The voice actors for Mario Kart World‘s Toads and Peach have been announced, following the surprise recasting of Samantha Kelly last month.
Back in June, Kelly – who had voiced Toad and Princess Peach for 18 years – revealed she would no longer be providing their vocals for the Switch 2 era. This came as a surprise to Kelly, who was only informed by Nintendo when Mario Kart World released without her name attached to the project.
“I’m grateful that I got to do these voices for so many years. Peach and Toad are such strong and beautiful characters that I pray they live forever no matter who voices them,” Kelly said at the time. “Thank you for so many years of friendship and joy. I’m sad that it’s over, I truly would have wanted to voice Peach and Toad forever.”
Now, Mario Kart World’s Toads and Peach’s new voice actors have been revealed, and they are played by Paul Castro Jr. and Courtney Lin respectively. Castro Jr.has also lent his vocals to the likes of NEO: The World Ends with You, while Lin’s previous credits include Neon White.
Sharing the news, Castro Jr. called the role of Mario Kart World’s Toads a “childhood dream”, adding he “can’t thank Nintendo enough” for the opportunity. The VA added in a subsequent post that he voices the Toads out and about in the world, rather than the playable Toad. “The ‘playable’ Toad is another VA who I’m sure will announce themselves at some point presumably,” Castro Jr. explained.
Lin, meanwhile, said she was “eternally grateful” to Nintendo for “trusting me to help carry the legacy of this icon”. Lin also voiced Baby Peach in Mario Kart World.
“These characters are so much bigger than ourselves. I am so honoured and honestly can still hardly believe it. I have so much respect for all of the Peaches that came before me, especially the one I grew up with,” Lin continued. “I will do my best with every opportunity I am given, and I hope you all have been enjoying the game. Wahooo!! Sweet.”
Toad and Peach aren’t the only characters to have new voice actors in Mario Kart World. Kouji Takeda was confirmed as the new Donkey Kong voice actor for the Switch 2 generation, replacing Takashi Nagasako, who previously voiced Nintendo’s main monkey for over two decades.
Meanwhile in 2023, Nintendo recast beloved Mario, Luigi, and Wario voice actor Charles Martinet after three decades. Following Martinet’s departure, Kevin Afghani announced he’d taken over the role shortly before the release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
