Princess Peach (ピーチ姫 Princess Peach) also known as Princess Peach Toadstool, Princess Toadstool, or just Peach, is the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, making her debut in Super Mario Bros. She is the damsel-in-distress in most of the Mario games. She has a love for the color pink, as almost all. Super Princess Peach is a platformer title for the Nintendo DS. In this game, the roles are reversed, as Mario, Luigi, and Toads have been kidnapped by Bowser, using the magical Vibe Scepter, and taken to Vibe Island. Princess Peach must save them, using a talking umbrella called Perry and her powers of emotion. Super Princess Peach is a platformer title for the Nintendo DS. In this game, the roles are reversed, as Mario, Luigi, and Toads have been kidnapped by Bowser, using the magical Vibe Scepter, and taken to Vibe Island. Princess Peach must save them, using a talking umbrella called Perry and her powers of emotion. This is the second adventure installment in the Mario franchise in which Peach.
| Princess Peach | |
|---|---|
| Mario character | |
Princess Peach, as depicted in promotional artwork for Super Mario 3D World. | |
| First appearance | Super Mario Bros. (1985) |
| Created by | Shigeru Miyamoto |
| Designed by | Shigeru Miyamoto Yōichi Kotabe |
| Voiced by |
|
Princess Peach[a] is a character in Nintendo's Mario franchise. Originally created by Shigeru Miyamoto, Peach is the princess of the fictional Mushroom Kingdom, which is constantly under attack by Bowser. She often plays the damsel in distress role within the series and is the lead female character, often being portrayed as Mario's love interest. In Super Princess Peach, Peach was the protagonist and player character and is occasionally a supporting playable character in mainstream games such as Super Mario Bros 2 and Super Mario 3D World.[1]
- 2Design and characteristics
- 3Appearances
Concept and creation
Princess Peach's initial appearance was drawn by Shigeru Miyamoto. Miyamoto later asked Yōichi Kotabe to redraw Peach with his instructions. He had asked Kotabe to draw her eyes to be 'a little cat-like'.[2] With Kotabe's influence, Princess Peach changed considerably throughout her gaming system.[2] Peach was not a playable character in New Super Mario Bros. Wii because a satisfactory mechanism to use her dress was not found,[3] however, she is the main protagonist in Super Princess Peach and is a playable character in most Mario spin-offs such as Mario Party, Mario Kart, and also sports games.
Design and characteristics
Princess Peach has long, blonde hair (except in Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3, where she has brown hair), blue eyes, tall frame, an hourglass figure, and a rosy complexion. She generally wears a pink dress with a ruffled hemline, short puffy sleeves, a frilled collar, and a pannier-style overskirt. Her accessories are red high heels, opera-length white evening gloves, a sapphire brooch, sapphire earrings, and a gold crown adorned with sapphires and rubies. Her hair is sometimes pulled back into a ponytail, first in Super Mario Sunshine and later in the Mario Kart and Mario Sports games beginning with Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour respectively. In sports games, she wears pink athletic clothing, ranging from shorts and a T-shirt to a set of armour to motorcycle leathers. She also wears a light pink sundress in Super Mario Sunshine.[4] It is worn with a sapphire ring and a gold bracelet.
Name
In Japan, the Princess's name has always been Peach (ピーチ姫Pīchi-Hime, Princess Peach) since her debut in the original Super Mario Bros. (1985), but she would go on to be renamed Toadstool in the English language manual. The English version of Yoshi's Safari (1993) marked the first usage of the name 'Peach' in the Western world, although she would go back to being named 'Toadstool' in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (1994). In Super Mario 64 (1996), she uses both names in a letter addressed to Mario, with 'Peach' being used for her signature. From Mario Kart 64 (1996) and onward, the name Peach was kept unchanged for the English version of games in the franchise.
Personality
Peach's personality is generally sweet and well mannered. In most games, she is portrayed as selfless, perky and generous. Typically, she does not show an aggressive nature even when she is fighting (this is done by quick slaps, elegant high kicks, thrusts in the air, and other graceful fighting techniques, as seen in the Super Smash Bros.series) or confronting her enemies. This, however, varies slightly from game to game. One of Peach's most common traits during her playable appearances is her ability to temporarily float in the air with her large skirt, and later on, with her parasol.
