The moment it was announced, I was on board immediately, no questions asked, no hesitations, preordered in a heartbeat. That’s right, that was 100% me the moment I saw the trailer for this game. Finally, after 10+ years since her last starring role, my favourite princess in the world of video games, Princess Peach, got her own game again!
I loved Super Princess Peach as a kid. In fact I bought a Nintendo DS solely for that game when I discovered it existed, along with the original Pokemon Pearl and played the shit out of it. I nearly 100%’d everything, except for the minigames.
A lot of critics thought that game was sexist because of Peach’s lack of dialogue, Perry doing all the talking, and Peach’s special powers being unleashed with her emotions. I beg to differ, every game in the Mario universe: the protagonists have never been chatty, save for a few short lines, so that didn’t bother me. I didn’t mind Perry, he was cute, and the power through vibes was fun to use and it was a decent challenge to figure out which ones to use in certain situations such as obstacles and boss fights so once again, y’all pyjaks are being WAY too sensitive and need to go touch grass, it’s great for calming down.
Anyway, Peach is back with a brand new game that was love at first sight so I started playing on day 1. I know, I rarely do that, but for Nintendo games, I make an exception because despite their high prices, they always manage to deliver high quality performance on day 1. What makes this game really shine is not just Peach stepping into the spotlight, not just figuratively but literally as well, is that for once, Nintendo decided to give her an original story and adventure.
Peach and her Toad companions hear of a place called Sparkle Theater and decide to go see some plays. The place is run by creatures called Theets and there and just when Peach is about to get a taste of what they have to offer, their visit is interrupted by the sorceress Grape and her sour bunch who take over the theater. Peach then teams up with the theater’s guardian, Stella, who gives her a magic ribbon and together they embark into different plays to free the theater from Grape’s influence.
What I really love about this game is the gameplay changes throughout different plays depending on what kind of play it is and there are ten different categories. In each of them, Peach takes on different roles to suit the theme. So it’s like each play offers bite-sized side stories in the game which is fun to discover and replay. During each play, it’s also important to collect sparkle gems which become useful in advancing to the next area and they additionally give Peach a photo in the album if all of them are collected in a particular play. Many of them can be found in hidden places, or from completing certain tasks in a play like not missing any of the snowflakes to perform tricks in the Figure Skater stages for instance.
I often was either lucky to get all the gems and the ribbons (which unlock new outfits for Peach and Stella) in one run, but also it was still annoying when I missed even just one gem! The ones that are easy to miss are those in hidden areas that can be activated but the more I played, the easier it became for me to detect them.
The game’s visuals are beautiful with the stage settings, props, and lights, it really fits the game’s theme like a glove as well.
Regarding the transformations, Mighty Peach is easily my favourite. The outfit is badass, it makes Peach look like not only a superhero but also like a robot, if I were to dress up as any of these roles from the game, it would be that one hands down. It also reminds me of one of my favourite cartoons, Atomic Betty, and the backdrop with alien invasions is the icing on the cake.
I also enjoyed Ninja Peach more than I thought, and Swordfighter Peach I love the Musketeer look to her outfit and the elegance of evading attacks when timed correctly. A little detail I noticed was that Peach was holding the rapier sword in her left hand which pleased me as a leftie.
It took me some time to get used to the mechanics of Patisserie Peach, especially the cookie baking mini game where I had to time it right to generate enough cookies and also if I went to a bowl that had a Theet or two at it, I could bake faster and include a special cookie in which three of those were needed to get more gems. But eventually, I figured it out.
Dashing Thief Peach was also challenging, but I love the outfit. It reminds me a little of Westley and Zorro combined. She rocks the cape!
Figure Skater Peach was also fun and I realized I didn’t need to be right on top of the icons to do tricks, but what I always thought was cool was how the mini boss in these plays you basically did a little dance to overpower him! I don’t know why I find that adorable, I just do, I’m picturing a boss fight with him where he and Peach dance on the ice together and she must find a way to outshine him. Well… technically that’s what you do with the Theets, freeing them from his control, but still, just imagine….without them for a moment.
Kung Fu Peach was also introduced later than I thought in this game but I enjoyed my showdowns with the rival of those plays and got Peach to deliver her high kicks. My mom and I always joked about how Peach has her high kicks because whenever I played as her in the Smash Bros. games, that was one her standard attacks, in a dress no less and my mom always laughed at that. So yeah, she does it again in this game, but in proper attire for it!
So one of the story aspects of this game that’s present is there are three plays total for each role Peach takes. The first is like an introduction and then the second is a bit harder, and then the third is where Peach must enter an alternate dimension to rescue the Sparkla which is the star of that particular series of plays. No doubt imprisoned by Grape. These were either really challenging, or flew by and the last few I had to do were definitely shorter than I thought.
There are also bosses for each floor in the theater that Grape has summoned to derail Peach and Stella from reclaiming the theater. Many of them I noticed were resembling classic stage props like the Disco Wing made out of a disco ball. My personal favourite is the second boss, Light Fang, which is basically a snake made from stage lights and I had to avoid its glare to reach switches to expose its vulnerable spots.
The Purrjector Cat was also an interesting boss that I couldn’t figure out how to beat at first but the only way I could damage it, reminded me of the second boss fight with Bowser in Super Princess Peach. I’d also say that Spotlion was my least favourite boss in this game as I felt it was too similar to Light Fang. I genuinely thought the fourth boss was going to be more like some monster made from stage curtains instead but in the end you can’t always get what you want.
So let’s talk about Madame Grape, the only motive she has is to rule the spotlight in Sparkle theater and have everyone worship her as her sour bunch sabotage every performance. She does remind me a lot of Queen Sectonia from Kirby Triple Deluxe with her levitating hands, wielding a sceptre, and elegant visage for a mask that is. I finally was able to confront her once I rescued all ten Sparklas in the theater’s basement and Peach takes on a beautiful final transformation to take down Grape for good.
Of course, the thing about these games final bosses is never assume they’re defeated once and for all, they always make a comeback stronger than ever and that’s exactly what Grape did when her physical form was destroyed, sans her mask: a life source basically. She destroys the theater and merges with its remains to be reborn a monster. Once again I am reminded of Queen Sectonia who merges with the bud at the very top of the Dreamstalk after being defeated once and transforms into a flower monster.
Overall, in both phases, Grape was not a difficult final boss, but a fun one nonetheless, I would love to fight her again. I got the happy ending I hoped for. There’s lots to do post-game, apparently there’s more gems to collect from the bosses and new hidden things to find in each play. I still haven’t collected all the outfits for Peach and Stella but I got reasons to keep playing this wonderful game.
So yeah, it’s not super deep in story and characters but that’s what you expect for any Nintendo game. I also think Stella is a way better floating sidekick than say, Starlow from Bowser’s Inside Story. It’s fun, not too difficult, I get to be my favourite princess, so instant win, perfect, it gets standing ovation.
👽Emily
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