Princess Peach Showtime! released on Nintendo Switch last month on March 22 and after seeing some mixed reviews, I have to be honest, I absolutely loved it and I think this is an underestimated game by many.
The game begins with Princess Peach receiving an invitation to Sparkle Theatre, which she happily accepts. Shortly after, Princess Peach excitedly arrives and is amazed at all the glitz and glamour of Sparkle Theate. Upon entry, Peach explores the lobby while Toad gets the play tickets. The lobby area to me is very reminiscent of Super Mario 64 when Mario enters the castle; there is a grand staircase, and posters of the plays that you will enter, like the worlds in Mario 64.
However, things don’t stay bright and happy for long. Madame Grape and the sour bunch have taken over Sparkle Theatre and infiltrated the plays. Princess Peach steps up to the task of saving Sparkle Theatre from the clutches of Madame Grape and the sour bunch and restoring the plays.
To do this, Princess Peach must enter each play and take out the Sour Bunch, which she does with the help of Stella – the Sparkle sprite guardian of Sparkle Theatre – and her magic hair ribbon that gives Peach the abilities of the main character of the play she is in. In order to take on the lead role, Princess Peach must find and step onto a special sparkle platform that is found in the first part (level) of each play. Once Princess Peach has stepped onto the platform, she will transform into one of 10 main characters from the plays; these include Swordfighter Peach, Cowgirl Peach, Patissiere Peach, Figure Skater Peach, Mermaid Peach, Ninja Peach, Kung Fu Peach, Dashing Thief Peach, Detective Peach, Mighty Peach (or Samus Peach as I call her)… There is also an 11th transformation that you will unlock in the final chapter, but in the case that you haven’t played yet I’ll let you discover the excellence of that one for yourself.
The theatre has 4 floors, which is an aspect of the game that reminded me of Luigis Mansion 3. Each floor has 4 chapters of various plays, with each play having 3 parts (or levels) in total. In each play you will work your way through the story, taking out the Sour Bunch and helping to restore the play to its original form. Each level has a main villain (or boss) to eliminate and will be the same boss across each chapter for that play.
Each play will also be completed in a different play style depending on the character and the story. For example, Sword Fighter Peach, Ninja Peach, Kung Fu Peach, and Mighty Peach are all heavy on combat, Cowgirl Peach engages in your classic western horseback bandit chase, Patissiere Peach and Figure Skater Peach use rhythmic timing techniques, Mermaid Peach uses her ability to control fish to help her manipulate her surroundings to solve puzzles, Dashing Theif Peach is all about timing and agility, and Detective Peach uses investigation and piecing together clues to solve puzzles. There are also some fun mini game styles to get through the levels, like the cake baking and decorating with Patissierre Peach and the performances with Figure Skater Peach.
I love the overall art style of the game, and the construction of the sets, it very much reminds me of Yoshi’s Story and Yoshi’s Crafted World, which is a game I absolutely loved. The colours are fun and vibrant, and there is a clear distinction between the Mushroom Kingdom world, the play world, and the infiltration of the bad guys with the use of art style and colour. The music is also used in a way that is reflective of what is happening in the scene; there is the classy classical music of the theatre when roaming the lobby areas, there is the battle music consistent across boss battles, and the play music – while consistent – has its own touch to fit the theme of the play and the current scene. I also love that Princess Peach is the same as Peach from the recent Super Mario Bros Movie so that there is that character recognition for younger and newer players in the Mario universe.
Each level takes on average about 10 minutes to complete, making this game very easy to sit down and make achievements in small chunks (which is excellent if you are short on time or have children requiring your constant attention). The controls are also very simple and intuitive, but you will receive prompts and guidance if needed. Combat is low impact, and the overall vibe is pretty fun and relaxed, so it is a very low stress game over all… I’d even go as far to say its cozy.
Once you have restored each play on the floor, you will unlock the door for the big boss of that level. You can open these doors with the Sparkle Gems collected throughout each play. Sparkle Gems are the big blue stars that you will find throughout each play, so make sure you don’t miss them because you will need them to open boss doors. These bosses are all representative of some type of theatre equipment, which I think is fantastic, like the Purrjector Cat and Spotlion. Each boss has the standard 3 phases that you would encounter in any Mario game, and as with any boss battle, the technique is all about your timing and switching between offence and defence.
Once the boss is defeated, the floor will return to normal, and you will be able to move onto the next stage (pun not intended). After you have completed all floors, you will need to head to the basement to rescue the Sparklas. The Sparkla are the main characters of the plays; which are the characters that Princess Peach has been standing in for. To rescue them, you will need to face the final chapter of the play and defeat the villain once and for all to completely restore the play.
Once you have rescued all of the Sparkla, you will be faced with a new door. However, your sparkle gems won’t be much use here, so I don’t really know why I have to give them up. The power of all the rescued Sparkla will help you to unlock the door, then you will ba able to face off with the big boss herself, Madame Grape.
The battle against Madame Grape may seem complex and overwhelming, but that’s just all the distraction of the scene trying to psych you out. This is a typical big boss battle, focus on your timing of dodging and attacking and you will be just fine. I do have to mention that I got some heavy Master Hand (big boss from Super Smash Bros.) in a dress vibes with Madame Grape, and you know what, I kinda love that.
Other things that I loved about this game was the fact that you could spend your coins on customising Peach’s dress, and you could also customise Stella by changing her ribbon colours. I also really loved the load screens. At first I thought that my game was glitching, but then I realised that it was actually imitating an old time projector film, which I thought was a really genius touch.
Overall, I really loved this game. The story was great, and having both a female protagonist and a female antagonist is not something to be underestimated; this is something that will have a lasting impact on little gamers around the world when they see a strong intelligent female saving the day. While it is simple and quick to play through, I fell like Princess Peach Showtime! has a lot of value and I would have to recommend this as the perfect beginners game. The mechanics alone in this game offer such a variety of techniques required to play various games, which will help new gamers as they move forwards with their gaming adventures. The gameplay, while simple, is challenging enough to hold your interest, and the run time of each level is long enough to not get bored nor too short to not feel challenged enough. With low stress and high variety, Princess Peach Showtime! is absolutely a cozy platformer that you should add to your play list, especially if you are new to gaming or have little ones that you’re introducing to gaming.
Until next time,
my neuro diaries 
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