The game follows Peach's trip to Vibe Island to rescue Mario and Luigi, who have been kidnapped by Bowser, in a reversal of the damsel in distress trope.
First announced by Nintendo in 2004, Super Princess Peach was released in Japan in October 2005 and later elsewhere in 2006. Super Princess Peach has received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the gameplay, graphics, story, and soundtrack, but criticism for the lack of difficulty.
The game sold 1.7 million copies worldwide.[3]
Gameplay
Princess Peach navigates a level in World 2, Hoo's Wood. The lower screen indicates that she is expressing the "calm" vibe; this can also be seen in the faint bubble surrounding her in the upper screen.
Super Princess Peach plays similarly to traditional platformers. There are eight worlds, each of which contains six levels and a boss battle that leads the player to the next world. Three captive Toads are hidden throughout each level, with each boss battle holding a single Toad contained in a bubble. In order to play the final boss battle, the player must rescue all of the Toads. Beating a boss will unlock three new levels for the next world. There are a total of 24 extra levels to unlock. In addition, the game features a shop where players can buy items. Using coins as currency the player can purchase incremental upgrades to expand the heart gauge or the emotion meter, as well as Perry the Parasol's abilities. Peach has infinite lives, so players can continue as much as they please. By finishing the game and completing all bonuses, the player can buy a drink named "Endless Vibe". It allows Peach to use her vibes without having the vibe meter decrease, meaning that the player can use her powers as long as they please. The game's bonuses include a glossary, puzzles, mini-games, a music room, and replays of Perry's dreams. There are three mini-games within the game and the levels are unlocked as the player finds more mini game pieces in the levels. All of the mini-games have the player control Toad in various activities (such as a platforming mode).
Emotion Meter
The emotion meter corresponds to the four vibe powers she has. The emotions at Vibe Island affect everybody, even enemies, while Peach can change hers at will. The four emotions are joy, gloom, rage, and calm. When the player taps on each mood it will activate a different ability that helps solve puzzles and defeat enemies. Each use will drain the player's vibe meter. The bar can be restored by capturing blue turquoise jewels or absorbing enemies using Perry the parasol.
Perry
Perry is a talking umbrella and Peach's ally in this game. Unlike Mario, jumping on enemies does not defeat them; Peach must use Perry to hit them. The player can press "B" to immediately sweep them aside or "X" to put them on top of the umbrella. Once an enemy is on top of the umbrella, the player may press "X" again to put the enemy down, "B" to throw the enemy, or down on the D-pad to absorb the enemy, which refills part of the emotion meter. As the game progresses, Perry gains new abilities.
Plot
Near the location of the Mushroom Kingdom, a fabled land known as Vibe Island is said to hide a treasure known as the Vibe Scepter, a magical item that can be used to control the emotions of its user and others. Hearing of the island's legendary powers, Bowser builds a summer getaway home on the island in hopes of using it to his advantage.
After his second-in-command, Army Hammer Bro finds the Scepter for him, Bowser hatches a plan to capture the Mario Brothers. Army Hammer Bro. entrusts the scepter to a Goomba and sends it into the castle. With the residents of the castle under the influence of the Scepter, the Army Hammer Bro. and his troops successfully capture Mario, Luigi, and several Toads, imprisoning them all across the island. Goomba becomes influenced by the Vibe Scepter and begins swinging it around, causing Bowser and his minions to lose control of their emotions.
Meanwhile, Princess Peach and Toadsworth return to her castle after a short walk only to find the residents in emotional disarray and a note from Bowser saying that he has captured Mario and Luigi. Maddened with rage, Peach decides that she is the only one who can rescue the Mario Brothers and sets out to go to Vibe Island. Shortly before her departure, Toadsworth is reluctant to see Peach travel on her own, and gives her a sentient parasol named Perry to help her on her journey.
Peach and Perry travel through eight different areas across the island, rescuing various Toads and defeating enemies along the way. Because of the Goomba's earlier flaunting of the scepter, emotional energy had been dispersed all over the island causing the residents to experience various moods. Peach is affected but has better control, even gaining new abilities from each emotion. After defeating a boss and clearing the current area, Perry's backstory is revealed in flashbacks: long ago, Perry was a young boy with magical powers whose earliest memories were in the woods on the mountainside of Vibe Island. He was adopted by an old man who he came to call "Grandpa". One day, Perry was confronted by a pair of enigmatic magicians who had seemingly heard of the boy's powers and transformed him into an umbrella. The wizard and his henchman captured Perry and brought him toward an unconfirmed location, but he managed to escape by wiggling free from his captors and fell onto the road. Some time later, a traveling merchant found him and sold him to Toadsworth.
After defeating Giant Kamek and freeing Luigi, the duo arrive at Bowser's Villa where they meet Bowser and Army Hammer Bro. Bowser uses the Vibe Scepter to increase Army Hammer Bro's power with rage, but Peach bests him nonetheless. She then fights Bowser himself, and after his own defeat, the Koopa King uses the Vibe Scepter to turn into a giant, yet Peach and Perry defeat him again by throwing Bob-ombs at him, then whacking him out of the villa with the Scepter. After Bowser's final defeat, Peach frees Mario, they rejoice and return to the Mushroom Kingdom alongside Luigi and the Toads, with the fate of the Vibe Scepter left unknown.
