Nearly 6 years have passed since the release of Super Mario Odyssey, so it's highly likely that a new game in the Super Mario Bros. franchise is in development at Nintendo. According to known Nintendo content leaker Zippo, a new Super Mario game is nearing the end of development and will feature a cast of four playable characters, including Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad. Although the credibility of this rumor is uncertain, if the next game were to feature four playable characters, Nintendo should swap Toad with the underutilized Daisy.
Toad has historically been the fourth playable character in Mario games that feature multiple playable characters such as Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario 3D World. The character will also be featured in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Movie being voiced by Keegan-Michael Key, making his return as a playable character all the more likely if Nintendo plans to tie a new game in with the release of the movie. However, Daisy has been a part of the Super Mario franchise for nearly as long as Toad, but has been mostly relegated to spin-off and side games thus far.
Daisy Deserves a Chance in the Spotlight
Daisy took over for Peach as the damsel-in-distress character in the 1989 Game Boy title Super Mario Land where she appeared as princess of Sarasaland. Following this entry, Daisy would not appear in the franchise again until the release of Mario Tennis in 2000 for the N64. Her role in the series from then on was typically that of a spin-off character used to fill out the roster for the Mario sports titles and Mario Kart series, also appearing as an Echo Fighter for Peach in 2018's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Despite her underutilization in the main series, Daisy was designed with a lot more personality that some other Mario characters. Her energetic, excitable traits were meant to compliment Peach's refined, regal persona and have allowed Daisy to blossom as her own character, rather than just another version of Peach. She even was chosen for her role in Mario Tennis thanks to her differentiation from Peach as Nintendo had rejected the idea of creating a Wario-like Peach for the game.
Adding Daisy as the fourth playable character the rumored new Mario game would also help balance out the gender representation of the cast. Typically, Peach has been the only playable female character in mainline Mario games, with Rosalina and Toadette occasionally making the roster. Daisy could be a much-needed new female character to shake up the traditionally male-dominated roster of Mario characters, and an appearance like this could help her break free from the image of simply being a love interest for Luigi. She could also use her status as a spin-off character as the basis for her play style, with abilities drawing from her sports and karting experiences.
As a character, Toad is rather bland and unnecessary among a limited playable cast. Toad lacks any unique identity outside of being one of the Mushroom Kingdom inhabitants notable for telling Mario his princess is in another castle. Specific Toad characters like Captain Toad have their own identifiable traits, but the average, generic Toad doesn't have anything special about them—aside from a typically faster movement speed—to warrant a continued place on a roster of mainline playable characters. While the Super Mario Bros. Movie could develop Toad into a more interesting character, there is enough personality in Daisy to earn her a playable role in a mainline Mario game over that of Toad.
A new Super Mario Bros. game is rumored to be in development for the Nintendo Switch.
