


Variations of Bowser's Castle appear in nearly every Mario game, and every Mario Kart game features at least one course titled "Bowser's Castle" or "Bowser Castle." It is usually filled with lava pits, booby traps. The castle has often been destroyed and rebuilt and appears differently in each game it is featured in. It is sometimes located near Peach's Castle, and other times outside the entrance to the Mushroom Kingdom, such as in Super Mario Galaxy.īowser's Castle is the lair of Bowser, most often the arch-nemesis of Mario. Mario's house is the home of Mario and his brother Luigi in some games of the Mario series. Its design has remained relatively consistent. Inhabited by the princess and her Toad retainers, the castle first appeared in-game in Princess Toadstool's Castle Run (1990) but is more prominently featured in Super Mario RPG (1996) and is the central hub in Super Mario 64. It is usually decorated with stained-glass above the main doors which represent the princess. Princess Peach's Castle is typically portrayed as a Central European-style, red-and-white castle. Objects and entities from the video games, generally inert or helpful ones such as brick blocks, question-mark blocks, and warp pipes, are depicted as prevalent throughout the kingdom in various forms of media. The Kingdom's most prominent fictional currency is coins (usually gold) which are featured in nearly every Mario-related game.

Only a small number Mushroom Kingdom citizens, namely Peach, Mario, and Luigi, are portrayed as humans. The Mushroom Kingdom is often depicted as predominantly populated by Toads, though other species from the franchise such as Yoshis, Goombas, and Koopas (among others) are also often depicted as residents, though the latter two and other enemies generally vary between being depicted as wildlife or fully-fledged citizens. Toadsworth appears as Peach's steward in later games, though earlier media featured various other minor characters serving as retainers or assistants. However, the manual for Super Mario Bros., as well as other early Mario media from the 1980s and early 1990s, mentions Peach's father, known in said manual as the "Mushroom King", as the formal ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. Within the fictional universe of the Mario franchise, the Mushroom Kingdom is a principality ruled by Princess Peach (Princess Toadstool in older appearances). (1985), though its presentation, geography, and included regions have never been formally established and vary between appearances. It is the primary setting of the franchise and has appeared in the vast majority of Mario video games and related media since its first appearance in Super Mario Bros. The Mushroom Kingdom ( キノコ王国, Kinoko Ōkoku) is a fictional principality in Nintendo's Mario franchise.
