Throughout her illustrious career as gaming royalty, Princess Peach has been a jack-of-all-trades. She’s tossed turnips, driven karts, smashed tennis balls, and knocked the snot out of Solid Snake. Despite that impressive résumé, she’s rarely had the chance to be a leading lady outside of 2005’s Super Princess Peach. It was a polarizing release that failed to lock down the heroine’s identity. What could Peach be if she wasn’t attached to Mario?
Nearly four decades after her debut, Nintendo is finally looking to answer that question with Princess Peach: Showtime! The new Switch release is a family-friendly platformer where Peach gets sucked into a magical theater under attack from a sorceress named Grape. She must restore a series of plays back to normal, but how’s a hero who has rarely had the chance to go it alone supposed to fight back? The character’s identity crisis turns out to be a hidden skill.
Ahead of its launch, I played an hour of Princess Peach: Showtime! that showed off five of her gameplay-changing costumes. From what I’ve seen so far, the Switch exclusive is shaping up to be an endearing solo adventure that doesn’t try to put the heroine in a box. Instead, its Kirby-like gameplay makes a grand statement about the character: Peach can be anything she wants to be.
Power up
The bulk of my demo would find me in the first floor of the theater, where I could pop into one of four levels. Each one represents the first chapter of a stage play that’s been foiled by Grape and her mask-wearing goons. In the same vein as titles like Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Nintendo plays with an arts and crafts aesthetic here. The bite-sized levels are filled with cardboard set pieces, as if she’s stepping into a series of high school theater productions. Charming visual details sell that idea. When Peach has to hide in grass, she holds two little twigs above her head like a stage prop.
When each level begins, her power is limited. She can use a ribbon to attack foes, find hidden collectibles in each level, or send encouragement to the big-nosed munchkins that inhabit the theater. The twist, though, is that she finds a specific power in each level that will help her save the day. Those abilities are completely different from one another too.
In my first level, I’d have to stealthily avoid guards until I got a ninja outfit. That allowed me to jump up walls, dash into enemies with my kunai, and press myself against a wall to camouflage myself. That would make for a stealth traversal level where I had to get behind guards and take them out quietly. Another level would turn her into a cowgirl, where I’d use my lasso to toss barrels at enemies in a saloon battle and even partake in an Old West horse chase.
The most involved segment came when Peach transformed into a sword fighter with a rapier. That level was significantly more action-packed, as I sliced through foes and dodged their attacks at the right moment to trigger a Bayonetta-like, slow-motion parry (with a very generous timing window). It would end in a tense boss battle that had me slicing through cardboard vines to weaken a plant and dodging yellow circles at the right time to launch a counter attack.
Other powers change up the gameplay even more. An ice-themed level had me performing a figure skating routine by jumping and spinning at the right moments. The most radically different section happened when I became Patisserie Peach. There, I was placed on a timer as I completed button-timing minigames to make cookies and frosted cakes by following a specified pattern. Both almost felt more like Mario Party minigames adapted out into full levels.
Nothing that I tried was too complicated or challenging. It seems like Nintendo is going for an uncomplicated release here that takes the ability gameplay of the Kirby series and makes it even more straightforward. Players aren’t switching between costumes in levels to solve puzzles. There are a few hidden collectibles and secret bonus stages triggered by striking a pose in a specified spot, but it’s all light platforming fare.
That’s not meant as a knock; Nintendo clearly knows its audience here. Princess Peach Showtime! feels more aimed at young kids than usual, which feels like the right call considering what an important moment it could be for gender representation in games. It’s important for kids to see Peach in a starring role apart from Mario, one where she can be anything she wants. It makes no distinction between being a “boy’s” or “girl’s” game. She gets to parry sword strikes and bake cakes in the same breath. It’s the Barbie concept adapted into Nintendo game design.
I hope that idea resonates with kids — and there’s a good chance it might. Based on what I’ve played so far, Princess Peach: Showtime! feels like a good-natured start to a solo series in the same vein as the original Luigi’s Mansion. It makes a long-overdue case for Peach as a capable heroine that never really needed saving at all; she just needed time to show what she could do.
Princess Peach: Showtime! launches on March 22 for Nintendo Switch.
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