Super Princess Peach

Super Princess Peach
North American box art
Developer(s)	Tose
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Akio Imai Azusa Tajima
Producer(s)	Yasuhiro Minamimoto Hitoshi Yamagami
Designer(s)	Takayuki Ikeda (concept) Akira Mochizuki Yuichiro Nakayama
Programmer(s)	Kenta Egami
Artist(s)	Yasuko Takahashi Daiki Nishioka Chiharu Sakiyama
Composer(s)	Akira Fujiwara
Series	Mario
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release	JP: October 20, 2005 NA: February 27, 2006 AU: March 30, 2006 EU: May 26, 2006
Genre(s)	Platform
Mode(s)	Single-player

Super Princess Peach^[a] is a platform video game developed by Tose and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It was released in Japan in October 2005 and worldwide the following year. Super Princess Peach is the second game to feature Princess Peach as the only main playable character after the game Princess Toadstool's Castle Run released in 1990^[1] on the Nelsonic Game Watch.^[2]

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. It is one of the best-selling Nintendo DS games with 1.15 million units sold worldwide.^[3]

Gameplay[]

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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 contain six levels and a boss battle which leads the player to the next world. Each boss battle requires playing a short minigame that makes use of the DS touchscreen. 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. After the game is completed, the player can go through the levels again to pick up more unlockable items. Beating a boss will unlock three new levels for the next world; for instance, beating the World 1 boss will unlock three new levels for World 2 and so on. There are a total of 24 extra levels to unlock. On the upper left hand side of the screen, there are two bars: heart gauge (maximum of five hearts) and emotion meter. Whenever Peach falls down a hole, an ocean of lava or gets hit by an enemy, she loses half a heart and respawns at the last checkpoint. When all hearts are gone, she starts over at the beginning of the level. Peach has infinite lives, so the player can continue as much as they please.

The emotion meter corresponds to the four vibe powers she has. The emotions at Vibe Island affect everybody, even some enemies, but Peach can change her emotions at will. The four emotions are joy, gloom, rage, and calm. When the player taps on each mood, it will activate a different ability, which 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. 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. The "Subrella" allows Peach to travel underwater. To attack, the player blows into the microphone to blow bubbles to defeat the undersea enemies and break blocks. The "Slidebrella" turns Perry upside down and uses his handle like a hook. It is used in areas with a maze of high-flying wires. The "Bowlbrella" puts Peach in the umbrella and allows her to navigate through the water's surface. In addition, the game features a shop where players can buy items. Using coins as currency the player can buy incremental upgrades to expand the heart gauge or the emotion meter, as well as three new abilities. The "Floatbrella" allows Peach to stay afloat for a few seconds. "Poundbrella" shakes the ground and stuns any enemies nearby. "Chargebrella" creates a small charge that will stun the closest enemy. 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 decreasing, 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 has the player control Toad in a variety of activities (such as a platforming mode).

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 weapon that can be used to control the emotions of other people. 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. However, 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 to do so. Shortly before her departure, Toadsworth, who is reluctant to see Peach travel on her own, gives Peach a magical, sentient parasol named Perry to help her on her journey. With Perry now on her side, Peach finally sets out for Vibe Island to rescue Mario and Luigi.

Peach and Perry travel through eight different areas across the island, rescuing various Toads and defeating various 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. Even 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 the form of several flashbacks; long ago, Perry was a young man with magical powers, and was adopted by an old man who he came to call "Grandpa". Later, Perry transformed himself into an umbrella and was captured by a wizard and his henchman, but managed to escape by wiggling free from his captors and fell on the road. Sometime 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. Peach then fights and defeats Bowser. However, the Koopa King uses the Vibe Scepter to turn into a giant, yet Peach and Perry defeat him once again by throwing Bob-ombs at him, and then whack him out of the villa with the Scepter in hand. After Bowser's defeat, Peach frees Mario, after which 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 24, 2005.^[5] It later came out in North America^[6] and Europe^[7] on February 27 and May 26, 2006, respectively.

Reception[]

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]

As of July 25, 2007, 1.15 million copies of Super Princess Peach have been sold worldwide.^[3] It is one of the best-selling Nintendo DS video games.

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 "way 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".^[24] 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".^[25] LevelSkip stated "Princess Peach is One of the Most Iconic Female Nintendo Characters" and "Many Fans Demand a Sequel".^[26]

Accolades[]

Legacy[]

From February 2006 to March 2007, the magazine  [ja] published a comical manga based on the game called  [ja] created by Kazumi Sugiyama.^[30][31] Like the original game, the story deals with Peach, traveling with Perry and joined by Toadsworth, to save her friends abducted by Bowser.^[32]

The game is referenced throughout the Super Smash Bros series, including Peach's moveset with pink hearts and her final smash with the "calm" vibe.^[33]

In the manga Super Mario-kun, Peach is using her vibe powers and appears with Perry.^[34][35]

In Mario Super Sluggers and Mario Sports Mix, Peach's special move is based on the powers of her emotions. Peach summons giants pink hearts and launch them towards her opponents, making them falling in love with her and stunning them.^{[36][37][38][39]}

Notes[]

References[]