The Surprising Origin of Princess Peach’s Toadstool Name
▼ Summary
– Princess Peach was originally named Princess Toadstool in early US releases due to an ad agency’s decision during Super Mario Bros. localization.
– Nintendo veteran Leslie Swan revealed the name originated from poor communication between Japanese developers and US marketing teams.
– Shigeru Miyamoto preferred the name Peach, leading to a combined usage in Super Mario 64 where she was formally Princess Toadstool but informally called Peach.
– Princess Peach has recently gained prominence with roles in the Super Mario Bros. movie and her own 2024 game, Princess Peach: Showtime.
– Nintendo has clarified that Mario and Princess Peach are merely “good friends,” complicating their perceived relationship.
The name Princess Peach wasn’t always the iconic title we know today. For years, especially in Western releases, she was known as Princess Toadstool, a name that came about through a surprising twist of localization history rather than an intentional creative decision.
According to Nintendo veteran Leslie Swan, who worked extensively on localization and even voiced Peach in Super Mario 64, the name “Princess Toadstool” originated from an outside advertising agency. In the early days of Nintendo, communication between Japanese developers and U.S. marketing teams was limited. When the manual for the original Super Mario Bros. was being produced, the agency simply invented names for characters that lacked official English titles. Princess Toadstool was one of those inventions, and it remained in use for over a decade.
It wasn’t until the development of Super Mario 64 that Shigeru Miyamoto expressed a preference for the name “Peach.” Leslie Swan, working closely with Miyamoto during localization, proposed a compromise: Princess Toadstool would remain the formal title, while “Peach” could serve as a more casual, personal name. This clever solution is reflected in the game’s opening letter, where the signature reads “Princess Toadstool” with “Peach” handwritten in pink beside it.
In recent years, Princess Peach has evolved far beyond her early damsel-in-distress role. She played a central part in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and headlined her own title, Princess Peach: Showtime! in 2024, her first solo adventure since 2006. Despite her growing independence, her dynamic with Mario remains a topic of interest, with Nintendo recently emphasizing that the two are simply “good friends.”
(Source: GameSpot)
