influence; a side that a princess in pink would take care to monitor, to ensure that her status quo continues. There are real, dangerous threats to undermine her power.

World 7 in SMB3 is Pipe Land. Pipes (warp pipes, transit tubes, etc.) are essentially an intricate series of magical trade routes that spread throughout the entire planet. Much quicker and more efficient than airplane or boat or truck, there’s a case to be made that the king of Pipe Land could exercise a serious amount of influence over these trade routes, thus controlling the economic landscape of this world and posing a threat to Toadstool’s dynasty. I believe here that Peach uses Mario and other paramilitary soldiers to collect the available coins to inflate the economy and weaken the pipe industry. Also by subsidizing airplane, train, and trucking industries, she’s able to keep them afloat and make the king of Pipe Land no different that the king of Sky Land.

There are also number of nearby royal figures, such as Princess Daisy of Sarasaland and Queen Bean of the Beanbean Kingdom, that seem to be trying to muscle in on Peach’s influence. It’s all smiles when you see them talk among one another, but if politics has taught us anything, it’s that there’s always a hidden agenda. Beanbean Kingdom, for example, has a much more tightly regulated currency with Beanbean coins. Princess Toadstool most likely uses her influence to keep other regions from accepting them, or, for that matter, Yoshi coins. Also, it seems that Beanbean, Sarasaland, and other regions like Dinosaur Land and Isle Delfino, base their economies on tourism (what other significant resource or service can they offer?). If that’s the case, “Made in Mushroom Kingdom” products must be saturating the market and keeping Toadstool afloat.

It is the defense of her realm that seems to be the weakest aspect of Princess Peach’s rule. With so much emphasis on diplomacy and keeping the peace, rogue elements like Bowser are able to building large stockpiles of WMDs, Bullet Bills, Bo-bombs, Hammers, and, worse yet, POW Blocks and Banzai Bills. He raises a considerable army every so often and with relative ease, which may imply an underlying distrust among the populace for Toadstool tactics and philosophy. Not everyone likes utopian civilizations, which tend to limit some freedoms in favor of maintaining an ideal. Bowser seems to offer a strong, powerful alternative.

Peach may be adept at wielding soft power ruthlessly. However, publicly at least, she maintains a moral high ground. Bowser, by contrast, is willing to do the dirty work. Bribes, blackmail, threats, and extortion are only some of the tools he employs, working behind the scenes to break the Toadstool grip. He’s even comfortable with all-out wars, hostile takeovers, inciting coups, and instigating mass genocide. Is it any wonder, then, that he would always kidnap, rather than murder, Peach? Killing her would only make her a martyr; forcing a marriage or blackmailing her to do his bidding are pretty much the only options he has to loosen her iron grip on her kingdom.

Bower rules the Dark World (no doubt a term invented by the prejudiced Toadstool media), a disadvantaged region lacking in quality habitation but rich in resources (geothermal power by the volcano-load). It’s a large, rocky area, though the exact location is mysterious to us. Is it underground? Eight-regions away? This disturbing map implies that it’s actually across a ravine from the Mushroom Kingdom:

What this may mean, ultimately, is that Bowser’s reign in not limited to a region, as is Toadstool’s reign. He owns the Dark World, the Valley of Bowser, and the underground regions and excercises influence in areas such as Rogueport. Like many religions, there is no single country for “Bowserism”, just several overlapping spheres of influence.

But Peach has something Bowser doesn’t have: Mario and Luigi.

Mario and Luigi are to the Mushroom World as Superman is to Earth: forces so powerful that the Toadstool Kingdom can take for granted the kingdom’s defense. What’s more, Peach herself has proven multiple times to be a powerful fighting figure, which defines, arguably, the perfect royal leader, one who not only can provide charismatic and intelligent diplomacy, but can back-up her threats and stand up to those that may threaten her.

Peach may seem like a swooning damsel in distress, a simple figurehead who is rescued for rescue’s sake. But mark my words: she is manifestly savvy about the world around her, a brilliant diplomat and a clever economist at the national and global scale (So good, in fact, that she managed to manipulate a computer to sacrifice itself for her. A machine! They don’t have feelings!) The Toadstool name is both revered and feared, a dynasty that has its stalks in almost every political and social institution on the planet. She may not technically rule the Mushroom World; but she does wield the majority of power in it.

If only she were here, she could probably fix our economic mess with the snap of her fingers.

(For the purposes of this essay, I opted to leave out a good portion of Super Mario Galaxy; part of the reason is that I haven’t played it yet, but the main reason is that intergalactic and planetary travel is pushing more towards the realm of Star Wars, and beyond the scope that geography can cover.)

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