Summary
Princess Peach fans have gotten a lot of chances to play as Nintendo’s iconic princess lately, with titles likeSuper Mario Bros. Wonder,Super Mario RPG, and, most recently,Princess Peach: Showtimeputting her in a playable role. WhilePrincess Peach: Showtimeis a Peach-centered spin-off of the greaterMarioseries, elements of the mainline games can still be felt within both its level and enemy designs, as well as the customization options it offers players. The result allows Peach to stand on her own as the star ofPrincess Peach: Showtimewhile still appealing to fans of the core Mario franchise.
BeforePrincess Peach: Showtime, the only solo Peach game players could enjoy was theNintendo DS’Super Princess Peach. While this title featured new mechanics unique to Princess Peach, it also leaned heavily on core elements of theMariofranchise, such as series staple enemies and bosses and a more standardMariolevel design. Comparatively,Princess Peach: Showtimedevelops an identity of its own by utilizing its unique theater aesthetic, brand-new Theet NPCs, and villains in Grape and the Sour Bunch to stand out, but some of the mainline series' concepts remain underneath this spin-off title’s exterior.
Princess Peach: Showtime’s Customization Options Follow Super Mario Odyssey’s Lead
Costume customization options have never played a huge part in theMarioseries, as characters tend to be locked to their default outfits in most mainlineMariogames, only changing appearance when using a power-up. However,Super Mario Odysseyintroduced the option to purchase new outfits for Mario by spending eitherGold or Purple Coins at the Crazy Cap Shopsfound throughout the game’s Kingdoms. This customization feature quickly became a fan favorite, with players becoming excited about collecting the over 40 obtainable outfits for Mario.
InSuper Mario Odyssey, 10 of these outfits can be obtained by scanning amiibo figures. However,Princess Peach: Showtimedoes not include amiibo support.
Princess Peach: Showtimefeatures a similar mechanic that adapts this popular feature fromSuper Mario Odyssey, this time allowing players tocustomize Princess Peach’s outfit. Players can spend coins collected throughout the stages inPrincess Peach: Showtimeon new dress patterns for Peach, as well as new ribbon colors for her companion, Stella. These patterns can be unlocked in a variety of ways, such as defeating certain bosses or finding the Ribboner hidden in certain levels, and then purchased from the Lobby Shop within Sparkle Theater’s hub world, giving players a new collectible to strive for.
Princess Peach: Showtime Incorporates Mechanics from Super Mario Galaxy
Aside from borrowing a similar customization mechanic fromSuper Mario Odyssey,Princess Peach: Showtimealso includes gameplay mechanics taken from past mainlineMariotitles. Most notable of these mechanics is the wayPrincess Peach: Showtimeutilizes agravity mechanic similar toSuper Mario Galaxy. In that title, Mario can stick to different surfaces based on the direction of a stage’s gravitational pull, often resulting in the player swapping between standing upside down and rightside up, depending on the direction of gravity in a particular area of a level.
Princess Peach: Showtimeadapts this mechanic during the first major boss fight of the game against theSour Bunch’s Disco Wing. In this fight, Disco Wing will periodically shift gravity from one direction to another, resulting in Peach having to dodge the boss' attack while standing on the ceiling in a manner reminiscent of certainSuper Mario Galaxylevels. While gravity mechanics are not a common feature of theMarioseries outside ofSuper Mario Galaxyand its sequel, the wayPrincess Peach: Showtimeuses the mechanic in this boss fight seems like a clear callback to the way gravity puzzles were implemented as a core mechanic ofSuper Mario Galaxy.