This was first featured during Peach's first playable appearance in Super Mario Bros. 2. This ability has also appeared in Super Paper Mario and her playable appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series. However, in Super Princess Peach, she shows wild mood swings from joy, gloom, calm, and rage, each of which gives her a special ability. These changes in emotion are most likely attributed to the 'strange powers' of Vibe Island mentioned in the game's booklet. In Super Princess Peach, she shows Bowser that she is capable of defending herself.
Although often kidnapped by him, Peach is willing to have Bowser team up with her and the Mario Bros. when a bigger evil threatens the Mushroom Kingdom. The Paper Mario series reveals that she can sometimes show a more bratty behavior, which dissipates after a short time. Apart from Mario, who is her main love interest, she has occasionally shown a very friendly behavior towards Luigi.[citation needed]
Voices
In her first voiced appearance in the Japanese anime Super Mario Brothers: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!, Peach was voiced by pop singer, Mami Yamase. In Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros. she was voiced by Miyako Endo. On the cartoon segments on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! from DIC Entertainment, Peach was voiced by Jeannie Elias. In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and the Super Mario World cartoons, she was voiced by Tracey Moore. In the CD-i game Hotel Mario, she was voiced by Jocelyn Benford. In Super Mario 64, the English version of Mario Kart 64, and Super Mario 64 DS Peach was voiced by Leslie Swan, a localization manager for Nintendo of America. In all other releases of Mario Kart 64 and in Mario Party and Mario Party 2, she was voiced by Asako Kōzuki. In Mario Golf, she was voiced by Jessica Chisum. Starting with Mario Tennis on the Nintendo 64, Peach has been voiced by Jen Taylor.
After Super Princess Peach in 2005, Nintendo used a new voice for Princess Peach. Although Mario Hoops 3-on-3 in 2006 still used Taylor's voice, Peach in Super Mario Strikers, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, and New Super Mario Bros. has a new voice, Nicole Mills. However, in Super Paper Mario, Peach is once again voiced by Leslie Swan. Peach has been voiced by Samantha Kelly since Mario Strikers Charged. In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Peach is again voiced by Taylor, although much is from sound clips recycled from previous Mario games. Likewise, if a player selects Peach in Brawl using a Wii Remote or classic controller, Peach's taunt from Super Smash Bros. Melee (then voiced by Taylor) will sound over the Wii Remote's speaker if the volume is on.
Baby Peach, the infant form of Princess Peach, is also voiced by Mills in Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time and Yoshi's Island DS, but starting with Mario Kart Wii, Baby Peach is voiced by Samantha Kelly.
View and Download CyberHome CH-DVR 1500 operation manual online. CyberHome Entertainment DVR User Manual. CH-DVR 1500 DVR pdf manual download. THE DVD RECORDER SETUP MENU Using the SETUP MENU The DVD Recorder’s SETUP MENU is where various settings are configured, including Recording Options, Playback Options, Languages, Parental Control. Cyberhome dvd recorder manual. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Cyberhome CH-DVR1600 DVD Recorder at Amazon.com. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Oct 26, 2014 Cyberhome CH-DVR1600 DVD Recorder. Be sure to keep the manual next to the remote for the first few weeks.) As other reviewers have pointed out, if you can use TiVo, you should be able to use this product without any problems. View and Download CyberHome 1600 user manual online. CyberHome Entertainment USER MANUAL DVR 1600. 1600 DVD Recorder pdf manual download. Also for: Dvr1600.
Appearances
Peach is portrayed as the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, where she was born and currently resides. Within her castle are Royal Guards known as mushroom retainers. In Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario, a cabinet minister or chancellor is part of the Mushroom Kingdom government. Her father, the Mushroom King, though mentioned in the instruction manual to Super Mario Bros.,[5] has never made an appearance in the mainstream games. She also has a grandmother who is a Toad and a grandmother who is a human, implying that she may be part-Toad.
Peach first appeared in Super Mario Bros. where she has been kidnapped by the series main antagonist, Bowser, many times since. (In at least one game, Toadsworth remarks that she is kidnapped, on average, every week.) In Super Mario Bros. 2, she was a playable character. She, along with Mario, Luigi and Toad was summoned by the inhabitants of Subcon to save their dreamland from the evil Wart. Peach's main ability was that she could hover for a limited time after jumping left or right. This skill allows her to easily make jumps over areas larger than other characters could. In Super Mario Bros. 3, the Koopalings use their magic wands to turn the Mushroom Kings into various animals. Drag queen meme serial killer. Hearing of this, Princess Peach asks Mario and Luigi to grab the wands back in order for the Mushroom Kings to be changed back into their true forms, all while sending them items while they were on their quest and providing them with power-ups after completing each level. She has eventually captured herself and later saved by Mario. In Super Mario World, she, Mario and Luigi were having a vacation in Dinosaur Land when Bowser once again kidnapped her.
