When one stops to think about it for a second, there isn’t a whole that makes sense about Super Mario’s decades-long reign atop the Mushroom Kingdom. Indeed, two Italian plumbers from New York defy the odds in so many ways that players simply suspend their disbelief and go along with outlandish fantasies and gravity-defying adventures.
In the case of Toadette, there are several major inconsistencies and minor contradictions since first appearing as a playable character in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! in 2003. Some are easy to miss and some are so glaring that questions must be asked about Toadette’s overall character.
Changes Appearances In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
As alluded to, Toadette was first playable as a video game character in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! In the promotional artwork depicting her character, Toadette is depicted wearing a scarlet dress and a maroon vest. However, in the game itself, her ensemble is entirely pink.
While Mario characters do change outfits from time to time, it doesn’t happen very often. Moreover, Toadette’s introduction to the series betrays her true appearance in the game, which is not an ideal way to brand the character. Still, to this day, Toadette is known for her pink outfit, not her originally designed maroon and scarlet wardrobe. Here’s hoping her pink attire is kept intact as one of the characters who should be in the new Super Mario movie.
Absent From Mario Kart Arcade GP2
Just when fans got their first taste of Toadette as a popular playable Mario Kart character, for some strange reason, Nintendo yanked her from the series follow-up, Mario Kart Arcade GP. With no reasoning given, the glaring omission doesn’t really add up and left many fans quite irate.
The strange absence from Arcade GP is magnified by the fact that Toadette returns to the beloved racing game series as a playable character one year later via Mario Kart Wii. It’s almost as if Nintendo admitted their error and immediately sought to rectify it.
Changes Weight Classes Several Times
For a tiny little character who never really changes in size and stature, Toadette’s ever-shifting weight class in the Mario Kart series defies logic. For example, Toadette begins her Mario Kart run as an official Lightweight on par with Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Bowser Jr., and Diddy Kong.
Yet, by the time Mario Kart 8 rolls around, Toadette is suddenly among the heavier drivers who outweigh Lemmy Koopa and the Babies and shares the same weight class as the much larger Shy Guy, Larry, Wendy, and Isabelle. How?
Tearful Goodbye In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
While Toadette is shown to be one of the more emotionally supportive of Mario and Peach, her extremely emotional sendoff of the former in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door makes very little sense, especially since the goodbye was short-lived.
In the game, Toadette essentially serves as a guide who gives Mario a series of tutorials to help him advance through the game. Yet, after the final tutorial, Toadette storms out in a huff and begins sobbing uncontrollably as if she’ll never see Mario again. Of course, Toadette and Mario reunite in Mario Party 6, released the same year.
Relation To Toad
One of the biggest misconceptions about Toadette is her relation to Toad. In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Toadette is referred to as Toad’s partner. Yet, in the Prima guides for her character in Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8, Toad and Toadette are described as siblings.
Yet more contradictions to their relationship come in Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, where Toad and Toadette are shown holding flowers for each other, and in Mario Kart Wii, they are seen holding hands as if they’re romantic partners. Adding more confusion, Toad and Toadette are depicted as good friends in Mario Party 6 and part of the same team. The bottom line? Nobody really knows how Toad and Toadette are related.
Switches From Playable To NPC Randomly
As first demonstrated in Mario Kart Double Dash!! and Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, Toadette’s constant shift from being playable to a non-playable character is a frustrating nuisance that doesn’t really do fans of the character justice.
The most glaring trend in this regard includes Toadette’s run in the Mario Party series, where she essentially alters as playable and non-playable with each successive entry. This makes it hard for players to really get to enjoy the full perks and quirks of the character. Why can’t Toadette be a playable character in the entire series?
Reduced Role In Mario Golf: Super Rush
After being a super likable playable character in Mario Golf: World Auto, Toadette returned as a non-playable character in Mario Golf: Super Rush. While this makes little sense, it’s actually Toadette’s severely reduced role in relation to her other Golf Adventure characters like Boo and Chargin’ Chuck that doesn’t really jive. Look at her Golf Rush outfit, she was ready to do much more in the game.
For instance, Boo and Chargin’ Chuck often appear as opponents who take on main characters in specific golfing challenges. Yet, Toadette only appears in passing in the first area of the golf course, she completely disappears from the game. It’s such an oddity that an entire Reddit thread is devoted to the mystery.
Can Easily Defeat Bowser
If Toadette is such a lightweight character as seen in various Mario Kart wight class breakdowns, how is it she can so easily defeat Bowser multiple times? Remember, Bowser is the biggest villain in the entire Super Mario series who can dispatch even Mario with little effort.
Indeed, Toadette has defeated Bowser on at least three occasions in nearly-impossible ways. She bested him in Super Mario Run, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, and Super Mario Maker 2, making her arguably Bowser’s toughest match yet. A lightweight constantly defeating a superheavyweight is pretty absurd.
Forgives Kamek In Super Mario Party
One of the worst things that ever happened to Toadette in her two-decade run in Super Mario games is being kidnapped by Kamek and Fly Guy in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. The direct order came from Bowser, who Toadette strangely acts friendly toward in the game. But what really doesn’t make sense is how she forgives her so-called sworn enemy.
In Super Mario Party, Toadette all but forgives Kamek for kidnapping her and begins to get along with him just as she did Bowser in Paper Jam. Toadette can be very pleasant as everyone knows, but it seems very strange to treat such long-term enemies with such casual comportment.
Friendly To Wario & Waluigi In Super Mario Party
Every Super Mario fan knows that Wario and Waluigi are the bizarro-world villainous counterparts to Mario and Luigi. Why the, despite swearing them as enemies through her run in the Mario games, does Toadette suddenly act friendly to Wario and Waluigi in Super Mario Party?
What really doesn’t make sense is how poorly Toadette got along with Wario and Waluigi in Mario Superstar Baseball, only to be extremely chummy with them in Super Mario Party many years later. Unless something hidden transpired between the characters nobody knows about, Toadette fraternizing with the enemies is hard to account for (image via miaraqueen on Tumblr).
