Prince Mush

Prince Mush
Species	Toad
First appearance	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004)
Latest appearance	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (2024)

“Whoa... Is this... Am I back in the Glitz Pit?”

—Prince Mush, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Prince Mush is a character who first appeared in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. He was the first champion of the Glitz Pit during the game's storyline.

History

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Prince Mush is mentioned by several characters throughout Chapter 3 of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and appears at the end of it. Prince Mush was captured and had his power drained by Grubba's power-draining machine after he found out that Grubba was using a Crystal Star to drain fighters' powers. As such, Mush was missing for an extended amount of time. Afterward, his older sister Jolene went undercover in the Glitz Pit to look for him, and after accidentally seeing Grubba power up by using his machine, she carefully guided Mario to defeat Grubba. After Grubba's defeat, Grubba claimed to have sucked the life out of Mush with his machine to benefit himself, saddening Jolene before Mush suddenly appears out of the Gold Star. Now united with his sister Jolene, they rejoice.

Later in Mario's adventure, he receives an e-mail from Jolene saying that Prince Mush is planning on making a comeback. However, he can never be fought in the game. Mush is also the answer to a question of the X-Naut Fortress Thwomp, who asks the name of the very first champion of Glitzville. Unlike other languages which give him a real name that differs from his stage name, Prince Mush's real name is simply Mush in the English version.

In the Nintendo Switch remake, Prince Mush is available as a boss after Chapter 5. He has a max HP of 96, an attack stat of 6, and a defense stat of 6. In the first phase of the fight, Mush will switch between a hopping or sidestepping stance per turn, each granting him immunity against either grounded or aerial attacks respectively. Mush's initial moves include a dashing tackle and a flashing dropkick, which, if successfully superguarded, will cancel his current stance into that of vulnerable kneeling (causing his defense to drop to 0). When his HP drops a bit, Mush can power up by raising his attack power by 3 for his next move and will be able to deliver a five-hit kicking combo. When his HP drops by half or less, Mush will be able to power up multiple times in a row and remain in a defensive stance (again unless his attacks are superguarded), while creating duplicates of himself after performing any attack. Once defeated, he gives Mario his belt as a token of appreciation, and can be refought at any point.

Interestingly, Goombella's battle Tattle implies Prince Mush once fell victim to Rawk Hawk's Poisoned Cake trick, and thus has been left traumatized by it.

Field Tattle

Prince Mush's field Tattle is exclusive to the Nintendo Switch remake. When his Exhibition Match becomes available, he can be found in the Glitz Pit hallway.

• "That's Prince Mush. He's Jolene's younger brother. Poor guy's been through a lot, so it's great that he's able to return to the ring like this... He's all set for the Exhibition Match. I bet he's a tough opponent...so be ready for a doozy of a fight!"

Names in other languages

Prince Mush

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	プリンス・マッシュ[?] Purinsu Masshu	Prince Mush
French	Dark Toadster[?]	-
German	Dark Toadster[?]	-
Italian	Re Mush[?]	King Mush
Spanish	T. Rex[?]	Reference to the dinosaur of the same name. "Rex" also means "king" in Latin, in reference to the original Japanese name.

Mush

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	キノシチョフ[?] Kinoshichofu	"Kinoshichev"; a portmanteau of「キノピオ」(Kinopio, "Toad") and "-ev" (a common masculine ending for Russian surnames)
French	Banali T[?]	Pun on banalité ("banality")
German	Toadskov[?]	Male form of "Toadskova"
Italian	Toa Toa[?]	?
Spanish	T. Roonie[?]	?