In Super Mario RPG, Peach, as Princess Toadstool, was one of Mario's party members, along with Mallow, Geno, and Bowser. Princess Peach's abilities are similar to Mallow's on which she relies heavily on skill usage, but her skills are more support-based than Mallow's. Her main weapons in the game are gloves, which she uses to slap enemies or household items like a parasol or frying pan that she uses to smack foes with. She is slightly quicker than Mario in this game, though. In Super Mario 64, Peach invited Mario to her castle for a cake, but before Mario arrived at the palace, Bowser came and took control of the Power Stars. He trapped Peach in the stained-glass window over the entrance of the castle. In Paper Mario, Peach invites Mario to her castle, but as soon as he meets with her, Bowser lifts her castle into the sky and throws Mario out a window. She is a playable character in the scenes after Mario has rescued each of the seven Star Spirits. In Super Mario Sunshine, Mario, Peach, Toadsworth and an entourage of Toads went to Isle Delfino on Peach's private plane. However, Bowser Jr., in the disguise of Shadow Mario, had filled the island with graffiti. He then kidnapped Peach, claiming her to be his mother. Princess Peach was taken once again in New Super Mario Bros. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and Yoshi's Island DS, Baby Peach (her infant form) makes appearances.
Download pro evolution soccer 2013 for pc windows 8. Jan 30, 2017 Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 Free Download for PC is an association football video game, developed and published by Konami. The game was announced by Konami on April 18, 2012.citation needed For the first time of the series, all 20 teams from the Brazilian national league, Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, are included in the game series. Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 review The player has the ability to freely move around the football field and control the transfer of the ball. Also in this version of the game Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 Free Download, dribbling is improved.
Super Princess Peach marked the second time that Princess Peach was cast as the main heroine in a video game. In a role-reversal, Princess Peach had to save Mario, Luigi, and Toad from King Bowser. She has a talking parasol named Perry who transformed from a real boy and can be used as her weapon. In Super Paper Mario, Peach is hypnotized by Nastasia into marrying Bowser, in order to unleash the destructive Chaos Heart. Count Bleck was the one who wed Peach and Bowser, but since he was not authorized to perform the act of marriage, the marriage itself was unofficial (however, Bowser continued to believe in his marriage to Peach). Peach is later rescued by Mario and manages to convince Bowser to join their cause in stopping Bleck. In Super Mario Galaxy, Peach's castle was lifted into space by Bowser, who wanted Peach to rule the universe by his side. She was brought into Outer Space, along with Toads, and Mario had to go through different galaxies to save her. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Peach is kidnapped on her birthday by Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings. She is later rescued by Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad, and Yellow Toad. She is also in Super Mario Galaxy 2 when Bowser kidnaps her and puts her in the center of the universe. Mario and Peach then get the final Grand Star, before the Comet Observatory from the first Super Mario Galaxy shows up, and Rosalina is heard thanking Mario for watching over the Luma that he had found. The Luma returns to the Comet Observatory, taking Mario's cap with him before the Comet Observatory transforms into a starship and leaves. Eventually, Mario and his companions return to the Mushroom Kingdom, where a large cake stands in front of Peach's Castle and Starship Mario sits in the sky above. Princess Peach also has appearances in New Super Mario Bros. 2 as well as New Super Mario Bros. U. She appears in Super Mario 3D World as a playable character who can float temporarily in midair; however, she is the second-slowest of the five playable characters, with only Rosalina having a slower running speed.
Appearances in other games
Princess Peach has appeared in nearly all of the Mario spin-off titles. Since the first Mario Party, Peach has appeared in every single installment.
In the Mario Kart series, she is in the light category in Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Super Circuit; since Mario Kart: Double Dash, she is in the medium category of characters with the fastest acceleration, the lowest top speed, and the best off-road ability to take the shortcuts on each course. Her special item in Mario Kart: Double Dash involves two hearts temporarily rotating around her kart, giving her whatever item they collide into. She shares her special with Daisy, her best friend. Mario Kart 8 introduces Pink Gold Peach, a metallic version of Peach similar to Metal Mario.
