#mushbert

Name: Mushbert

Debut: Mario Party Advance

Whew! Had to get that video out of my system. Mushbert, huh? Isn’t he cool! As I’ve said before, nothings cooler than a pair of totally opaque shades! And if you are able to adjust those shades and get a little anime spark, well then you have just been given the gift of Cool from the Coolness gods! Right?

Wrong! That’s what Mushbert WANTS you to think! Because behind those rocking specs, Mushbert is... gasp! A NERD! His entire character involves being obsessed with Toad Force V, an in-universe giant robot anime!

Which is... fine, actually. He’s not the nasty, greasy kind of nerd like Francis! He’s just an enthusiast, and don’t we all have our odd obsessions now and then? I mean, I know way more about Pretty Cure than anyone should, plus I run a Mario blog!

Mushbert isn’t the only fan of Toad Force V in town, but he is the resident expert! And so, several of the game’s sidequests involve consulting him for some reason or another. Yup, sidequests! This is a single-player focused Mario Party, remember? They sure thought that was a good idea!

For example, one quest involves fetching Ninji a copy of the Toad Force DVD, of which Mushbert has fifty! We later learn that only fifty copies of said DVD were ever produced, so, uhm... you do the math! Hmm... I might retract my earlier statement about him being “just” an enthusiast. Is this okay? But when you think about it, this kind of thing would go for hundreds online, and he doesn't mind giving out a copy for free! Is he a scalper, or some kind of Robin Hood of nerds? You tell me!

But alas! Mushbert’s riveting character arc comes to a bittersweet ending, as by the end of the game he claims to have outgrown Toad Force V, and is now into a show called Koopa Quest! Silly Mushbert! We all know you never outgrow your fixations... They just go into dormancy!

While writing this post, I accidentally called him Toadbert several times. Toadbert is a different character.