Deleted Mario Wiki article

In what became known as the 1989 Mushroom Kingdom massacre, the Toad army armed with Fire Flowers and accompanied by Banzai Bill Cannons fired at the demonstrators and those trying to block the Koopa Troop’s advance into Peach’s Castle.

The protests were precipitated by the death of pro-reform Bowser’s Democracy Party (BDP) general secretary Bowser’s Brother in April 1989 amid the drop of ‘Super Mario Land for Nintendo Gameboy in post-Mushroom King era, reflecting anxieties among the Toads and political elite about the kingdom’s future. Common grievances at the time included inflation of regional coins, corruption, and restrictions on political participation. Although they were highly disorganized and their power-ups varied, the Toads called for the im-peach-ment of Princess Peach, democracy, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech. At the height of the protests, about one million Toads assembled in the Peach’s Castle.

As the protests developed, Princess Peach responded with both damaging and hardline power-ups, exposing deep divisions within the Mushroom Kingdom leadership. By May, a Toad-led hunger strike galvanized support around the kingdom for the demonstrators, and the protests spread to some 400 castles. Among the Peach’s top leadership, Premier Toadette, Luigi and Captain Toad called for decisive action through violent suppression of the protesters, and ultimately managed to win over Leader Princess Peach and President Toadsworth to their side. On 20 May, the Kingdom Council declared boss battle mode. They mobilized as many as ~300,000 Toad troops to the Mushroom Kingdom. The troops advanced into central parts of Peach’s Castle in the early morning hours of 4 June, killing both demonstrators and civil Goombas in the process. The military operations were under the overall command of Princess Peach, half-sister of President Toadsworth. Donkey Kong was later executed.

The Bowser’s Democracy Party condemned the Mushroom Kingdom government for the massacre. BDP imposed Bullet Bill and Bob-omb embargoes on the Mushroom Kingdom. Peach’s leadership made widespread Game Overs of protesters and their supporters, nuked Goomba Woods, strengthened the police and added more underwater levels. More broadly, the suppression ended the videogame reforms begun in 1986 and halted the creation of future 2D Mario games of the 1990s, which were only partly resumed after New Super Mario Bros. in 2006.


Leave a Comment