In the Mario Tennis and Mario Golf series, she is labeled as a 'Technique' character and has one of the lightest hits. She is a captain in the games Mario Superstar Baseball, and Mario Super Sluggers and specializes in pitching. She is a playable character in Super Mario Strikers and its sequel, Mario Strikers Charged. Peach is fast, agile, and has good passing skills. Finally, she appears in the first Mario basketball game, Mario Hoops 3-on-3, for the Nintendo DS, and is a technical type (good at taking shots). She appears in the crossover sports game, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, where she is a skill type character. She also appeared in Mario Sports Mix in 2011, where she is a playable character.
Peach also makes appearances in Super Mario Maker. A Peach costume can be unlocked and worn through a Mystery Mushroom, and Peach makes cameos in the 10-Mario challenge and the 100-Mario challenge, being kidnapped by two Goombas. After the completion of the 100-Mario challenge on normal or higher difficulties, Mario rescues Peach at the end.
In the Super Smash Bros. series, Peach first appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the second game of the series. She has the unique ability to float for seconds, much as she can in Super Mario Bros. 2, an advantage which is balanced by the fact that she is one of the lighter fighters and in Super Smash Bros. Brawl her killing ability has been decreased since Super Smash Bros. Melee and making kills in Brawl can prove to be quite difficult. However, Peach's float is one of the main elements of her game, as it allows her to combo players from above and dodges horizontal attacks. It serves as an amazing horizontal recovery. Her attacks include the Peach Bomber (where she leaps forward, twirls and rams her rear into her opponent which causes an explosion); her forward throw (a massive slap that kills players at higher percentages); her parasol; using Toad as a human shield; using golf clubs, tennis rackets, and frying pans as melee weapons and pulling turnips from the ground. Her Final Smash in Brawl is unique in that it does not kill opponents outright. Instead, it puts them to sleep and spawns peaches across the battlefield that restore Peach's health. Additionally, in the Subspace Emissary story mode, Princess Peach is a very prominent character, being present throughout most of the storyline. Peach returned in the recent installments released for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U,[6] as well as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.[7]
Appearances in other media
In the cartoon series by DiC, she is always referred to as Princess Toadstool, since the name Peach had not been used in the western world until Yoshi's Safari in 1993, and she had red hair instead of yellow. (This may have been due to the original NES games from her early appearances depicting her with red hair, due to technical limitations). Unlike in the video games, she is occasionally seen using power-ups such as the Tanooki Leaf. She is voiced by Jeannie Elias in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and Tracey Moore in the two follow up series, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.
Cameos
Peach has made cameo appearances in non-Mario games as well. She is a playable guest character in the GameCube ports of the Electronic Arts games NBA Street V3 and SSX on Tour.[8][9] Peach made a minor appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, in a painting in Hyrule Castle. A Princess Peach kart toy appears and can be driven in the Labrador and Friends version of Nintendogs. Peach made a cameo in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, appearing in a picture sent to Mr. Write from the goat in the animal village. The photo is of Peach with the name 'Christine' written underneath the picture. She appeared at the King Dedede battle arena in Kirby Super Star, as well as in the minigame Megaton Punch. In Kirby Super Star Ultra, she is once again seen at the Dedede arena. Her crown appears in Pikmin 2 as an item to be collected, although it is labeled 'Unspeakable Wonder'. She does not appear personally in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, but Cranky Kong does make some indirect references to her in some of his Monkey Museum ramblings.[citation needed]
Reception
GameDaily described Princess Peach as an 'ideal woman that's as sweet as can be' in their list of 'babes that should or shouldn't meet your mom'.[11] The website ranked her forty-eighth in their list of Top 50 Hottest Game Babes claiming that she is 'the quiet 'quick, come and rescue me' type, but in Mario Strikers Charged she's all action with a hot sports outfit and shows the boys who's boss'.[10]IGN editor, Matt Casamassina, stated that Nintendo would be 'taken aback' by her outfit, which he describes as more revealing than any outfit she's ever worn.[12] IGN rated the character an 8 out of 10 in the worth-saving index on their article 'Mario's Ladies: The Princesses of Mario Galaxy”.[13]The New York Times claimed that Princess Peach had 'grit as well as grace' and that her 'peachiness did nothing to upset the apple cart of expectation: she may have been athletic, smart and strong, but she was also adorable.' The article claimed that Peach was what 'once-unisex, postfeminist parents are shooting for.'[14] Manolith listed Princess Peach as one of the characters on their '25 Hottest Female Videogame Protagonists' list, especially citing her Strikers outfit.[15] S. Williams of Momzone magazine declared Peach 'gaming's lone female role model,' citing the character's unceasing humility and gutsy charm.[citation needed] UGO ranked Peach ninth on their list of the 'Top 11 Girls of Gaming'.[16]
