Mario, Princess Peach, and Luigi

Princess Peach Toadstool (ピーチ姫 Pīchi Hime) is a fictional character in Nintendo video games. She is Mario's suspected girlfriend and ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom.

She first appeared in Super Mario Bros. In this and many subsequent games, she is kidnapped by King Bowser Koopa, despite the good fighting abilities she demonstrates in Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario RPG, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. In Paper Mario, she sneaks around the castle gathering information to help Mario in his quest. Similarly in the sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Peach teaches a lovestruck computer named TEC-XX about love and sneaks around the X-Naut Fortress.

The Princess rules her kingdom in a giant castle with a multitude of Toad servants. It's unclear as to whether or not there is a King of the Mushroom Kingdom, as the nation's title would suggest. Some video game manuals and Mario comic books refer to a King, but such a character has never appeared in any of the games.

Peach has recently appeared in the Mario Party series, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and went on a much needed vacation to Isle Delfino in Super Mario Sunshine sporting a new dress and having her hair tied up in a ponytail. Unfortunately she is kidnapped yet again, with Mario having to do another rescue mission finally leading to a great vacation.

In the GBA game, Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, Peach's voice is stolen by the evil witch, Cackletta, and her assistant, Fawful. Mario and Luigi venture out to the Beanbean Kingdom to reclaim her lost voice.

In Japan, the Princess' name has always been "Peach", it was changed to "Toadstool" when Super Mario Bros. was released in America. Her Japanese and American names were combined into her current title, "Princess Peach Toadstool" when Super Mario 64 was released in the United States. (The first game to call her Peach was Yoshi's Safari, but most people associate the milestone with the much more popular Super Mario 64.)

It is useful to note that Princess Peach Toadstool is not the girl Mario saves in Donkey Kong; that girl was Pauline. Nor is she Princess Daisy from Super Mario Land and Mario Tennis (though in the Mario movie, Daisy replaces her as the Princess to save).

External links

• The Mushroom Kingdom (Mario Bros. fansite) (http://www.classicgaming.com/tmk)