Release
Super Princess Peach was first announced by Nintendo in October 2004 with the exclusion of a posted release date.[4] It was first released in Japan on October 20, 2005.[5] It later came out in North America[6] and Europe[7] on February 27 and May 26, 2006, respectively.
Super Princess Peach received generally positive reviews from critics, it currently has an average rating of 76.60% on GameRankings,[22] and of 75% on Metacritic.[23]
The game's lack of difficulty was intensely criticized. Gaming website GameSpy noted that the number of shop items and the "Joy" vibe made it "quite hard to die".[16] Another web site, IGN, was more critical, criticizing Nintendo for "going out of its way" to "spoon-feed" the player full of tips and information.[18] Reviewer Ryan Davis from GameSpot similarly wrote that the game was too easy for the average platformer player.[15]X-Play's Morgan Webb gave it a 4/5, commenting that the game was very easy to play and should be played by first timers to platform games.[21]
The nature of the vibes and Nintendo's marketing campaign were also noted in some reviews. Davis accused Nintendo of putting "weird sexist undercurrents" into the game,[15] while GameSpy's Bryn Williams wondered if Nintendo was trying to say that all females were "emo".[16] Craig Harris from IGN said that the copy that Nintendo sent to him came in a box scented with perfume.[18]
The game is listed on TheGamer's list of the top "10 DS Games That Deserve A Remake For Nintendo Switch".[25]CBR.com claimed that "Super Princess Peach 2 would provide some excellent continuity". DigitallyDowloaded noted the game in a list of "Ten Nintendo DS games that need a 3DS sequel".[26]LevelSkip commented that "Princess Peach is one of the most iconic female Nintendo characters" and "many fans demand a sequel".[27]
From February 2006 to March 2007, the magazine Famitsu DS+Gamecube+Advance published a comical manga based on the game called Peach no Daiboken!? created by Kazumi Sugiyama.[31][32] Like the original game, the story deals with Peach, traveling with Perry and joined by Toadsworth, to save her friends abducted by Bowser.[33]
On June 21, 2023, Nintendo announced a new game starring Princess Peach as the lead character to be released for the Nintendo Switch in 2024.[41][42] It was revealed as Princess Peach: Showtime! on September 14, 2023, to be released on March 22, 2024.[43] Despite not being a direct sequel to Super Princess Peach, it shares similar sidescroller elements. The game marks 18 years since Peach appeared as the protagonist in a video game, and is her third game in a leading role overall.[44]
^KNIGHT, RICH (November 28, 2011). "Portable Plumber: The Complete History of Mario in Handheld GamesSuper Mario Bros. 3". Complex. Archived from the original on November 10, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2019. For those wondering what the hell happened to Super Mario Bros. 2 on the Nelsonic Game Watch Line, well, it's extremely rare, features Princess Toadstool (fun Fact: It's the first game to ever feature her as a playable character) and sometimes goes by the name, Princess Toadstool's Castle Run Game.
^Shughart, Ty (November 24, 2005). "Super Princess Peach Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
^Matt Casamassina (July 25, 2007). "Nintendo Sales Update". IGN. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
^"10 DS Games That Deserve A Remake For Nintendo Switch". TheGamer. January 8, 2020. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2020. This platformer has Princess Peach using her set of four emotions to fight her way through 8 worlds. Seeing as this is the only game one of our favorite Mario heroines stars in, we can't help but want to see it update for Nintendo Switch.
^"Why Nintendo Should Make a Sequel to "Super Princess Peach"". LevelSkip. Retrieved May 10, 2020. Since the original Super Princes Peach was released, fans have been demanding a sequel to the game. Fans have gone as far as creating online petitions in an attempt to convince Nintendo to create a sequel.
^"2006 Awards | NAVGTR". NAVGTR | National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. 2007. Archived from the original on 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
^""Have a 腐れ day!"". Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2020. A particularly light-hearted and silly series based on Super Princess Peach, who giddily glides her way through the game's locales and challenges.
^"Smash Bros. DOJO!!". www.smashbros.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2020. The closer you are to Peach, the deeper you sleep.
^"25 Weird Facts About Princess Peach's Anatomy". TheThings. June 13, 2019. Archived from the original on June 14, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2020. Her "heart swing" allows a magical field to surround her just before she hits the ball. Any male player who tries to catch the ball will be stunned, allowing Peach to get an easy run to the base. It only affects men, not women, to show how Peach can wow the guys.
^"Super Mario: 25 Ridiculous Things About Princess Peach's Anatomy". TheGamer. October 12, 2018. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2020. Peach can launch a "Heart Swing" that is fueled with the power of love. Peach draws a heart with the bat in the air, which casts magic on the ball. Once used, it will stun any fielder who tries to catch the ball. This attack only works on male players and a few others such as Boo, Wiggler, and Blooper.