In a poll conducted by Official Nintendo Magazine, Princess Peach was voted by readers as the second greatest female character; the magazine stated that 'some might view her as being a bit useless but we'll let her off as rescuing her is always so much fun'.[17] Peach was included on GameDaily's list of hottest blondes in video games; they cited her appearances in sports games such as Super Mario Strikers and SSX on Tour (in Mario Smash Football, she wears a pink midriff-baring crop top with pink shorts).[18] They listed the 'damsel in distress' as one of their top 25 video game archetypes, using Princess Peach as an example of this due to her frequent kidnappings.[19] Despite this, however, Peach only managed a D on Destructoid's Gamer's Red Carpet, who called her pink dress 'awful', as opposed to Princess Daisy which got a B+ and Rosalina which got an A+.[20] IGN called Peach 'all smiles and politeness' however, they also labelled her as the one of the weirdest Mario characters, citing her constant kidnappings.[21] IGN later stated that 'when she's not staring blankly at nothing, she can be rather adorable', however the fact that 'Mario can heroically collect 120 Power Stars all while saving Peach's kingdom and still get nothing but a cake in return makes us think this might be something of a one-sided relationship.'[22]
In 2007, Princess Peach landed on Forbes magazine's Wealthiest Fictional People list, with a fortune of approximately $1.3 billion.[23] She is ranked 10th in Electronic Gaming Monthly's Top Ten Video Game Politicians list.[24] In 2015, WatchMojo.com ranked her No. 1 on their 'Top 10 Video Game Damsels in Distress' list.
Notes
- ^Japanese: ピーチ姫Hepburn: Pīchi-hime?, pronounced [piːtɕi̥ çime]
References
- ^Claiborn, Samuel (16 December 2010). 'Princess Peach: A Visual History'.
- ^ ab'Volume 8'. Nintendo. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ^Craig Harris (October 15, 2009). 'Miyamoto on the New Mario – Wii Feature at IGN'. IGN. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
- ^Davis, Ryan (24 February 2006). 'Super Princess Peach Review'. gamespot.com.
- ^Super Mario Bros. Instruction Manual(PDF). Nintendo. 1985. p. 2. Archived from the original(PDF) on November 7, 2011.
- ^'Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U: Peach'. Smashbros.com. Retrieved 2013-10-17.
- ^'Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'.
- ^NBA Street V3 information Amazon.com. Retrieved April 28, 2006.
- ^SSX On Tour information Amazon.com. Retrieved April 28, 2006.
- ^ ab'Top 50 Hottest Game Babes on Trial'. GameDaily. 2009-02-25. Archived from the original on July 1, 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
- ^'Ten Babes Who Should and Ten Babes Who Shouldn't Meet Your Mom'. GameDaily. 2008-06-25. Archived from the original on 2008-09-12. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
- ^Matt Casamassina. 'Super Mario Strikers – GameCube Review at IGN'. Cube.ign.com. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
- ^'Mario's Ladies: The Princesses of Mario Galaxy'. IGN. 2007-11-13. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
- ^Orenstein, Peggy (2006-12-24). 'What's Wrong with Cinderella'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
- ^The Manolith Team. '25 Hottest Female Videogame Protagonists'. Manolith. Archived from the original on 2012-06-11. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ^UGO Team (15 January 2008). 'Princess Peach – Top 11 Girls of Gaming'. UGO. Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ^'Leading Ladies'. Official Nintendo Magazine. 2009-09-12. Archived from the original on 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
- ^'Babes of the Week: Hottest Blondes'. GameDaily. 2008-05-06. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
- ^'Top 25 game Archetypes'. GameDaily. 2008-10-06. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
- ^Concelmo, Chad. 'The Gamer's Red Carpet: Super Mario Bros'. Kotaku. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^'Weirdest Mario Characters'. IGN. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ^Drake, Audrey. 'Who Should Be Mario's Valentine?'. IGN. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ^'#15 Princess Peach'. Forbes. 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
- ^Sharkey, Scott (November 2008), 'Top 10 Videogame Politicians', Electronic Gaming Monthly, no. 234, archived from the original on 2009-02-25, retrieved 2009-11-10
External links
Super Princess Peach Play
- Princess Peach on Play Nintendo
Flowery and feminine, but still classic Nintendo design. How did the gal's first starring role stack up?
