The voice actors stepping into the roles of Toad and Peach in Mario Kart World have spoken out after Samantha Kelly was unexpectedly replaced following 18 years of service.
Voice actor Samantha Kelly discovered her 18-year run as Super Mario's Princess Peach and Toad had ended on Nintendo Switch 2 launch day — the very day Mario Kart World released without her involvement. She had voiced Peach and Toad across more than 70 games for Nintendo DS, 3DS, Wii, Wii U, and Switch since her debut in 2007's Mario Strikers Charged.
Now, as reported by Eurogamer, Paul Castro Jr. and Courtney Lin — who voice Toad and Peach, respectively — have each posted on their X/Twitter accounts to confirm their new roles.
"I can finally share who I voice in Mario Kart World... TOAD!(s)," Castro stated. "All the male Toads you encounter throughout your journeys in Mario Kart World are voiced by me! I’ve been playing during my travels, and it’s an absolute blast. I can’t thank Nintendo enough for allowing me to live out this childhood dream."
Lin shared: "I can finally say… I’m the voice of Princess Peach and Baby Peach in Mario Kart World! I’m eternally grateful to Nintendo for trusting me to help carry on the legacy of such an iconic character."
"These characters are so much bigger than any one person. I feel incredibly honored and can hardly believe it’s real. I have immense respect for every actress who voiced Peach before me, especially the one I grew up with. I’ll give my all in every opportunity I receive, and I hope you’re all loving the game. Wahooo!! Sweet."
Nintendo has grown increasingly strict about sharing credits information before a game’s release — so much so that the company often withholds acknowledgment of its games’ developers ahead of launch.
In related news, we recently learned that Takashi Nagasako, who voiced Donkey Kong for 21 years, is also no longer credited for the character in Mario Kart World. Kouji Takeda is now credited as Donkey Kong across all language versions of the game, including Bananza. Takeda previously voiced Donkey Kong in the Japanese dub of the Super Mario Bros. Movie and now seems to have taken over as the character’s video game voice as well.
These changes to Nintendo’s long-standing voice cast follow the retirement of Charles Martinet, who voiced Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi for nearly three decades.
