The year 1990 brought a new beginning to the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser was gone, and there was finally peace in the land. The people rallied behind their brave champion, Mario, who had defeated the evil reptiles. The people also hailed their great leader Peach, who had directed the war effort against Bowser until she was captured, later to be rescued by Mario. On the surface, everything looked like it finally returning to normal.

Behind the scenes, things weren't nearly as calm. Mario was still in mourning over the loss of Paulene, the love of his life. His recent battles against Bowser and Tatanga had taken his mind off of his grief. But after the war ended and Mario came home to an empty house, he found that he couldn't escape the pain of his loss. The adoration of thousands meant nothing if there was nobody to share it with.

Also suffering in the aftermath of the war was Daisy, princess of Sarasaland. Her country had been brutally overrun and her friends and family slaughtered by the alien warlord Tantanga. Before the war, she had been a sheltered member of Sarasaland's royal family with no worries or ambitions. Now, she was a refugee in a foreign land, living as an honored guest in the palace of the Mushroom Kingdom. Nobody was sure when, or even if, she would ever go home.

Despite the fact the Daisy was the de facto ruler of Sarasaland, her lack of leadership ability and experience meant that, for the time being, the Mushroom Kingdom government would be in control of her country. Although Peach had promised that she would soon return authority to the local government, she privately had no intention of doing so. To her, Sarasaland was now just another part of the quickly growing Mushroom Kingdom.

Peach's ambitions did not stop with simply annexing Sarasaland. The other lands that had been taken over by Bowser in Mario's last adventure were ripe for the picking. The weak monarchs who had ruled those countries had been turned to animals by their own magic wands at the hands of the Koopa Kids. During his quest to stop Bowser, Mario had saved the kings and turned them back to their human forms. Shortly after the war ended, Peach sent her representative, Toadsworth, on a diplomatic mission to those 7 kings. Her message was simple, because they had been saved by Mario, the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, they each owed the Kingdom a life debt. As payment of that debt, Peach demanded that the kings give to her the very symbol of their power, their magic wands. The kings had little choice but to accept. Before he left, Toadsworth delivered a stern warning to the kings, if any of them ever crossed Peach or the Mushroom Kingdom, she would send Mario after them and turn them into animals just like the Koopa Kids did. And this time, there would be no one to save them.

While Peach was busy with other business, Mario had spent his time aimlessly wandering the halls and streets of the Mushroom capital. It was there that he began to spend more time with the displaced Princess Daisy. The two had been through a lot in the last year and their shared struggles brought them closer together. Despite the fact that she was royalty, Daisy wasn't stuck up or snooty like most other aristocrats that Mario had encountered. Mario began to find himself attracted to this mysterious exotic Princess. Soon, the two began to spend more and more time together. The palace gossips began to spread stories of a possible romance between the two.

With her foreign affairs nicely wrapped up, Peach turned her attention back to domestic issues. She was dismayed to find out that while she was distracted elsewhere, Mario and Daisy had begun to grow closer together. This affair could not be allowed to continue. If Mario were to fall in love with Daisy, he might attempt to help her reclaim her homeland and turn its people against Peach. The idea of the Mario Brothers fighting for Daisy and Sarasaland instead of the Mushroom Kingdom was too much for Peach to bear. Daisy would have to be taken care of somehow.

Getting rid of Daisy would not be as easy as it had been with Paulene. She was still the official ruler of Sarasaland, and her disappearance would not go unnoticed by her people. Also, Mario would probably become suspicious if yet another person close to him mysteriously vanished. It became clear to Peach that Daisy could not simply disappear. The meddling leader of Sarasaland would have to be turned to Peach's side.

A few months later, Peach and Toadsworth approached Daisy. They told her that although they wanted her to assume her rightful place as Sarasaland's Queen, it was obvious that she was not ready. Even though she had been a princess, she was so far down in the line of succession that she had been given no formal training in the arts of government. Peach offered to teach Daisy everything she knew about being a leader. This training would not be easy though. Daisy would have to seclude herself from the outside world and study day and night for months, maybe even years.

Daisy had reservations about this deal, but she wanted to be a good and just leader like Peach, so she reluctantly accepted. For the good of her people, she would dedicate herself to learning how to be a Queen. A few weeks later, at a grand ceremony in the capital of Sarasaland, Princess Daisy announced her intentions to her people. Before she left for her training, she named Princess Peach as Regent of Sarasaland, to rule in her stead until she returned. Daisy would not be seen for many years later. With the right re-education, Daisy would soon learn to accept Peach's authority. Perhaps she would even learn to love the benevolent Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom as a sister.

With the pieces of her new Mushroom Empire falling into place and nobody left to stand between her and Mario, Peach decided the time was right to take a vacation. She invited her closest companions to come along with her, including the Mario Brothers. A long holiday at a secluded island would give Peach the opportunity she needed to seduce the plumber to her side As the royal flight made it's way towards the tropical and distant Yoshi's Island, Peach began to plan how she would capture Mario's heart once and for all.

All seemed right with the world, but waiting for them on Yoshi's Island was an old foe with plans of his own....