Super Princess Peach definitely shows Nintendo's expertise in the platform genre. After all, the company built an empire with the Super Mario series and all that experience has clearly been put into Super Princess Peach, albeit in a slightly more sugared and simplified design. Control is unbelievably tight and responsive, with many of the same gameplay mechanics of Super Mario employed in Princess' adventure: stomping enemies, smashing blocks, and collecting coins are three key elements to Super Princess Peach's design. And many of the locations and enemies in this platformer are welcome nods to the Mario franchise.
Though the game follows the Mario formula of simply getting to the victory point, the actual challenge is to use her powers to find three lost Toad characters in each level. Princess Peach's unique theme is her parasol, which enables her to not just whack enemies over the head, but also to scoop up baddies off the ground and throw 'em up, down, left or right. This umbrella can also gulp down certain enemies, a technique that will fill up Peach's Vibe power - another key element in the overall gameplay. Vibe is Peach's emotional state and taking control over her four emotions is absolutely integral to getting through the game's challenges.
Hitting her 'happiness,' for example, will make her float with glee, sending her flying around in a whirlwind that will allow her to reach new heights as well as blow away certain enemies with a powerful gust. Princess can also hit a bout of flaming rage that will burn bridges, light torches, and ignite specific items blocking the path. When Princess cries, she bawls a river of tears that'll grow flowers and spin watermills. Since her Vibe power is limited, there is a level of balance and conservation needed to put these powers to use - no Vibe power, no emotions. So players will have to do a bit of back-and-forth in a level to build up her Vibe meter.
As solidly designed as this platformer is, it's hard to believe that this game was originally intended for the Nintendo DS. Oh, sure, there are dual-screen and touch-screen elements in play, including a batch of collectible mini-games and pre-boss challenges that require the use of the stylus. But the majority of the game's second screen functionality is relegated to simply giving players four more buttons to activate Peach's different vibe powers. If you think about it, this control could have easily been assigned to a shoulder button toggle instead. With this in mind, through most of the experience Super Princess Peach feels like it was a title originally created for the GBA but shelved and brought back from the dead for the Nintendo DS platform.
The graphics could be a give away that the game might not have been originally intended for the Nintendo DS: its style definitely keeps with the look and feel of classic Super Mario Bros. games, but Super Princess Peach lacks a bit of visual pizzazz that Nintendo's platform designs adopted when the teams got their hands around more powerful hardware. Classic Super Mario games looked simple because the hardware dictated it - Super Princess Peach looks simple because that was the design team's choice. The DS is certainly way more capable than what's going on here - while it's officially a DS product, it's just a little suspicious if the DS was the intended platform.
But that doesn't hurt the game's entertainment value. For a very traditional Mario-style platformer, Super Princess Peach is a quality product. It might not quite reach Nintendo's A game, but it definitely exceeds the expectations that people might have for a 'girlie' product such as this.
What does affect the enjoyment, especially for gamers looking for a decent Nintendo challenge, is the main game's easy level of difficulty. Nintendo goes completely out of its way to spoon-feed the player, going so far as to nearly spell out the solution to every boss battle before the player enters the fight. Princess Peach can get hit multiple times without dying, and she even has the ability to heal herself with a Vibe emotion. On top of this, players can spend their coins to add more hit points to her power bar, making things even easier for the player. The game's puzzle elements aren't exactly mysterious or challenging, and even the 'hidden' elements, like the lost Toads, puzzle pieces, and mini-games, aren't exactly in a mysterious spot -- the game alerts players when they've entered a room where one is scattered.
But the benefit of an easier Nintendo platformer is, ultimately, an easier way to get that fun, satisfying sense of accomplishment. Super Princess Peach's main game is a good length for a Nintendo action game on the go, with a bit more added to the mix by a smattering of mini-game challenges to purchase and unlock. None of these extras offer a whole lot of creative use of the Nintendo DS platform, but they do a decent job of beefing up the experience.
Verdict
Princess Peach Game
There are two sides of the Super Princess Peach fence: on the one hand, you pretty much know what you're getting into with a game starring Nintendo's very, very female protagonist - a game most likely designed and marketed for the girl audience. On the other hand, it's a Nintendo developed platform game, and these generally have a level of expectation. It's an interesting balance, and ultimately Nintendo did a good job with Peach's first starring game. Even if it's a little too easy for the usual gaming crowd.